PLEASE CHECK OUT THIS LETTER BY MARK ZAID, BEFORE WAS TO BE CONSIDERED AS A MEMBER OF THE CGC ADVISORY BOARD.
ANY DISCUSSION?
I have spent the better part of two hours carefully drafting this post, and even more time thinking it through. It is but just the first of several substantive commentaries that I will post regarding CGC and my perception of the company and the current climate. I had initially intended to first post a response to Steve Borock’s latest thread but that will require a greater amount of time that I simply do not yet have given my legal workload. I do intend to address Steve’s remarks at a later date.
I even thought about not posting these comments in light of the fact that I have offered my time to serve on the forthcoming CGC Advisory Board. Perhaps my critical comments, even if offered in a constructive manner with the complete intent of attempting to better CGC and its services (as most of you know, given my collection, I only lose out by a loss of confidence in CGC graded books), will result in my not being chosen for the board. But if I waited to post my comments until after I found out that I was not chosen it could be construed that my comments were nothing more than sour grapes. That I cannot have, nor will I stifle my opinions. I would hope that CGC would see a value in actually having someone on its board that is constructively critical of its policies and positions. Time will tell. I will have no regrets either way.
Its name is the “Comics Guaranty, LLC”, and it is otherwise fondly known as the “Comics Guaranty Corporation” or CGC. But what exactly does this name mean? What does CGC actually “guaranty”? We should probably first start out at what exactly is a “guaranty”.
Essentially, in layman’s terms, to provide a “guaranty” means to stand behind your work or services. Does CGC do that? The uniformed might think so. But from what I can tell the only guarantee that CGC provides is to advertise its promotional rhetoric. Why do I proclaim that? Let’s examine CGC’s statements and claims.
On its website, CGC describes itself in the “About CGC” section has having “a proven and respected commitment to integrity, accuracy, consistency and impartiality in grading collectibles” that has made it a leader in its field. Under “Grading Benefits”, it asserts that under its “Expert Restoration Check”:
Part of the CGC expert grading team's review of your comic book is to perform a thorough restoration check. When detected, restoration is specifically noted on the grading label, or visible through a different colored label. Notice the disclaimer, despite the assertion it is performing an “expert restoration check”, there is the caveat of “when detected”.
Why does CGC claim its product or services “Increase Confidence Among Buyers and Sellers”? It is surprisingly not because of its “expert restoration check.” Instead, it is solely due to its claim that it has created “a consistent grading standard and a tamper-evident protective holder”.
If you review CGC’s stated history of “Why we are here”, there are numerous conclusory and great-sounding descriptive accolades of how it maintains a “proven standard of integrity”, a “commitment to hobby enrichment”, a desire to build trust, expertise, consensus, advantages for the collector and interest in our hobby. Nowhere in the discussion above is there a mention of CGC’s restoration check or any “guaranty”. Finally, at the bottom of the page, CGC notes it is generally “committed to expert restoration detection.”
What does CGC proclaim about its restoration service? In the Q & A section of its site, it states:
Q. How will I know if a comic has had restoration?
A. CGC has the industry's top team of restoration detection experts, led by Chris Friesen, Steve Borock, Mark Haspel and Paul Litch. The restoration check is an integral part of the CGC expert grading team's review of your comic book, and unlike other professional services which charge up to $100 for this service, it is included at NO EXTRA CHARGE in the CGC tier price you choose. When detected, restoration is specifically noted on the grading label, and is visible through a different colored label. CGC will assign restored books an apparent grade, which includes a description of light, moderate, or heavy restoration. This way a buyer will always know what they are getting with a CGC graded comic that has been restored.
Of course, we all know that Friesen is no longer with CGC (which is not the only out-of-date employment reference) so at the very least we can agree that CGC does not attempt to maintain an up-to-date website, except – thankfully – for the census. CGC has a “top team of restoration detection experts”, and even without Friesen’s presence on a daily basis (as Steve B. noted in his post CGC may contract out work to Friesen), I have no problem accepting this statement as true based on what I know of these gentlemen. But there again is the disclaimer of “when detected”. Apparently, CGC does not have the faith in its “restoration detection experts” even though it would have its customers hold that belief. That last sentence above, therefore, leaves a lot to be desired given the disclaimer.
So, what does CGC “Guaranty”? Again, let’s refer to CGC’s Q & A section wherein they clarify:
Q. Does CGC offer a grading guarantee?
A. Due to the fragile nature of comic books, CGC does not offer a grading guarantee. However, CGC does offer the following guarantee: a) CGC guarantees one pre-grader and two senior graders will review every comic book submitted for grading. b) CGC guarantees its holder to be free of defects. Defective holders will be replaced at no charge, except when it is determined (at CGC's sole discretion) that the holder was subjected to deliberate or unintentional abuse, or if damage is the result of storage in a hazardous environment. c) CGC guarantees that all books it certifies are authentic as described on the CGC grading label.
Mostly, CGC guarantees its process. What does c) mean? Here is the crucial ambiguity. It suggests that if CGC certifies a book as unrestored when it really is restored it guarantees that determination. Does it? I wish it were so but I daresay it is not. I wish I were wrong but I highly doubt it.
What it presumably means is that if there is an error on the label, i.e., an ASM #275 mislabeled as an ASM #277, CGC will correct their error. Or, in the case of a restored book being labeled unrestored, CGC will merely change the label designation. It will not, for example, reimburse you for any monies lost as a result of you buying a restored book based on the alleged expert detection services rendered by CGC, which is what you might reasonably expect from a company that guarantees its services.
How can we tell further what c) means? Well, just look at the label where CGC conveniently offers a more elaborate and detailed explanation as to its position regarding its guaranty, or lack thereof. There it states that “Clerical error with respect to the description or grade of a comic book that would be readily noticed on inspection will be corrected at no charge.” This makes clear my premise above is correct. But CGC goes even further in its clarification.
A restoration check has been performed on this book. Detected restoration is noted on this label in general or specific terms….A good faith effort is made to detect restoration, but CGC does not warrant its process or the results.
Why CGC does not bother to be as clear on its policy on its website is a legitimate question for which I have no answer. It should explain. And without a doubt, it should place this policy on its website for easy access to its customers and potential customers.
But just to confuse everybody so that it would imply to its customers that CGC actually does stand behind its restoration skills, it then notes on the label that with the lone exception of a book having slight CT or glue and still receiving a blue universal label, all other blue universal labels have all “been examined for restoration and none was found.” Obviously this statement is not accurate in its own right because the preceding caveat makes it plainly clear that no such guaranty is being made.
What exactly is going on here? Why is the “Guaranty” in CGC when, in fact, it fails to guarantee anything of substantive value? I know something of guarantees. As an attorney I never provide one. I, like most attorneys, make it perfectly clear to my clients that I cannot guarantee a specific result, particularly because there are always too many unknowns, i.e., what facts will arise, who the judge or jury might be, etc. Doctors also decline to provide guarantees, for good reason.
Who provides guarantees? Usually companies that provide some type of non-judgmental expert service. Let’s look at Midas mufflers, for example. Their website notes that:
In fact, we guarantee* all our work. And, we're known for our lifetime-guaranteed brakes, mufflers and shocks and struts. Our lifetime guarantee is valid for as long as you own your car.
Now, there are some limitations but we can probably all agree that Midas is generally standing behind its work. Why? Presumably because it considers its services more of a science than an art, which is what I believe restoration detection is. Grading is an art. Restoration detection is not.
Regardless of whether everyone agrees with my last analogy, and I can accept that this may be a topic for debate and I do not want this to become the focus of our discussion, the fact is that CGC – for some reason – is not willing to stand behind what is likely its most valuable commodity – its restoration detection service. Any company can grade a comic book. Not everyone can detect restoration.
Does that mean that mistakes cannot occur? Of course not. No company is perfect. A mistaken identification of a restored book as unrestored may occur, or someone may purposefully attempt to circumvent CGC’s restoration detection services and knowingly submit restored books. We know both situations have occurred with CGC. So what? Presumably these occasions are few and far in between. That is what we are continually told by CGC.
Steve Borock wrote in his latest Ewert missive on this very topic that:
As to CGC’s restoration detection ability; I know that we are the best team in the hobby, bar none. This is not a statement I make lightly but, it is a fact that I am very proud of. We probably have found more hard to detect restoration on books in the last 5 years then the people and experts in our hobby have found in the last thirty years. How many of you have bought comics before CGC opened that you believed to be unrestored, that came back from us in a purple restored label? Some of you remember what it was like before CGC and the internet. Honest collectors and dealers alike were unknowingly buying and selling restored books. Dishonest collectors and dealers were making money hand over fist. Undeclared restored books were being bought even from Sotheby’s and Christie’s auction house. Just ask Jerry Weist how many books now come back from CGC restored that were “inspected” and given a “clean bill of health” before the auctions. We are not perfect, we are human, and once in awhile something is going to get past us. Even with that, we are the best and safest insurance policy this hobby has ever seen. The graders are a group of hobbyists working very hard to make our hobby better for the reader, collector, seller, and investor. The trimming that was missed was near impossible to tell without a scan and as I have said before, if it was done seven years ago, no one would ever have caught it.
No matter how good we get, someone will always try new ways to get things past us, that’s what dishonest people do. But like a friend told me, “When you build your first mouse trap, someone is going to try and eventually figure out how to get past that trap, so you need to build a better trap.” That is what we are going to do. With the help of some people we know, it looks as if we are going to have a special scanning process that will allow us to match up comics to a scan within seconds. This will be costly and hurt our re-submissions, but it will protect the buyer and seller and help CGC “build a better mousetrap”.
Well then, if the mistaken identifications or deliberate circumvention of CGC’s expert restoration detection system are so infrequent, then why won’t CGC actually provide a genuine guarantee? Why do comic book dealers, who have nothing to do with CGC’s business, feel compelled to provide such a guarantee instead (see my other new thread on this very topic)? Frankly, I view these independent third-party guarantees not as a demonstration of dealer support of the trustworthiness of CGC’s services but as a recognition, or better yet an indication, of CGC’s failure to fulfil the expectations that it promotes and what our community deserves.
Based on the above I can only conclude that CGC is attempting to deliberately mislead its customers by inferring it stands behind its substantive services when it actually declines to do so. In fact, it openly encourages the misleading notion that we, the consumer, should have nothing more than faith in its services yet believe a guaranty exists. I find this discouraging to say the least, and I personally find it unacceptable.
The Comics Guaranty Corporation does not really exist. Certainly not in the manner in which it pretends to persuade us it does. Unless CGC is willing to stand behind some of its services, most notably its restoration detection, it should not use the word “Guaranty” in its name. When it really comes down to it, CGC is nothing more than the “Comics Grading Corporation” and that is how it should be identified and treated.
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Mark S. Zaid, Esq.
http://www.esquirecomics.com
