Suggested new CBCS invoice12027
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 If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
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xkonk private msg quote post Address this user | |
| This is part complaint and part solution. The billing/invoice system for CBCS is not very user-friendly. The main problem is that it hides information which means that the customer can't tell where their total came from or why. I'll use my current submission as an example. I sent in 11 books to be graded under the 'supportthehobby' discount. One book I wanted pressed for sure and the rest I put on press screen with fast press. I made a short mock-up of what my original invoice looked like after CBCS created it on the website:  I only have three books because that should be enough to get the point across. I also can't just post a picture of the original because at this point it's been overwritten (more hiding of information) and I didn't save a copy. I left in the entire billing section though because it becomes relevant in a moment. I was surprised to get an email about two weeks later saying that my books were in grading. I expected them to be in pressing for a few months, even with the fast press, because expanded tier has the same TAT as moderns and pressing is all backed up. So I went to my invoice to see if I had been charged for pressing or anything. It wasn't updated immediately, but this is the mock-up of how it looks right now:  So what do I know? My books are in billing/shipping so I'm still not sure if they were pressed or not. The billing amount changed for my expanded books but I don't know why. If I go to the CBCS pricing page I can figure out that they probably were pressed (expanded pressing with fast press is $35, and $35 plus my original $32 for grading and press screen is $67). But I'm just guessing because if you look at the billing section you see that my total is off from my subtotal for.... reasons? On my account page there's a line for 'fees' that adds $354.10 to my order but I have no idea what the fees are for or why I got them. So now I'm just sitting here guessing. Were my books in better condition than I thought and so they got bumped up? The next tier up for an expanded book is Consumer, but that has the same TAT as expanded and is only an extra $3 grading and $5 pressing per book. That doesn't get me to the difference between my original and current bills. Maybe they got bumped all the way to Quickstream? That would explain the speedy processing since fast pressing on Quickstream should be ~2 weeks. But I highly doubt all of my books broke the Consumer value limit of $400 (Avengers 53 would have to be 9.6 or better according to gocollect and I had it pegged at more like FN when I sent it; another book I sent was Fantastic Four 28 which would need to be VF or better and I bought it as a VG+). If they did all happen to press up that well that would be great, but I have no way of knowing from my invoice. Contrast this situation to any restaurant you've been to. When you get your check it has a list of what you got and how much it cost. If you added bacon or whatever, there's a separate line with 'bacon' and how much that cost. If there was a coupon or discount, it's listed. This is all pretty basic and CBCS completely fails at it. I mocked up a different version of what the invoice could look like. Here's what my original invoice could have looked like:  It takes up a bit more space than the original version but is more transparent. The basic idea is to add a row for any particular add-on to a book. The billing section also adds an explicit row for my discount, which could also include membership discounts (although I'm guessing that putting it up top fits their workflow better) or coupons. But the important part is what it lets an updated invoice look like (which is just an example, because I don't know what actually happened!):  I can now see clearly what I've been billed for and how it's changed over time. My GSXM hasn't changed except for its status, which has been updated from received to billing. My X-Men 10 got pressed, which adds a line but doesn't change the press screen at all. My Avengers 53 has miraculously improved in grade such that the tier has to be changed, which you can tell by the strikethrough and new information. It was also pressed, which has a different price at that tier than the X-Men 10. I put question marks in the billing section because I'd like it to reflect reality but I don't know what the reality is! I haven't run the math on how my total might have gotten to where it is and if my discount was applied properly, and I shouldn't have to. As a side note, I'm not beholden to the formatting and book order or anything here. The main point is that it should be obvious why I've been billed a certain amount and the current system fails miserably. Bills are supposed to be transparent and my main suggestion is to add information so that people know what they're paying for. |
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| Post 1 • IP flag post | ||
 Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock
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Tedsaid private msg quote post Address this user | |
| The main reason I left ComicLink and went to MyComicShop is due to the lack of transparency on my invoices and fees. It was never wrong, when I checked, but it was WAY too difficult to find out what I was being charged for. I am staying at MCS for many other reasons, but that was why I left. So if CBCS can make their invoices more transparent, I think they should put a LOT of effort into doing so. |
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| Post 2 • IP flag post | ||
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If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
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xkonk private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I think that when people complain about CBCS, it's about TATs or customer service. Hopefully CBCS understands that customer service is more than the customer service department. | ||
| Post 3 • IP flag post | ||
 You do know that the new guy brings the donuts, right?
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DWeeB1967 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @xkonk Nice explanation of an issue that a number of us wish would soon be resolved. Your comparison to a restaurant receipt is a good one. Hopefully, CBCS has this in the works already. |
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| Post 4 • IP flag post | ||
 Collector
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Elvinv private msg quote post Address this user | |
I just had the same situation with the press screen and questioned a new charge but CS clarified. However I agree could use a cleaning the invoices.  |
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Collector
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Elvinv private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Xkonk question, does the new charges for pressing take into consideration the discount ?? | ||
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If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
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xkonk private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @Elvinv my understanding is that the discount is only for grading, nothing else (pressing, signatures, shipping, etc). But that's just my understanding from reading other threads. | ||
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Collector
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Elvinv private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Got it. Quote: Originally Posted by xkonk |
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| Post 8 • IP flag post | ||
 It was a one trick pony show but always hilarious.
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GAC private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @Elvinv The Support The Hobby discount was applied to my VSP slab only order. | ||
| Post 9 • IP flag post | ||
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Collector
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Elvinv private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Yes checked my invoice and figured it out. It looks like the press screening is also included in the discount and excludes the pressing charges. All clear now. Quote: Originally Posted by GAC |
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| Post 10 • IP flag post | ||
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If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
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xkonk private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @Elvinv That's interesting. From my original invoice I could figure out that the discount was only applied to grading and not press screening at all. One 2-Day + 10 Expanded = $36+10*$27 = $306. 10 press screens on the expanded = 10*$5 = $50. Pressing on the 2-Day = $50. 15% off of the $306 leaves $260.10, plus $50 plus $50 plus $48 shipping&handling = $408.10. I fiddled around with a spreadsheet more this morning and think I have my current bill figured out. They have the discount applied to my original grading fees but not the upgraded tier part of the grading. That is, I have a discount on the $27 for expanded tier but they didn't put the discount on any of the extra $25 when they moved me up to Quickstream. I also still haven't gotten any clarity on if my books are all actually Quickstream-level or not. Take the original bill. Add 10*$50 for pressing the expanded books at quickstream level (fast pressing) = $500. Add 10*$25 for the difference between expanded ($27) and quickstream ($52) grading = $250. $408.10 + $500 + $250 = $1158.10. If the discount was applied to all of my grading fee, let alone the press screening, I would have a smaller bill. Sticking on the theme of the post, I shouldn't have to break out a calculator and work all this stuff out. It should be obvious from my bill. @Darryl_H , I already have an email in with you through customer service. Can you chime in? How does CBCS value books when determining what tier they go to? How is the 'supportthelobby' discount supposed to be applied? |
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| Post 11 • IP flag post | ||
 Collector
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Terry88 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| This is great and another reason I'm not sending another book until a lot of these kinds of things get worked out and there are improvements to communication. Just updating a dash board would be a huge help with this. RFID tags on submissions as they move through the system? I think it's 2020 if I'm not mistaken. Steps could be taken here to alleviate undue stress on the side of the buyer and help out the severe organizational issues on the side of the provider. This doesn't need to be complicated. |
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| Post 12 • IP flag post | ||
 I hear their hourly rate is outrageous!
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sportshort private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Terry88. This! |
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| Post 13 • IP flag post | ||
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If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
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xkonk private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @Darryl_H came through via email and straightened out my invoice. So I've got that going for me, which is nice. | ||
| Post 14 • IP flag post | ||
 Beaten by boat oars
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Studley_Dudley private msg quote post Address this user | |
| It's just coding right? That would be the solution, at least looking at it through a programming lens. The amounts should be separated out and some sort of logic phrasing is used. I did something similar for a project one time many moons ago. Once the code is implemented, it should just be if, and, or statements and boom you get magic. @Tedsaid I finally got around to getting books packed for MCS. Thanks for all your insight into how you like them and the processes. It seems pretty straightforward and Este has been super pleasant to work with. |
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| Post 15 • IP flag post | ||
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I hear their hourly rate is outrageous!
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sportshort private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by xkonk problem still exists. why should anyone explain an invoice? it should be self-explanatory. |
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