Anyone use pcgs express grading? If so, what has been your experience with turnaround time? I sent in three coins that were signed for on Monday, 8/26 in a box clearly marked "EXPRESS" on all sides. Two days later they hadn't show up as received on the website, so I called and was told they were sitting in the vault. A short time later they were marked at received on 8/28 (the day I called). No grades showed up until Friday, 9/6, and they still haven't shipped yet from pcgs. Not counting the day they were signed for by pcgs, Tomorrow, September 9th, will be the 9th business day pcgs has had my coins. I am usually patient, but not when the pcgs website shows a standard turnaround time of 5 days, and current estimated turnaround time of 3 days for their "express" services. Just wondering if this is par for the course with them, or a mistake?
They don't count Labor Day as a business day, so tomorrow would be the eighth full or partial business day since they were recorded as in-house. Regardless, all these times are estimates that can and do wildly change.
Par for the course with them; NGC is like clockwork. I overnighted some coins to them on Thursday they got logged into their system the next day and will likely be graded within two weeks as early birds. My experience is that express at PCGS equals early bird at NGC, no real advantage unless you have coins that need to be in PCGS holders.
So why the hurry already? If I had the deep pockets that you guys seem to process I'd be a lot more tolerant..........
Express grading has been hit and miss for me. Sometimes the turn-around is 3 days, and sometimes it's 10+ days, but more often it's somewhere in the middle. I know they do make those shipments the priority, since you are paying extra, but I never expect my coins to return by their estimation date. This is why I rarely opt for Express grading. I only use it for coins that I'm already going to turn a hefty profit on and have an impatient buyer already lined up.
You marked the BOX express. Did you mark the invoice service level as express and pay for the express service?
150 $ dollars - thats what it cost , 5-6 bussines days sometimes faster , dipence whether its world or USA coin
I send them express service sometimes. Usually between the time they arrive and the time they notify me of the grades is 5 business days. The longest it has taken has been 9 days between getting logged into their system and getting graded. I caxlled that time and they told me there were delays in the receiving, grading, and shipping departments. (It was after a major show). Basically, though, when you sign that form to submit coins you're agreeing that the times are all estimated and there are no guarantees.
Next to knowledge, patience is probably the most valuable thing you can ever learn in this hobby. It can literally save you a whole lot of money, and do so in more than one way
My experiences indicate that the turn-around time at the TPG's can vary from what is posted on their websites. The reason very often is the proximity in time to major shows and auctions. Dealers ramping up for an upcoming show. Buyers submitting recent show purchases. That sort of thing. I don't follow the show and auction schedules but I know Whitman will be having their Philly show soon.
But I suspect they will be accepting submissions and shipping them out to Sarasota for one-day turn-around. Expensive but many dealers will foot the charge to get top-of-the-line material into their showcases.
The overnight shipping adds another leg to the walkthrough turn-arounds. So two extra days right off the bat before the graders even look and grade the coins. NGC has around 30 graders, when shows warrant it they will have one team of three graders, etc.. Plus you have the encapsulation team, etc.. This should be a good ANA show for those who did not want to go to Chicago. Phil at Brookfield Coin told me he will be going.
Yes guys, I did pay for express service and have the appropriate invoicing material, on top of marking the box. Edit: Not a huge deal just trying to decide if I will ever use the express feature again or stick to standard.
I only use express when I know I have an eager buyer for the coin and I'm confident it'll grade. That being said, it has backfired before. Usually I send in regular service which is $32. I believe the maximum value for a coin can be $300 for economy service, which is why I've only used that service level once before.
In my experience "patience" is often over-rated and mistaught as a virtue. There is reasonable waiting and unreasonable. With PCGS grading over 30K coins a month, they are no doubt backlogged from time to time. Why don't the posted grading times get updated every night at all the services?? The technology exists to have all the trains running on time so to speak, and customers are not paying for neurosurgery, companies don't have Einsteins working in their departments to make this happen. In my experience NGC is just as good in 95% of the grading.
Actually I think they grade about 100,000 coins a month, NGC does closer 150,000. But the lion's share of those are all moderns. 'Course that doesn't matter, it still ties up the graders. But none of that has anything to do with the patience I am talking about. When I say that patience is valuable what I am talking about is waiting until you find an exceptional coin instead of buying on of the first 5 or 10, or even 50, you see. And that applies across the board in all grades. Way too many people make the mistake of buying, or trying to buy, the first example they run across of a coin they want. In today's world people have this instant gratification thing, anything they want they absolutely have right now. And to satisfy that need or desire they buy a coin that is low for grade, over-graded, or they pay too much because they are in a hurry. They don't understand what it is or even what it means to be discriminating, to take your time and look around, wait for the right coin to come along at the right price. That's the patience I am talking about. Of course instant gratification applies to everything these days it seems, including wanting your coins graded - right now ! They aren't going anyplace, you'll get your grades and your coins back. And it won't matter or change anything if it's in 2 days or 2 months. I mean what are going to do anyway - put them in a box and stick them in the safe for the 5 or 10 years ? And maybe look at them now and then ? Now if you're a dealer and you're trying to satisfy a customer suffering from this instant gratification syndrome - OK, that I can see. But anything else, relax for God's sake. They'll come when they come. Spend your time looking for the next nice coin, and forget about being in a hurry. You'll be a whole lot happier in the end, and save money to boot
Interesting statistics, GDJMSP, you are always thought provoking and brilliant. Here is the PCGS statistics page: http://www.pcgs.com/statistics/ It looks like they are getting more than they were in summer. Numismatics is my only source of income, I don't get a plug nickel anywhere else so turn around times are kind of important. Last time around I paid the express fee at PCGS and turnaround was about two weeks of calendar days, and they made excuses that the first day invoices log in are not really the first day, etc.. So they were asking for unreasonable patience. Of course all this can be forgiven if submitters are getting $$$ as a result of good grades with them, but frankly the technology and manpower exists to get everything done right and on time, with some exceptions.
