I confess, I have no patience ...

mercurydimeguy

Waiting for grades to post on orders that are coming up to a month old is brutal. The whole process just takes too long, when taking shipping time into account. And paying more money (like 2x) doesn't half the time it takes so paying a premium isn't a good answer.




Anyhow, the 24x7x365 Internet age of instant gratification has forever spoiled me. When an order is in house for 3 weeks+, my anxiety level increases by the day.



People that buy ready graded coins are blessed because they don't have to live through this

brg5658

A friend (who also posts here) has had an order in with PCGS since 9/25 (received). I guess you'd be institutionalized if that were the case for you?



It could (almost) always be worse...

pruebas

Three weeks is nothing! My current submission is on 6+ weeks already.



The sad thing is that when one (finally) gets the coins back, there are invariably problems. Some of them I can head off with an e-mail after the descriptions post but before the grades post (like missing mintmarks or incorrect denominations), but in other cases (like the misspelling of "diagonal" on the holder) the coins are in the mail before I notice the problem requiring that I send the coin(s) back yet again for correction or accept the problems (which my OCD generally can't tolerate).

neildrobertson

You're patient. PCGS and NGC virtually get away with murder regarding their grading times. I'd be curious to see if they had done much by way of lean studies on their grading processes. The only other industries that have comparable wait times I can think of, are custom or bespoke manufacturing, tailoring, building, and stuff like that.

I would assume that total processing time for a single coin would be no more than 30 minutes based on the prices they charge, and the time spent in any step would be a few minutes at most. 90+% of time the coins are at the TPG they are waiting for something or another.

mercurydimeguy

They sit there most of the time until they get close to estimated time and then they get graded. This way they can grade all the more expensive tiers first. They should just offer a Diamond Collectors Club membership for $750 that would give the member 5 day turnaround time with any standard submission. Seriously I'd pay for it. I might be on an island but for the 100 or so coins I get graded per year, it would be worth it.

coinkat

Hope it goes well

MilkmanDan

I don't mind waiting as long as the grades are right.



And like Pruebas, I sent back about 50% of my submissions for "mechanical errors" this year. Things like coins swapped between two holders. I'm glad they pay for it all, but I hate sending coins in the mail more than I have to.

nicholasz219

I have always thought that it was amusing that by the time the government gets around to investigating or prosecuting a company or group of companies for monopolistic practices, their time in monopoly is usually about over (re: Microsoft). In cases where there is pretty much unspoken coordinated prices like with the select few trustworthy grading services, where do collectors have to turn? Not that I think government intervention is the solution: far from it. There has to be a better way. I have no desire to play the grading waiting game.

OldEastside

I still buy stamps at the post office to mail letters



Steve

SYRACUSIAN

Originally posted by: nicholasz219
I have always thought that it was amusing that by the time the government gets around to investigating or prosecuting a company or group of companies for monopolistic practices, their time in monopoly is usually about over (re: Microsoft). In cases where there is pretty much unspoken coordinated prices like with the select few trustworthy grading services, where do collectors have to turn? Not that I think government intervention is the solution: far from it. There has to be a better way. I have no desire to play the grading waiting game.

In that case Nick, do not send them for grading, or choose a lesser grading company who'll ship them asap and grade them higher if it means to win a new client. Guys, I too were OCD about things, but turnaround time was never among them: I'm not a dealer to need them back asap. It's the grades that matter most of all, plus, in Europe, PCGS sends its coins to Newport Beach and they are priority number one, since they have to be back in three weeks, regardless of the Tier.

Swampboy

"Remember, anything worthwhi leis worth waiting for".....Grandma

mercurydimeguy

Sorry, this is never going to change for me and frankly is getting worse.



Waiting 6-8 weeks for a regular grading order takes a lot of the fun out of the hobby for me.



And it's not cheap...when one pays $200+ for 4 coins to be graded. I'm big into customer service, but when it takes shorter for me to remodel my entire bathroom than to get 4 coins grades to post, it takes a big hit out of the enjoyment for me.



Ok. I feel better now that I've vented. Have a nice Friday

brg5658

That friend I mentioned above -- he just got notice that his credit card was charged and grades posted -- 5 MONTHS after submission to PCGS. Now that is SLOOOOOOOOOOW.....

Weiss

Sending coins to a dealer for evaluation, then having that dealer send them to CAC, then having CAC send them back to the dealer, then having the dealer send them back to you.

Grateful for the opportunity, but man, sometimes this game is hard.

Broadstruck

I rarely ever submit for grading and don't play the sticker game so I don't have those problems.



I decided to really step up my photography years ago as once in my paws I'd rather not deal with the US postal orifice.



Now buying internationally does test my patience as right now I'm somewhat patiently awaiting multiple items. How one item can clear customs in 2 days and another sits there for 2 weeks drives me batty.



Oh and I also have no patience for auctions... Anytime I can buy direct and not have to wait a week or months for something to close it's a blessing.