PCGS HAS CHANGED THE SHIPPING CHARGE RULES

fletch2645

I received a phone call from PCGS today regarding a recent submission and it seems they are now charging shipping fees on each individual invoice--even if all the invoices were submitted at the same time in the same box. What a rip off. Their shipping and insurance rates are outrageous, so this just makes it much more expensive to get your coins graded. The only way to avoid this rip off is to be sure that each submission has the same types of coins--like all moderns in one submission and to maximize the number of coins submitted to lower the average per coin cost.

TWQG

It's always been that way for me.

fletch2645

It hasn't been that way for me. I've been submitting coins for the past 3 years and have been able to combine invoices for shipping purposes until now. The individual I talked to said that they used to accept submissions on that basis, but had some line on why they had to change--like it delays your results, etc.

dbldie55

Tell them to return your coins and your money. (all of it) This is a crock of ..... Obviously you are willing to wait for the last graded items, why does this company refuse to be customer friendly?

Edited to add:

We sent three coins in for designation review (all costing full grading fees, unlike the other services). What did PCGS do? They sent two back. They sent the third coin to someone else. Obviously they cannot use the excuse they cannot keep the coins "in order", as they cannot do this when on one invoice.

I worked for a business that the people in charge of this company would be fired from. What was it? McDonalds! The owner would never allow such disrespect for the people paying the bills.

Whitewashqtr

An order, with how ever many invoices. should be ahndled probably regardless.. Separate invoices shouldnt mean excessive shipping. This is not rocket science. Tell them I will take the position in the Company. I could do a better job. You guys could get the right stuff.. with the right kickback...lol

cosmicdebris

All these idiots need to do is to allow any kind of coin on an invoice and add one more coloumn to the invoice for it.

tradedollarnut

I worked for a business that the people in charge of this company would be fired from. What was it? McDonalds! The owner would never allow such disrespect for the people paying the bills.

Isn't it strange that a $25M market capitalization publicly owned company would not address these issues? I'm not saying to stand up and be chastized, but to actively investigate incidents and methods for solving these and other incidents certainly would seem proper. If, as I suspect, they are doing it but not saying so, they are certainly missing a public relations opportunity.

If they are simply ignoring it expecting it to go away, then they are quite foolish!

Spooly

I e-mailed this thread to Rick M. Customer Service is not always the best source for information. This policy change would effect hundreds if not thousands of submissions. Let see what Rick says.

gmarguli

I was told that submissions could be combined for return shipping, but that PCGS would not guarantee that it could be done due to storage limitations. I can understand them not wanting to hold some coins to two weeks, but when you get the packages returned on the same day to not combined them is crazy.

keithdagen

I've sent them in when the estimated times were similar. Like a 6 week Economy and a 6 week Modern. But I wouldn't expect you to combine an Express and a Modern for shipping.

braddick

The interesting point here is PCGS isn't making more money on this policy change- the Post Office potentially would be. Also- it seems like it is more work for PCGS to package up separate invoices going out to the same submitter.

RGL

Confounds me as well. What I pay PCGS to return my coins is nearly identical to what I pay to ship them, so that is not a profit source for PCGS. You know, in this new-fangled age of computers and whatnot, there are all kinds of great inventory/tracking software that -- even if coins have to be separated for raw, reholder, regrade, cross, attribution, etc. -- I can bring them all back together at one time to send them back in the same package. And, if PCGS is worried about five raw coins being done and ready for shipping, but waiting on one for a crossover, I would gladly wait to save the postage costs. Every unnecessary shipment I can eliminate frees up another $15 to get another coin graded!

Lower shipping costs for customers = More volume = More revenue = More profit

dbldie55

<< <i>Every unnecessary shipment I can eliminate frees up another $15 to get another coin graded! >>



Not to mention another shipment that can be lost (stolen) while in possession of the USPS.

grip

I dont understand it mysef.Is it not the same as selling coin's on Ebay and the high bidder wins more than two coin's or more in the same auction and you combine them and save the bidder the postage/insurance?.I do it all the time regardless if it end's 1 or 2 days later.Al

Dabigkahuna

Im not sure what I am missing here?

In the last few years I have dealt with PCGS they have always allowed you combine your submissions in one package so you can send more than one invoice at a time and save shipping but there has always been seperate return shipping per invoice. As far as I know PCGS has never held back a submission of mine when I have sent in diffent types of invoices. Each invoice is sent back as soon as the order is ready.


Larry
Dabigkahuna

howie08

Larry :
I always send several invoices in the same package , but would just combine the shipping charges as if everything was submitted on 1 invoice , and it always worked for me ; also , my invoices all got shipped back in the same package. I think what Bob's saying , is we can't do this anymore , so our costs are going to escalate dramatically , because we'll be paying shipping on each invoice , instead of on the whole thing. Then what happens if all our invoices get shipped in the same package ? We've paid shipping for nothing , and when you're talking about registered , insured shipments , " that ain't cheap. "
Howie

Dabigkahuna

Thanks Howie,

I guess I have been paying too much all this time then! As always!


Larry
Dabigkahuna

Spooly

E-mail from Rick

Eric,
>
>This has been true over time. Individual orders must have their own shipping charges as they can be processed in varying speeds, depending upon what's in the box. Certainly, in situations where there are different service requests, there needs to be separate postage. With coins of the same service, we urge the submitter to maximize the individual order. This can include the utilization of additional submission forms and the grouping of them as one.
>
>We are looking for ways to efficiently incorporate a "ship with" method into our system. It is just at this time, we do not have the capability to perform that particular effectively enough to be able to offer it seamlessly.
>
>Rick

fletch2645

Howie and Dabigkahuna--That's right. Now you pay shipping AND insurance on each individual invoice. Some guy from their accounting department was put up to calling me and I "nailed him to the cross", tore him off the cross, and "nailed him to the cross" again. It didn't do any good. He threatened to send my submission(s) back, and, of course, I didn't want that. These guys have a monopoly on the coin grading business, and can do anything they want--change their policies in mid-stream, threaten you, and generally create bad will with their customers. I realize that I'm not a BIG customer, but I do spend several hundered dollars every month with them. Obviously, customer relations is not on their agenda.

By the way Dabigkahuna--thanks for the great SAC!!

cosmicdebris

I still think they just need to redo their invoice forms so that each line item can have it's own submission type.

nwcs

<< <i>I still think they just need to redo their invoice forms so that each line item can have it's own submission type. >>



Yes, this would solve many problems!

clackamas

I have sent it 2 seperate orders at the same service level with seperate shipping fees and recived them back as the SAME order. I called and asked for a refund on the shipping. They agreed but I never saw the refund. The argument of sending in larger invoices is lame because it takes quite a bit longer to get a 20 coin order back than a 10 coin order. I just sent in 4 orders from between 10 and 13 coins all at the same service level and asked to be shipped with 1 order #. We will see if they did this.

BeanCounter

Would enough people, if contacted, be interested in a Boycott of PCGS. Would we all be
willing to give up having coins graded until things change. I think its time for a major changes
@PCGS. For example, I have seen coins returned from grading as MS68. When I compare
the 68 alone side a 69 under a microscope, I cannot see a difference.

Tom

kieferscoins

Your boycott would have to have stated goals and real reasons why to stop and how to stop buying PCGS slabs. It probably wouldn't work.

Cameron Kiefer