IMPORTANT CBCS UPDATE - (PLEASE READ!) MARCH 23rd 2020!!11520
 Collector
|
TimBildhauser private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @xkonk Would you rather we not have work to do once we're able to resume operations? TAT has been at 5 weeks (less in some instances) for quite some time now. Whatever shows up during the time that we're shut down isn't likely to affect that. | ||
| Post 51 • IP flag post | ||
 Collector
|
Darryl_H private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Current turn around is (was) 5 weeks or less for all regular submissions. Currently CBCS is NOT at full operation, so if your books are in shipping or any other stage this will delay their progress. While we are not at full operation, we are currently accepting submissions. At first we asked you to hold off, but with so many customers and submitters it was not realistic and we did not want your books being sent back undelivered. That said once we are back at full operations we have plans in place to make sure that all those books we have in house are shipped and that we are back to the 5 week or less turn around for these regular non pressing submissions. Pressing is of course moving to Dallas, and once we get back to 100% our goal is to get pressing to a much more respectable turn around time, and we will! |
||
| Post 52 • IP flag post | ||
 Collector
|
fivestar private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Darryl_H Thanks for the update, Darryl! PM'd you with a question btw |
||
| Post 53 • IP flag post | ||
 If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
|
xkonk private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @TimBildhauser @Darryl_H Can you tell us how many people are working together at the office? At least three graders, right? Plus someone to help bring in the packages that are still coming, data entry people...? How is everyone maintaining their health and not getting each other sick? @TimBildhauser unless I have a fundamental misunderstanding of how the TAT works, you probably have about a month of work to do, excluding pressing, at any time. Right? That's why the TAT is about 5 weeks? So presumably you had about a month of work to do when you shut down, and it'll still be there when you get back. If the option is to have a slow period when you start back up or to threaten the lives of employees, I would rather you have a slow period. |
||
| Post 54 • IP flag post | ||
|
Collector
|
TimBildhauser private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @xkonk No one is working in order entry, grading or production right now. The volume of what's in-house to be graded varies considerably. There's no rhyme or reason to it. At times we might have 4 weeks, 6 months or 8 days worth of work. It changes from day to day, sometimes drastically. Also, take into consideration that, with a lot of people not working, it's not like we're receiving 1,000 books a day in the mail. The longer this situation drags on what comes in could potentially decrease being that people will have much greater concerns than getting comics graded. |
||
| Post 55 • IP flag post | ||
|
Collector
|
Darryl_H private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by xkonk |
||
| Post 56 • IP flag post | ||
|
If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
|
xkonk private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Well, I'm confused then guys. Why have the original statement that you're closing up and don't want books, but then change course? You have signings and discounts that make it sound like you're open but you aren't really. You want people to send their books to just hang out for an indeterminate amount of time? | ||
| Post 57 • IP flag post | ||
 Collector
|
Cowabunga_Kyle private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @xkonk I have to admit, I am confounded by this as well. | ||
| Post 58 • IP flag post | ||
|
If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
|
xkonk private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @Masochism glad it isn't just me. I know I'm harping a bit here, but a) I want the CBCS folks to be healthy and b) I don't want there to be more complaints and slams in a couple months when people are like "they said to send in my comics and now they've just been sitting there!" | ||
| Post 59 • IP flag post | ||
|
Collector
|
Darryl_H private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I don't understand the confusion, we were asking people to not send in submissions, and then found a way to accept them so if you want to send them now you can. We are offering these signings as a way to help everyone with the shows postponed, and the Signings will happen as they are not taking place in the CBCS offices, and by the time they are ready for grading, we believe we will be clear to continue. True, we have no idea what is going to happen as we move forward, but have had a huge demand from people who wish to submit so they don't have to hold books for a long time. That is where we are now. |
||
| Post 60 • IP flag post | ||
 I'm good with splotches.
|
Nuffsaid111 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Sounds good to me! | ||
| Post 61 • IP flag post | ||
|
Collector
|
tvphonehome610 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| My order has been in shipping since March 20. I am confused about advertising a 5 week turnaround time considering it has been 2 & 1/2 weeks of an order sitting in shipping. | ||
| Post 62 • IP flag post | ||
 Suck it up, buttercup!!
|
KatKomics private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by tvphonehome610 Soooo....do you live on planet earth??? Can you think of anything....anything, that might have interrupted normal business?? On a wild guess I'm going to say your books were in shipping but did not get actually shipped yet and then the world came to a stop. Sorry...just.....reallllyyyy???? |
||
| Post 63 • IP flag post | ||
|
Collector
|
Darryl_H private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by tvphonehome610 The reason is due to the Dallas County ruling that halted operations and had caused delays. "Pursuant to Code 418.108, issued by the County of Dallas, Beckett and CBCS will be closed beginning March 23th, 2020. All non-essential businesses in the county are ordered to be closed and this does include the Beckett/CBCS offices in Dallas, TX. During this time, please know that there will be no orders being shipped out for any of our services, after March 23, 2020... |
||
| Post 64 • IP flag post | ||
 Collector
|
etapi65 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| The governor level one for Texas went into effect on March 20th. | ||
| Post 65 • IP flag post | ||
|
Collector
|
etapi65 private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by KatKomics I was in the middle of typing something...similar...when Darryl's response posted. I was trying to craft it a little differently, but this was basically what was going through my head. |
||
| Post 66 • IP flag post | ||
|
Suck it up, buttercup!!
|
KatKomics private msg quote post Address this user | |
| No..sorry....didn't have my coffee this morning, was wrong of me. There are valid reasons for not knowing the score. A) Walking Dead/28 Days later scenario, i.e. just woke up from coma B) Planet of the Apes scenario - just got back from space mission, had no idea what was happening C) Was in a game show like Survivor or Big Brother and since they were cut off from society no one told them what was going down D) Y2K prepper who just came out of their bunker I'm sure there are other scenarios but these seem like the most plausible  |
||
| Post 67 • IP flag post | ||
 It was a one trick pony show but always hilarious.
|
GAC private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by KatKomics Lol!!! hilarious!!!  |
||
| Post 68 • IP flag post | ||
|
Collector
|
tvphonehome610 private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by KatKomics Soooo....shipping was cut off on March 23 at 11:59PM. Why would they have orders sitting in shipping for 4 days that they don't try to get out? Also CBCS posted this: Quote: Originally Posted by Darryl_H So not full operation... just a delay in progress. How long is the delay in progress? Will our yearly memberships be extended to cover the time that CBCS is shut down? |
||
| Post 69 • IP flag post | ||
 Have I told you about the time I dropped off 3,000 comics at SDCC?
|
Scifinator private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by tvphonehome610 Ummm just because an order went to shipping sometime on friday the 20th doesnt mean it gets instantly shipped out. Could be there for several days. And actually, you can not count sat or sun. So 2 days in shipping. And you got hit with the chinese coronavirus shutdown. |
||
| Post 70 • IP flag post | ||
|
Collector
|
etapi65 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I'm probably a little angry from dealing with college students who have 0 ability to put any effort into thinking for themselves or following instructions or read information that has already been provided. But the questions CBCS is getting on this thread are ridiculous. 1. Shipping is the processing of packing the books. Just because slabbed books have been delivered to shipping does not mean they get packaged that day....it means that's where they are in the process. This crazy thing happens where multiple orders are piled-up waiting for shipping. And could be there a few days before being packed-up and actually shipped. I know, crazy. Shipped means it's been handed off to the mail carrier. 2. While the county shut-down was enacted on the 23rd. the governor of Texas had already passed an executive order on the 20th. I would assume it took some businesses a moment to verify what they were and were not allowed to continue doing following said order which restricted gatherings to 10 or less people. https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-issues-executive-orders-to-mitigate-spread-of-covid-19-in-texas I also imagine this could have effected people coming to work and speed of the work being completed. 3. They don't operate on weekends. 4. They've already said that CBCS is shut-down except for someone receiving shipments. 5. Anything at any stage of the grading process is still just sitting there at that stage. It's delayed until they can go back to full operation...I don't understand what the confusion is; is it the word delayed? Should they have said delayed until further notice? Isn't that implicit when they can't tell you the date they can get back operations? Which isn't up to them...it's an ordinance. 6. Why can't they still have no-contact signing events? These creators are having to cancel cons that may represent an important loss in revenue so if CBCS can still coordinate one of these signing events, they should. Will that increase TATs? Maybe, but reality check; it's con season. The TATs were highly likely to rise to in the neighborhood of 8-12 weeks anyway this time of year. Without the cons going, once they get operations; a signing event should be doable. I would, as a human with a brain; expect TATs to rise on the backside of this GLOBAL HEALTH CRISIS. If I were CBCS though, i would not just be tossing out numbers for funsies having no real idea of how TATs will be impacted, because they can't know until they get back to work. If they do NOT have work to keep them going due to a stoppage of shipments, they're probably going to bleed money and we'll likely be stuck with CGC...who apparently no longer knows how to grade comic books. I would continue looking for shipments if I were them too. And, the lack of cons is probably already creating financial strain. 7. TATs for pressing and TATs for any other submissions are two completely different beasts. The TATs for pressing have been reported at 22-30 weeks for...well, at least last Summer. We know this. It's been covered. It's been covered for literally months. Stop conflating the two TATs as if they're the same and acting indignant and completely taken off guard by pressing TATs. If you, have had a specific issue, unrelated to pressing; I'm sorry, that sucks, I hope they get it figured out. If they don't, you clearly have a valid complaint. That's specific case(s). 8. Use your base skills of reason to figure some of this out on your own. 9. I could never be in the comic business dealing with this every day...and I deal with 18-22 year olds for my career. |
||
| Post 71 • IP flag post | ||
|
If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
|
xkonk private msg quote post Address this user | |
| The best piece of advice I got on writing and communication (unfortunately late in the game, relatively speaking) was: if someone tells you that you are being unclear, they are by definition correct. Yes, there is some responsibility on the part of the receiver to make an honest effort to understand. But it is the writer/producer's responsibility to remove as much ambiguity as possible so that the most people will clearly and easily understand what they are saying. This "pseudo-open" status is confusing; CBCS isn't working, yet they're accepting books and running signings? If they can do that, why can't they ship out books that were already ready to go? Why do they want to be in possession of books and just piling things up when they don't know when they'll be able to work on them? Yes, you can make some sense of it if you are familiar with how they work and make some guesses, but obviously that isn't doing enough for everybody. |
||
| Post 72 • IP flag post | ||
|
Collector
|
etapi65 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I think expecting absolute clarity for a fluid situation is a little unreasonable. As they've gotten more information they've relayed it; at which point we all now know you can still ship items to them; including for the VSP discount and the signing event. It's not lack of clarity, it's that the situation is evolving. And that has been clear, we just need to do a better job of trying to be understanding. |
||
| Post 73 • IP flag post | ||
|
If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
|
xkonk private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @etapi65 That's fine, but then expressing surprise at others' confusion is not fine. Not picking on you with that but a number of people. I tried going back through the timeline to make sure this wasn't me misremembering things. I'm on the email list, follow the facebook page, am on the forum entirely too much. I don't get all the info, I'm sure, but I bet I get more than the average CBCS customer/follower. Especially a guy who just made his first and second posts. This is the best I can recreate for someone that is really paying attention: March 23rd: CBCS says they are closed and that people should not send them any more orders. March 28th-ish: CBCS is telling people that they can still send books via email, which gets posted to the forum and creates confusion because the website still says not to send anything (see page 1 of this thread). March 30th: Darryl says in the forum (page 2 this thread) not to send in books "if possible". March 30th: CBCS posts on facebook about pressing moving to Dallas, saying "you can now send all of your CBCS Submissions to our Dallas offices", mentioning nothing about how their last communication was to not send books. Somebody leaves a comment explicitly asking if that means CBCS is accepting new invoices; there is no reply. April 2: CBCS sends an email about a signing opportunity. While the email states clearly that they don't promise a TAT, they do give an estimate. The facebook post for the event says "cons may be on hold, but you can still get your books signed and graded!" (emphasis mine). People both on facebook and in the forum express surprise and confusion, even noting that they thought the email was a fake, because CBCS is supposed to be closed. April 4 - CBCS posts that they're extending the VSP discount from March into April. People express confusion in the forum because the last instructions were to not send in books. It seems pretty clear that there was confusion throughout the last couple weeks, and people expressed that they were confused. Imagine if you aren't on the forums, or aren't on facebook, or both? I understand hindsight is 20/20 and criticizing is easy. So here's a suggestion: Somewhere around March 30/April 1, or whenever the conversation happened at CBCS, they should have sent an email and posted on the website that while they cannot grade books, or even process invoices, they are going to continue receiving orders and are looking at options for what they can do while they are otherwise unable to work. Darryl and Tim sort of said this but not until April 6, and it has not been a part of any official CBCS email blasts or facebook posts. Then as part of the announcements for the signing and the VSP discount, explicitly state that orders will be held at CBCS but not processed until CBCS is able to reopen. Don't include a wishy-washy statement about not having a TAT but including an 'estimated ship date', especially since CBCS has no control over when they can reopen. |
||
| Post 74 • IP flag post | ||
 Collector
|
Homer private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Darryl_H Pursuant to Code 418.108, issued by the County of Dallas, Beckett and CBCS will be working with a very limited staff in our Dallas offices, until at least April 30, 2020. These few employees will be following strict guidelines to keep themselves safe while in the office, while trying to process your orders. According to this your still processing orders? |
||
| Post 75 • IP flag post | ||
|
Collector
|
Homer private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by GAC I think its a rude response to a paying customer wondering where his order is at. |
||
| Post 76 • IP flag post | ||
|
It was a one trick pony show but always hilarious.
|
GAC private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @Homer I don't think there was any malicious intent here. I think this was an attempt at humor to a customer complaining about not adhering to an advertised 5 week TAT during a global pandemic. | ||
| Post 77 • IP flag post | ||
|
Collector
|
tvphonehome610 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Does anyone know what's happening with our memberships? Are they being extended for the amount of time CBCS is closed similar to other yearly memberships like Regal Unlimited? | ||
| Post 78 • IP flag post | ||
 Collector
|
KCBatmanFan private msg quote post Address this user | |
| My order that went into Shipping on the 23rd actually shipped yesterday. Got the FedEx tracking and the grades are in my dashboard! | ||
| Post 79 • IP flag post | ||
 I live in RI and Rhode Islanders eat chili with beans.
|
esaravo private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @tvphonehome610 - Memberships are NOT being extended, because mine just ran out and the CBCS site is asking me to upgrade when I sign in. So if I do want to submit anything right now, I would have to pay the higher prices for services unless I renew my Bronze Membership. I asked this question LAST WEEK on the "CBCS questions? Concerns?" thread started by @Daryl_H, but it was ignored and left unanswered. So we are being asked to renew, even though they are officially closed (except for limited receiving) and not grading, slabbing, or shipping at the current time, and they will be unable to operate again until an unknown time in the future that could unfortunately be several months away. | ||
| Post 80 • IP flag post | ||
This topic is archived. Start new topic?