PCGS cataloging mistakes ...

WingedLiberty1957 · February 12, 2013 2:39AM

I think PCGS might be having manpower issues?

Last night I had the 3rd coin in the past two months entered into their database incorrectly.

It was a 1959 Lincoln that is listed in their database as a 1953.

It's funny but in the previous 2 years, I never had a single coin entered incorrectly.

Now 3 in 2 months.

GeorgeKellogg · February 12, 2013 2:41AM

Call Customer Service and they can check the label before it's shipped.

drwstr123 · February 12, 2013 2:42AM

Blasphemy!

lkeigwin · February 12, 2013 2:47AM

A phone call is best, I agree.

Maybe there are workload issues related to new services? I just submitted 7 coins: one cross, four reconsiderations, one conservation and one label error (I hope...it's a lettered edge issue).
Lance.

WingedLiberty1957 · February 12, 2013 2:50AM

I remember someone posting on here that you only get to pick 2 things out of
1. Good
2. Fast
3. Cheap
when buying a professional service.

With this order i feel like it was 0 for 3

WingedLiberty1957 · February 12, 2013 2:53AM

I have a feeling they are swamped and I think they lost a bunch of their graders ... as I have seen ads for PCGS wanting to hire graders

I can imagine that the work is exhausting and tedious.

coinsarefun · February 12, 2013 2:55AM

I cannot speak for PCGS but I would say between the FUN and Long Beach shows along with the
huge amount of show gradings and imaging there are bound to be a few loose ends.

I would say its best to call them. I have found a simple call has always fixed things up
right away.

PerryHall · February 12, 2013 2:55AM

WingedLiberty1957---Nice knowing you. You will be missed.

Edited to add that I'm glad you edited your thread title and openning post. I hate to lose anyone as a forum member.

Type2 · February 12, 2013 2:57AM

steveben · February 12, 2013 2:58AM

so many coins were submitted at the long beach show...i don't know how they do it.

djm · February 12, 2013 3:05AM

<< It was a 1959 Lincoln that is listed in their database as a 1953 Lincoln >>

Usually when this happens you wrote the wrong coin number on your submission form.

WingedLiberty1957 · February 12, 2013 3:06AM

Nope ... Not Guilty
However I did leave the PCGS Coin No. blank on my order form (the form says "if available" for that column)
Honestly I have never filled in that column
But I did list the correct date on my order form

This was actually an NGC crossover coin so the NGC slab showed the correct date, I had the correct date listed on the order form, and of course the coin itself has the date.
So there were 3 ways to get the correct date.

RYK · February 12, 2013 3:06AM

<< WingedLiberty1957---Nice knowing you. You will be missed. >>

There may be a more constructive and discreet way to get the message across.

LanceNewmanOCC · February 12, 2013 3:08AM

.
i have 3 certs that don't match the cert page lookup right now
.

Type2 · February 12, 2013 3:09AM

Red dot on box or Green dot

illini420 · February 12, 2013 3:10AM

I had a couple of orders at the PCGS show in Vegas a couple of weeks ago and all went very smoothly (paying for the show grading fee). Also dropped off a few orders at the Long Beach show this past weekend and I messed up on one of them, forgetting to request a dual holder on two coins. Seemingly that was fixed with a phone call and a quick email confirmation in less than 10 minutes. Even if there are a few more "mistakes" happening lately, I would only think of it as problematic if PCGS customer service would refuse to fix such "mistakes." And I don't see that happening.

WingedLiberty1957 · February 12, 2013 3:11AM

Hey at least I waited until the 3rd mistake to post something. And if others are having the same issue, it would be constructive for PCGS to hear about it and work on improving their checks in the cataloging procedure. In 2 months I have had 10% of my coins cataloged incorrectly, that's a high percentage. Especially given their perfect track record previous to Nov 2012. So something has changed. I dont know perhaps my 3 coins were the only mis-cataloged coins in the past 2 months. Maybe I was just lucky. Or maybe others have had similar problems?

Sounds like one member above has had similar issues, so it doesn't sound like I am alone.

Ultimately, all I want to see is whatever problem that is occurring get fixed ... and have PCGS go back to their gold level standard that I was finding previous to November 2012.

Make no mistake, I am rooting for PCGS to fix this issue.

RYK · February 12, 2013 3:24AM

I also have a "bad cert number" issue that I am trying to work through.

Broadstruck · February 12, 2013 3:25AM

coinsarefun · February 12, 2013 3:26AM

<<

>>

lmao

Lakesammman · February 12, 2013 6:27AM

I've had that problem regularly ATS but not with PCGS.

mr1931S · February 12, 2013 8:03AM

I have seen ads for PCGS wanting to hire graders

Interesting.I would think the grader job would be fun but one doesn't really know about how good a job is until they actually start doing it.

My resume:

My son wanted three coins,all GSA dollars,graded with the coins left in their original holders.He asked me what grades I thought the "other grading company" would give the coins.I nailed all three of those grades before the coins were submitted.Perfecto-MS62,MS63,MS64.

I have the unusual ability to grade Lincoln cents with 100% accuracy,in the dark,during a thunderstorm,by flash of lightning.Sometimes i need two flashes and will change my opinion about the grade but this doesn't happen very often.

When do i start?

Rampage · February 12, 2013 8:06AM

I've had errors like this before. Things happen. They will fix it for you. Just drop them in with your next submission and you will not have to pay shipping.

GeorgeKellogg · February 12, 2013 8:13AM

A cool thing about PCGS's online grading results is that one can review them before the coins are shipped back. If a "typo" has occurred on the cert label, it's easy to fix (before the coin is returned), by calling Customer Service.

northcoin · February 12, 2013 8:34AM

<< A cool thing about PCGS's online grading results is that one can review them before the coins are shipped back. If a "typo" has occurred on the cert label, it's easy to fix (before the coin is returned), by calling Customer Service. >>

This appears to be a most helpful response adding a remedy that might otherwise have been overlooked. I for one did not realize that there was a built in delay for returning the coins. Does PCGS send out an email notification advising of how long they are holding the coin once it has been graded?

robec · February 12, 2013 11:38AM

<< A cool thing about PCGS's online grading results is that one can review them before the coins are shipped back. If a "typo" has occurred on the cert label, it's easy to fix (before the coin is returned), by calling Customer Service. >>

Really?? I received and email tonight at 5:44 PM saying my grades are available.

I received a 2nd email at 5:45 saying my order has been shipped.

I didn't even have a full minute to review the results since both emails arrived at the same time.

BAJJERFAN · February 12, 2013 12:28PM

<< A cool thing about PCGS's online grading results is that one can review them before the coins are shipped back. If a "typo" has occurred on the cert label, it's easy to fix (before the coin is returned), by calling Customer Service. >>

Wishful thinking for the most part.

GeorgeKellogg · February 12, 2013 1:11PM

<< 

<< A cool thing about PCGS's online grading results is that one can review them before the coins are shipped back. If a "typo" has occurred on the cert label, it's easy to fix (before the coin is returned), by calling Customer Service. >>

Wishful thinking for the most part. >>

I was speaking from experience, as I have called to get an issue corrected before the coins were shipped back (after looking online at the grading entries). It may not work every time, but all that you're risking is a toll-free phone call.

GeorgeKellogg · February 12, 2013 1:31PM

<< 

<< A cool thing about PCGS's online grading results is that one can review them before the coins are shipped back. If a "typo" has occurred on the cert label, it's easy to fix (before the coin is returned), by calling Customer Service. >>

Really?? I received and email tonight at 5:44 PM saying my grades are available.

I received a 2nd email at 5:45 saying my order has been shipped.

I didn't even have a full minute to review the results since both emails arrived at the same time. >>

Anyone can go online to check their order's status at any time (i.e., don't wait for an e-mail
notification). There is enough time between your grades being entered into the computer database and the return shipment, if you are actively checking the status of the order. The coins have to be encapsulated after grading, reviewed after encapsulation, and then sent to the shipping department for packaging and shipment.

This isn't idle speculation on my part; I've actually gotten Customer Service to fix a problem before shipment.

DonWillis · February 12, 2013 1:51PM

If you give me the order numbers I will find out what happened and post the results here.

BAJJERFAN · February 12, 2013 2:54PM

<< 

<< 

<< A cool thing about PCGS's online grading results is that one can review them before the coins are shipped back. If a "typo" has occurred on the cert label, it's easy to fix (before the coin is returned), by calling Customer Service. >>

Wishful thinking for the most part. >>

I was speaking from experience, as I have called to get an issue corrected before the coins were shipped back (after looking online at the grading entries). It may not work every time, but all that you're risking is a toll-free phone call. >>

It would be better if it was more of a design feature than a serendipitous event. I could see making it a standard practice not to ship until at least 24 hours after grades are posted.

WingedLiberty1957 · February 12, 2013 10:36PM

<< If you give me the order numbers I will find out what happened and post the results here. >>

Thank you so much for taking such hands on interest D.W.

Here is the Cert Verif page of the coin in question.
It was part of Order #20661921 ...

I called the 800 number as someone suggested here ... and PCGS said they would put a hold on my order and fix it eventually.
This is the third mis-cataloged coin that I've had in the past 3 months.
This is the first date mis-cataloging though ... listed as 1953 even though it's a 1959.

Yesterday, I had someone show me 2 of their coins where the coins were placed in the wrong slabs on one particular order.
A 1943 coin was placed in a slab that read 1939
and the 1939 coin was placed in a slab that read 1943
They made the comment that if it were coins of the same date with different grades they might not have known.
But imagine if one were an MS67 and one was an MS64.
And someone then bought the MS64 coin in the MS67 slab (I know some will post this is why you should learn to grade)
So it sounds like these sort of errors might be more pervasive?

All the other mis-cataloged coins that I have had over the past few months had mistakes on the grades.
All were listed in the Cert Verification and Registry database as RD's even though their actual grade was either RB or BN.
All of these were fixed in about 7 to 10 days after emailing PCGS.
I recall that I had to photograph the slab and email PCGS with a photo of the slab on one of the coins.
Not sure what I would have done had the slab label also been typed up incorrectly though.

I know that an occasional mistake is to be expected, and I am fine with that. I imagine this type of work could make one bleary-eyed.
But after the 3rd mistake in 3 months, I thought perhaps the procedure should be reviewed.
Maybe more breaks are needed for the catalogers? Not such long hours? Higher pay? Longer vacations?

Thanks again for reviewing this ...
All of us here ... as loyal PCGS customers ... really appreciate your time and effort on this difficult task.

PCGS cataloging mistakes ...

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