Is ICG really as bad as many people say?

Both of who???

 

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I make no claim to be any authority on casinos in Las Vegas, I'm not much of a gambler but I've been to Vegas and I didn't observe any Days Inn casino, nor McDonalds on the strip - so to my limited knowledge your comment didn't sound like you were familiar with the strip in Vegas - if you wanted to say that ICG was like a cheap casino it might have been clearer if you said it like Circus Circus or the Luxor.

 

Hah! Kentucky, I stand at least partially corrected - there is a McDonalds on the Strip - and a Best Western no less How funny! I somehow missed that establishment.

 

I was using a hyperbolic hypothetical casino to make a point, but no worries, people who would choose a casino with a Days Inn, McDonalds, and free parking would choose ICG for the same exact reason.

 

But it is on the strip and not downtown!

 

Ah, well I missed your point, my apologies. We had a suite at the Venetian which was very nice, and I think ICG is on par with the other 3 big TPGS, except for resale purposes. Obviously given the PCGS bias that the dealers and resellers have, the bargains, if any, are more likely to be found in ICG and ANACS slabs. As they say, buy the coin, not the name / grade on the slab.

 

Just curious, why do you say it is amazing ?

 

1) it is free
2) it has photograde
3) it has their price guide (which I find the most accurate)
4) it has the facts for every coin
5) nearly every single coin year/mm has a paragraph or so write up
6) it’s well thought out and easy to use

 

But hey, if you use ICG, you can talk to Skip on the phone.

 

Lehigh96, posted: "Perhaps they learned a lesson from the casinos. Every casino has the same slot machines and table games, the customers choose their casino based on the big beautiful hotel, restaurants, and player card perks. In the spirit of the casino analogy, ICG is a Days Inn, a McDonalds, and free parking!

You forgot the heated pool, free Internet and breakfast.

Lehigh96, posted: "So you are saying that ICG is content to be a small grading company [ EXACTLY WHAT I WROTE PREVIOUSLY!] with a questionable reputation? [Not by our customers. By the uninformed or dealers with a stake in PCGS or NGC. There is a big difference between a reputation and selling price of a slab]? I find that hard to believe and I think they want nothing more than to increase their market share of the coin grading market. [ did you forget what I wrote before? We are expanding the bottom line and number of customers each year. We just bought a stand-alone building! ]

"Skip told us that he was put in charge of the coin chat rooms, but he got himself banned from CU, and he posts things like post #255 in this thread. If anyone at ICG was watching, he would probably no longer be charged with monitoring the coin forums."

I was banned from CU for trying to educate the uninformed about more important subjects unrelated to coins. I BROKE THEIR RULES and the "snow-white plastic badge thought police progressives" couldn't take someone questioning their beliefs. CU is to be complimented for giving me a very long rope before it was
cut.

MIGuy, posted: "Does PCGS pay by the word or the negative post? Asking for a friend...

We are lucky to be able to share more opinions about all the TPGS here.

baseball21, asked: "For what?"

Why would you assume he was referring to you?

Lehigh96, posted: "But hey, if you use ICG, you can talk to Skip on the phone."

Very true. If I were to tell you what I charge coin dealers' for a one-on-one class on various subjects, you would understand the value of a conversation with ANY TPGS employee.
I urge every collector to send a few coins into ANY TPGS so they can see what they have been buying.

 

Theres a direct correlation between the two especially when talking about differences of the same coin in different slabs. Coins don't sell for more (possibly significantly) or less because the reputation of every company is the same

Oh I dunno maybe because that wasn't the first time

 

I was the one disputing that ICG is content where they are, so thank you for proving my point. That said, expanding revenue is not the same as increasing market share, as previously discussed.

I don't really care why you got banned, my point is that if you were acting as an ICG representative who was supposed to "monitor the chat rooms", then getting banned for any reason is an abject failure of your assigned duty.

Sorry Skip, I will take the absolute mountain of information available anytime I want from PCGS Coinfacts over a 1 time conversation with a TPG grader.

Furthermore, I submit coins to both NGC and PCGS, over 100 this year I think. My goal is to be able to predict how they are going to grade my coins so I know which coins to submit in order to make a profit.

 

Skip can use a phone?? I was just drafting a telegram...

It’s probably not a “smart” phone. Maybe one of those rotary dial land lines?

 

The one I use in my kitchen is made of wood and has a crank. I use a flip-flop disposable phone for personal use. It is not smart.

 

False

You see what I did there.

 

Y'all sure do take the TPS debate seriously

 

Your perspective makes a lot more sense to me in the context that you are only submitting high end coins to make a profit - that's entirely fair (and good for you!) given that the market currently maximizes PCGS highly graded coins prices, but for regular collectors like me, it's really great to have accessible, accurate and affordable grading & authentication services like ICG. What kinds of coins do you submit to NGC?

 

Exactly.

 

This is basically the point I have been trying to make. Both companies have a place.