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No QC and bad customer service spells disaster for CBCS10125

Collector Musicmansell78 private msg quote post Address this user
I have been a big supporter of CBCS, and preferred to have my books graded and slabbed by a company that could authenticate signatures. After my recent struggles with their quality, lack of expertise, and terrible customer service, I am sad to say I do not trust this company anymore, and neither should you. This is not an isolated incident, but the last in many failed attempts to provide the service I paid for. To date I have had 2 books with legitimate Stan Lee signatures on them that came back unverified, meaning they are not experts at verifying signatures on anything of Stan's after 2007. Because they can not authenticate his signature in the later years, they should not be offering the service as if they are experts when clearly they are not. Further proof is shown when I receive back a book that had previously been graded, and I resubmitted it only to receive a grade that was 2.5 points different. This tells me their grading is nothing more than subjective and does not follow any standardized procedure. So a guy has a bad day, and you get a bad grade? I have seen where they are trying to authenticate the wrong name on one of my books, and I had to call them to correct the error and make sure they verified the correct name. You guys are supposed to be the experts so I shouldn't have to tell you what signature is what. And finally, the straw that has broken the camels back. I got a Beautiful book signed by 6 cast members at a show, and witnessed by CBCS, only to have them misspell 2 of the names on the label. I had it and finally called CBCS to ask why I should spend thousands of dollars with a company that has shown me they are not capable of providing the service they say they offer? I am told a manager will get back to me and handle this personally. I speak with Addy in CS and he assures me he will personally correct these mistakes and get the book back out to me asap. Book just arrived today, and one of the names is still misspelled. So to summarize, CBCS is incapable of verifying Stan Lee signatures and should not be offering the service, they are not experts in signature verification or even knowing what signature belongs to a person, Their grading is subjective at best, they have terrible customer service that offers no answers other than, "We will solve the issue," which they have proven themselves incapable of doing. Save your money, these guys are no experts.
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Collector X51 private msg quote post Address this user
Sounds like you've made your decision.
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Collector GanaSoth private msg quote post Address this user
Can you provide the forum with pics/proofs? I hear what you're saying, and I totally understand your frustration, but to be honest, how do we know that you just aren't some guy (CGC fanboy) that just wants to badmouth CBCS? We don't know for sure without the proof of these incidents.

Please don't take this as a negative comment against you and/or your character. I do not mean any disrespect what so ever, but you can see what I'm saying and where I'm coming from right?
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Collector BrianGreensnips private msg quote post Address this user
@Musicmansell78 Didn't you already complain about all this a month or two ago. I think you had posted some pictures of these books too.
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Collector Hcanes private msg quote post Address this user
Glad I never had an issue customer service could not solve on the dozen or so submissions I have had to date.
Post 5 IP   flag post
If I could, I would. I swear. DrWatson private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrianGreensnips
@Musicmansell78 Didn't you already complain about all this a month or two ago. I think you had posted some pictures of these books too.

Yes.
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Collector Musicmansell78 private msg quote post Address this user
GanaSoth, no offense taken, I get it. Here is one of the "unverified" Stan Lee books, and here is my copy of Transformers #1 I had witnessed and personally signed by 6 of the cast members only to have CBCS misspell 2 of their names.
I call to complain and have it fixed, and a manager, Addy, assures me he will handle it personally.
I get the book back today and one of the names we specifically talked about is still misspelled. I am not a CGC fan boy, just a long time collector who wanted to pay to have some security and legitimacy added to his prized books, and feeling instead like these guys are a big fat scam.

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Collector Black_Katze private msg quote post Address this user




Spelt his first name wrong on mine too!
Post 8 IP   flag post
Collector Darryl_H private msg quote post Address this user
If we cannot verify a signature we will not pass it! This doesn’t mean it is a fake just that there was a reason we could not verify it 100%.

We verify Stan Lee Signatures daily, but also have to reject them daily as well.

As for the other issues, If your book or books have a label error, please contact customer service at customerservice@cbcscomics.com and set up to send it back for us for correction so we can make it right.
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Collector Darryl_H private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by Black_Katze




Spelt his first name wrong on mine too!


Was this corrected?
Post 10 IP   flag post
Collector Hcanes private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by Black_Katze




Spelt his first name wrong on mine too!


Awesome Sketch you have there.
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Collector Musicmansell78 private msg quote post Address this user
@BrianGreensnips Didn't you already complain about all this a month or two ago. I think you had posted some pictures of these books too.

Nope, I have not complained about this at all. First time. I did answer someone elses complaint about them not verifying Stan Lee signatures and told them the same thing happened to me. But, I have not posted a complaint myself until this one.

@DrWatson - No. You do not know what you are talking about, or must have me confused with someone else complaining about the same issue, which actually would support the argument that CBCS does this.
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It was a one trick pony show but always hilarious. GAC private msg quote post Address this user
I've had dozens of submissions completed without issue...I've got 3 in right now and one is a Joe Simon vsp...I dont forsee any issues as well. If the joe simon comes back as a failed vsp...they are not saying it's a fake signature, they just can not conclusively say it's real. Those are 2 very different things.
Post 13 IP   flag post
Collector Musicmansell78 private msg quote post Address this user
@Darryl_H What's up man? Thank you again for walking around and verifying all these books with me at the Ontario Comic Con. Too bad I am having to deal with all this afterwards. I even told CS over the phone that you two at the show were the only bright light in this whole operation.

To answer your question, I already contacted CS and was assured by Addy, who is supposedly a manager, that this would be handled personally by him, only to get the book back today and one of the specific names we discussed is still misspelled.
As far as signature verification goes, if you can not verify a signature that is 100% legit, then I'm sorry, you should not offer the service. It looks worse when you guys claim something is fake that we know is legitimate. It looks like CBCS doesn't know what they are talking about, when wrong names are being looked up, names are misspelled, and it is all on the customer to have to correct it.
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Collector Black_Katze private msg quote post Address this user



It’s from my collection, I’m not really concerned about the misspelling. It wasn’t my intent to pour gasoline on the fire just making a point, mistakes happen.
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Collector GanaSoth private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by Black_Katze




Is that an earring on Capt? If so and it was my comic, I'd have had him erase that... that's like a soldier out of uniform... a disgrace....
Post 16 IP   flag post
Collector Musicmansell78 private msg quote post Address this user
@Black_Katze I agree, and it is why I have not said anything up to this point. When I have spoken to customer service specifically about the error and paid to have it corrected, and they still mess up? Sorry, but I am calling it what it is. Bad business.
Post 17 IP   flag post
I'd like to say I still turned out alright, but that would be a lie. flanders private msg quote post Address this user
@GanaSoth looks more than an infinity stone.
Post 18 IP   flag post
Collector GanaSoth private msg quote post Address this user
@Musicmansell78 thanks for posting your proofs.
Post 19 IP   flag post
Collector Darryl_H private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by Musicmansell78
@Darryl_H What's up man? Thank you again for walking around and verifying all these books with me at the Ontario Comic Con. Too bad I am having to deal with all this afterwards. I even told CS over the phone that you two at the show were the only bright light in this whole operation.

To answer your question, I already contacted CS and was assured by Addy, who is supposedly a manager, that this would be handled personally by him, only to get the book back today and one of the specific names we discussed is still misspelled.
As far as signature verification goes, if you can not verify a signature that is 100% legit, then I'm sorry, you should not offer the service. It looks worse when you guys claim something is fake that we know is legitimate. It looks like CBCS doesn't know what they are talking about, when wrong names are being looked up, names are misspelled, and it is all on the customer to have to correct it.



The pleasure was all mine and hopefully I will see you at the show next year.

I am going to send you a pm so we can get this corrected and apologize for your issues.
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Collector Darryl_H private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by Black_Katze



It’s from my collection, I’m not really concerned about the misspelling. It wasn’t my intent to pour gasoline on the fire just making a point, mistakes happen.


No gasoline here at all, just checking in and making sure you are good my friend :-)
Post 21 IP   flag post
Collector Musicmansell78 private msg quote post Address this user
@GanaSoth No worries. I don't want people thinking I am just a pissed off fan boy of CGC. Not the case at all. Just a guy who spent a lot of money to secure some of his childhood valuables, and did not receive the service I paid for. And, after everything that has happened since, I can not in good faith recommend or even support CBCS's business practices if this is how they choose to continue to handle things with their customers when the company has made an error. Felt others should know about it, so they have a heads up.
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Collector Black_Katze private msg quote post Address this user
@Darryl_H
I’m good thanks
Post 23 IP   flag post
COLLECTOR dielinfinite private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by Musicmansell78
It looks worse when you guys claim something is fake that we know is legitimate.


CBCS doesn’t claim anything is fake, only that THEY couldn’t verify it independently.
Post 24 IP   flag post
Collector Musicmansell78 private msg quote post Address this user
@dielinfinite fair enough. But the point is, if you are supposed to be able to verify signatures, and you can not verify a 100% legit signature, what does that say about a company's abilities? Would you still feel they are experts at verification when they can not verify a legit signature?
Post 25 IP   flag post
I'll probably wake up constipated. Pre_Coder private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by Musicmansell78
@dielinfinite fair enough. But the point is, if you are supposed to be able to verify signatures, and you can not verify a 100% legit signature, what does that say about a company's abilities? Would you still feel they are experts at verification when they can not verify a legit signature?


Our very own signatures are never identical,.. there is always a fingerprint difference. And it is my understanding that Stan (in his later years) needed guidance in signing his own name.
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COLLECTOR dielinfinite private msg quote post Address this user
@Musicmansell78 Yes, because independent verification is rarely a 100% thing. It’s great that you know it’s 100% legit but coming to the same conclusion through other means isn’t necessarily a simple or straightforward thing, especially given a signature with as many permutations, variations, and as regularly forged as Stan Lee’s
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It was a one trick pony show but always hilarious. GAC private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by Musicmansell78
@dielinfinite fair enough. But the point is, if you are supposed to be able to verify signatures, and you can not verify a 100% legit signature, what does that say about a company's abilities? Would you still feel they are experts at verification when they can not verify a legit signature?


It speaks volumes that they wouldn't verify it. The easy thing to do is to just say "sure, looks legit" and throw the company name (and reputation) on it by vsp/slabbing the book. Clearly they weren't 100%, so the book gets no endorsement. To me, that's the actions of a good company.
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Collector Musicmansell78 private msg quote post Address this user
Then put a big disclaimer stating what the technology used to verify signatures is and the fact that it will not always be able to verify a signature as legit. I am sorry, but 3 things a customer wants in signature verification that if you are going to offer the service, you should be able to provide:
1. The ability to tell if a signature is fake or not
2. Whose signature it is
3. The proper spelling of their name

To me those would be the basics, and so far they have not passed any of these 3.
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It was a one trick pony show but always hilarious. GAC private msg quote post Address this user
not sure why they have to disclose any technology...could very well be proprietary and dont want competitors knowing. EDIT: I do think signature verification is a known or disclosed science anyway.

I think you make assumptions about what verification is. it's not black and white. it's not true or false. Its, yes we believe this signature to be true based on what we see or there isn't enough here for us to say it's true. For us to put our name and reputation on.

Correct spelling; no one will argue that.
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