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GG Update – 02/12/2021
New Process / Procedure / Pressure
GradedGem is very aware of submitters wanting their cards back before Christmas, therefore we have decided to change our returns process.
On the previous procedure we would grab an order, process the order, and do all the work to get them dispatched etc as priority as these submitters have had their email, this would lead to a 1-2 day dispatch time, but leave many others without emails.
Instead the next two weekends I will be sending out a huge amount of emails as priority and not allocating the payments, booking the shipments immediately instead having a target of 5 working days to dispatch.
This will frankly mean we will get more of submitter cards out, but submitters will wait longer for dispatch, this will create more pressure on us but will mean more parcels leave the door during the week.
Pressure here is already huge, we are getting monumental amount of contact re your returns and understandably so, it’s been a long wait, but I started answering calls Monday morning and processed a minimal amount of packages whilst the lines were open and literally every call was ‘where is my submission, when is my dispatch’.
Frankly this just limits how many packages leave our offices, I’m already working 6 days a week with a minimum of 10 hours a day and the rest of the team are really putting in a shift to get cards out the door.
There is no need to increase the pressure here, no need to contact ‘just to check’, this might sound rude but it’s not the one off call/ email, it’s almost all of them, this in turn makes the situation worse.
We have also hired someone for 3 days a week, please understand it’s hard to currently find team members generally right now, and even harder people to trust, GradedGem is also a dissolving business and it’s hard to hire considering there is no future of the company.
Christmas closure
Unfortunately some submitters will not get their cards back by Christmas, we are not shipping any packages from the 17th December till the 5th January, this is to minimize risk of goods in transit.
If you haven’t received your returns email by Monday the 13th December this means you won’t receive your package until January when the returns process will be back open again. I know this will be disappointing for some but the stringent process and safety of the cards is paramount.
Amount of Returns
We are returning more submissions per day than ever before and the team is working in the most efficient and effective way to get your submissions back to you.
However this does mean currently it has been taking up to approx 3-4 weeks from when they arrive back with us to be processed and then dispatched.
Just to help contemplate what the process is the following steps are required to get your graded cards back to you;
1. FedEx Return box received from PSA
2. Orders logged in, checked & separated into individual submitters
3. Value Charges (if applied) assigned to submitters
4. Cards carefully packed up
5. Individual communication sent out to each submitter via returns@ with all final details outlined, correct postal address also requested.
6. Orders logged/account balances confirmed, any outstanding payments allocated then completed.
7. Postage arranged & package then dispatched to the submitter
I can confirm we date all packages returned to our office, we are working from the date received as this is the fairest way of doing so. GG has also taken on additional temporary staff for this period to help get returns back as quickly as possible.
Progress at PSA
We do not determine PSAs methodology in the preference of returning cards, the reason we use % on the big picture updater is due to the sheer scale and amount of submissions we have processed. For instance June #1 Standard consists of 12 orders, November Standard consists of 150 orders. A reminder that the PSA complete through dates do not relate to cards/specials sent in via dealers. Your email updates provide the latest info on what step your submission is at and the status will only change once the submission moves along.
PSA Steps/Stages
It’s very difficult for us to determine how long your orders will be in Research & ID/ Grading etc, however from Assembly it should typically be returned within approx. 4 weeks to us. You can use the Big Picture Updater on our homepage as a tool to estimate where your cards/order is in the queue.
Releasing Grades
To note we’re currently not releasing grades due to time this would consume, I think we would all prefer to dispatch orders than fulfil hundreds of requests to send a sheet of grades out in advance.
Payments/Accounts
Invoices are not created by us, payments can be made on our site still and please do not panic if you have not paid and your returns are coming back. These final instructions will be sent to you via returns@gradedgem.com
Phone Line
Due to having a lot of returns to process and this being our main priority I have decided to minimise the hours the phone is open to 10am-1pm weekdays only, once we have caught up with the backlog I will return it to normal hours. Otherwise you can always contact victoria@gradedgem.com or updates@gradedgem.com
Important to note this week I’ve not been manning the phones due to the Monday experience, just tried getting cards out the door as quickly as possible.
Thank you for your support at this time and enjoy your returns.
Connor
