What does PCGS do with all the flips?

Tetromibi

I'm just curious. What happens to all the mylar flips from submissions?

djm

They sell them in their store.

Peace_dollar88

Interesting... I'm sure they do something with them. That's a lot of wasted plastic to just through away

messydesk

I'm pretty sure they get pitched. They throw out tubes from bulk submissions, too. I was discussing this with Mike Faraone last summer and he asked me if I wanted some sent to me. After a few weeks, a box with at least 300 tubes showed up at my door.

TurboSnail

Interesting, why can our host send back to the sender? Go Green.

oih82w8

It would make sense to send back the flips for those who request them back, but not financial sense for our host.

GoldenEgg

@TurboSnail said:
Interesting, why can our host send back to the sender? Go Green.

That would be a lot of work to keep track of, sort, and pack up. TAT would be through the roof!

MonsterCoinz

Why not add a new product to their store? Heavily discounted used flips. They would sell out.

AUandAG

@oih82w8 said:
It would make sense to send back the flips for those who request them back, but not financial sense for our host.

Well I can of disagree with this. They send my coins by in large envelopes or blue boxes. Most generally there is room for something like flips. But, I don't want mine back I want to see what you send it and get your flips back!

Nah, just kidding.

It would be a nightmare for PCGS.

bob

BryceM

I'm not against going green, but I'm using brand-new flips for anything I'm submitting. A bit of grunge and dust in the flip from the last coin and 1000 miles of bumpy roads or turbulent skies makes for potential issues. This is especially true for gold.

morgandollar1878

I would like to think that they have a recycling program in place and all of it just does not simply go to a landfill.

cameonut2011

When a coin doesn't cross, they send the original slab back with a PCGS Do Not Cross/Holder label in a flip. Ditto for the slab inserts for coins that cross - the old TPG labels were sent back to me in a flip. I wouldn't be surprised if those flips were recycled. I know I would recycle them because there is zero risk to the already slabbed coin.

cameonut2011

Of course, I'm sure there are many recycling centers in California too.

cameonut2011

Wrong thread - sorry

TopographicOceans

Unfortunately, there are only three recycling plants in the U.S. that will accept mylar.
They are located in Oakland, San Fransisco and San Jose, Calif.

My guess is PCGS just throws them away in the trash.
You wouldn't want to reuse them - say somebody used E-Zest when they submitted their coin. It could put a spot on your expensive coin.

There is a lot of waste in business.

My pet peeve is shipping peanuts. Those are a waste filling up our landfills.

mannie gray

I think they flip them to a flip flipper.

cameonut2011

@TopographicOceans said:
Unfortunately, there are only three recycling plants in the U.S. that will accept mylar.
They are located in Oakland, San Fransisco and San Jose, Calif.

I'm a bit surprised. Mylar is made from the resin of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). PET is what plastic water and soda bottles are made of.

Edited to add: If this is your source, I would not rely on it. It is specifically referring to balloons that have other materials added including metal. This is not pure mylar.
It is metallized boPET. https://www.hunker.com/12317594/how-to-recycle-mylar

lordmarcovan

They melt 'em down and use the plastic in their slabs.

DoubleEagle59

I use the cheap 'soft' flips that can lead to PVC, so I don't really want them back anyway.

PVC isn't going to attack the coins in the few days they're travelling in the mail.

ricko

A request for information to our host would resolve this issue..... Cheers, RickO

georgiacop50

@ricko said:
A request for information to our host would resolve this issue..... Cheers, RickO

You sure have a lot of faith in Customer Service.

I'd wager such a request would fall on deaf ears. Put the question to them in an email and I will give you 10:1 odds you never receive a reply.

ricko

I would recommend asking the question to Don .... I am sure he would answer. Cheers, RickO

Insider2

I have spoken several times to employees of several TPGS. The information provided by John is correct. You could run a large commercial coin company on their waste. Everything...rubber bands, flips, tubes. paperclips, pens, shipping boxes, etc. At least one of the smaller TPGS sells stuff in lots on Ebay. You need to realize all this takes time, storage space, and materials. It is not cost effective to save five to fifteen grand a year. I know one TPGS (no longer in business) had a volunteer working there who collected useful stuff from the trash to keep or sell at the coin club. Although he got teased as a "pack-rat," the freebies financed some pretty nice coins.

Here is another thing to consider. I've been told that (in the past) security people claimed to be able to make up complete slabs (without the coin) from discarded labels and parts that they found discarded in the trash. I know that now, at least one TPGS shreds everything including the plastic parts. I also know that Service A throws any parts from Service Q, R, X, Y, and Z straight into the trash as they don't care what happens to it...LOL. IMHO, it does not matter anymore as the Chinese are doing deceptive slabs w/o digging in the dumpsters.

kiyote

On the flipside of this, I can imagine the PCGS graders looking at each other and going: "I wonder what people are doing with all these blue PCGS boxes we send them?"

cameonut2011

@kiyote said:
On the flipside of this, I can imagine the PCGS graders looking at each other and going: "I wonder what people are doing with all these blue PCGS boxes we send them?"

I recycle them to send certified coins for crossover submissions. It is much like the "take a penny, leave a penny" concept.