I was a little surprised that this hasn't been posted yet. Nonetheless, this was the email that got sent out to all the Collector's Club members recently: BULK SUBMISSIONS Effective July 1, 2008, only PCGS Authorized Dealers may submit coins under the Bulk Submissions program. Collectors Club members who wish to submit coins under the Bulk Submissions program must either become a PCGS Authorized Dealer or submit coins through a PCGS Authorized Dealer. SPECIAL INSERTS Effective July 1, 2008, special inserts (First Strike, 50 States Flags, Signature Series, Satin Finish, etc.) will be available only through the Bulk Submissions program and will not be available under any other service level. These changes are being made to speed up and streamline processing and turnaround times at PCGS. Any bulk submissions received by PCGS or postmarked before July 1 will be processed under the old Bulk Submission program rules. Does this mean that members can't submit ANY coins for grading?
no, from what I understand members can only send small amounts of coins and no longer large quantities
Chuckle, pretty soon the only folks offering PCGS slabs will be "Approved PCGS Dealers and Resellers." Also, look for an upcoming legal precedent to be established where PCGS slabs can ONLY be sold by these (PCGS Approved) individuals/entities as well. No more use of the letters (P, C, G, or S or any combination of three or more) in the descriptions of independent unaffiliated internet sales sites such as Ebay, Yahoo, etc. One must realize PCGS owns the name, letters, and anything which sounds like it. Just look at Ebay, Coinbay, Coinday, etc... PCGS will also endeavor to copyright any and all keywords commonly used in numismatic auction or sale descriptions. One will learn by the point of a pen, subpoena, and a three piece suit that, while you may own a PCGS labeled item but you can only sell it to a prior approved PCGS entity or crack it out -- And Good Luck With That... (Whew, what a wild day-dream...)
Slabs? I gave in, I admit defeat, I have been beaten down by the "Man" lol. I submitted a 2x2 short box full of Lincolns at PCGS and NGC at the LB show. Now I said short BOX, not short BUS, I would have accused you of riding the short bus for blindly giving both your coins AND your money to a slab company or TPG, but hey.....if you cant beat them, join them.
No, it means they can submit any coin they like, but they can't get a special insert or the discounted fee with the bulk submissions. No big deal for 99% of the members.
Well that makes sense, and I hope you're right. I think the PCGS public relations department needs to brush up on their writing skills, because that press release isn't 100% clear and can be taken in a number of different ways. On the plus side, It'll be good to at least get all this "first strike" nonesense behind us.
