Quote:
Originally Posted by ClementeFanOh
To nineunder71- It is very dangerous to suggest that SGC is returning cards
quickly merely because demand "may" be light. Not sure if you've ever been
to a Chick Fil A drive thru. TONS of customers, but they are met by a well
organized work force that knows it's stuff and gets the food to you fast. Now
imagine a McDonald's drive thru with a ton of customers. You can actually
grow a beard waiting in the same line. The reason? Less organization, less
happy employees, more foot dragging. SGC isn't perfect, but they provide
what so many of us lament as lacking from PSA- a great product, FAST.
(And no, I don't own a Chick Fil A or work for SGC 
Trent King |
Trent, the only one missing any points in this thread is you.
No one said or implied that SGC wasn't quick and doing a great job in turning around submissions. The implication was that SGC, as well as with PSA and other TPGs, turnaround times recently all seem to be getting better and faster, is an indication that the backlogs and new submissions are not at the levels they were not too long ago. No one said anything detrimental about SGC's work or business, which you used the ridiculous McDonalds/Chick-Fil-A drive thru time comparison to attack with. A grader at any of the TPGs is going to take a set, average amount of time, to grade a single card. And I would expect that that average grading time per card does not vary much, if any at all, between their best and worst graders. So unless a TPG has suddenly hired/added a lot of new graders, they are predictably going to be able to turn around and grade so many cards, per day, on average. So if they go from taking about three weeks (21 days) to grade and turn around someone's card submissions to now turning them around in say just 9 days, that invariably indicates that they have significantly reduced the backlog of cards they have to grade. And the only real way to significantly do that, again without having hired/added lots of new graders, is if the new submissions are coming in at a lesser number than the graded cards going out on a daily basis. That is just simple math! Now there could be other reasons that have a partial or temporary effect on these backlogs and how quickly cards are turned around, but arguably not like we're consistently seeing among all the TPGs turnaround times recently.
Regarding the Chick-Fil-A versus McDonalds comparison, could some of that drive-thru time difference also be a function of the different menus and number of items on them, as well as the inside, sit-down business they each may or may not have as well? And as for less happy employees and such, McDonalds primarily sells beef products, whereas Chick-Fil-A primarily sells you-know-what. It is also seems that poultry prices and supply haven't taken as big of a rise/hit as beef prices and supply appear to have lately. And as a result, McDonalds may in trying to maintain menu pricing without doubling the cost of Big Macs, not be able to simply increase employee wages to where more, and supposedly better, employees would sign on. Though they are both fast food businesses, they are not necessarily similar businesses in that their main products are totally different. And okay, so it takes a couple minutes more in McDonald's drive thru sometimes. Can you do a better and faster job of cooking the same burgers and fries at home as you can by going to McDonalds to get them? Assuming not, then McDonalds is still fulfilling their commitment to getting customers fast food at a somewhat reasonable price. Now if you were to compare McDonalds to say Burger King or Wendy's drive thru times, that makes a lot more sense. What you're doing seems to me more akin to comparing a pizza parlor to a gyro place, as far as order/preparation times and comparisons go.
I don't get what your beef (pun intended) is with the one poster who merely suggested that faster turnaround times are possibly an indicator that the submissions coming in are slowing down. That poster never said or implied that his comment was directed solely at SGC, but you sure seem to have taken it that way. His comment was also not attacking SGC, nor suggesting SGC was doing anything wrong, or even naming them. Before attacking him, did you even think to possibly ask him first if he was talking solely about SGC, or maybe about all TPGs in general? No you didn't, did you? And then others followed and posted how the dropping turnaround times are across all the TPGs, and that may indicate an overall drop in submissions for the entire TPG industry, not just SGC. And as also mentioned by other posters, that could then potentially spell some issues for all TPGs who hired/added a lot of new graders during the pandemic to deal with the backlogs and submission surges. Your defense of SGC against nineunder71 was merely that, and I quote, "SGC isn't perfect, but they provide what so many of us lament as lacking from PSA- a great product, FAST." No one said otherwise or disputed that.
But the fact that a lot more collectors/investors seem to want to send their cards to be graded by PSA because they tend to bring higher prices than any other TPG graded cards, and that PSA has recently started to lower their submission fees and expand submissions they accept, might that not also be a contributing factor as to why SGC could be suddenly experiencing fewer submissions, and therefore faster turnaround times as well? In addition, you apparently didn't even think of or mention the fact that there is a new qualified TPG out there, CSG, that is now competing against SGC, PSA, and BVG, and most likely taking away business from all of them as well. And of course, there is the economy itself, and the inflation we're in the midst of, that is also likely having an overall negative effect on the hobby, which will of course naturally extend to the grading of cards and their submission as well. If people start thinking that card prices may be going down in the near future due to the economy, doesn't it make sense that submissions will likely go down, at least for a period of time, as well?
Use some common sense and logic. Aside from hiring/adding many new graders, the only way SGC (or any other of the TPGs for that matter) could suddenly cut their backlog and dramatically improve their turnaround times other than by decreased submissions, wouldn't be due to sudden increases in efficiency. It would most likely be due to them telling graders to start cutting corners and not be completely thorough in the examination and grading of cards, so they can turn even more of them around faster and faster. Face it, there is going to be some minimal amount of time and effort to properly examine, grade, and encapsulate a graded card. And all these TPGs (with the exception of CSG) have been in the grading business for decades now. Do you really think that any of them have not already fine-tuned their grading processes and efficiencies so as to have each grader be able to turn out as many graded cards as they can each day, and thus maximize each company's potential for profits? I'd love to hear what sudden upgrade or changes to their procedures and operating efficiencies you're aware of that SGC has recently put into place that would otherwise explain the increased speed in their turnaround times.
If you can actually come back with ANY factual, logical or senseful arguments(s) to the contrary of what I or others have posted (because you sure haven't so far to anyone), I'm all ears. Actually convince me you're possibly at least partially right about something, and have some valid reasoning and arguments, not just the usual "Well I'm right and you're wrong!" crap I seem to most often get from a lot of others on this forum. Otherwise, you owe nineunder71 and Chase (Lorewalker) apologies!!!!!
(And for the record, I have no interest or anything to do with PSA, SGC, BVG, or CSG, and I sure as hell have nothing to do with McDonalds, Chick-Fil-A, or any other fast food place for that matter!)