NEWBIE FRUSTRATION - Membership, submission and customer service!17091
 Collector
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JERGO private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Hi all. This is my first posting. I just recently got into the world of comic grading as I wanted to preserve and sell some of my childhood collections. The whole process of submission is very new to me. I had to read about it for months before taking the plunge. I just signed up for Bonze Membership. Before doing my first submission, I reached out to CBCS Customer Service to clarify the process on claiming the complimentary 2-Day Modern and Fast Passes provided with membership. Customer service via e-mail was quite responsive (within hours) but my frustration is their lack of detail in their responses that it took a few back & forth before I understood what had to be done. Basically, to make a long story short, I was just told to make a note on the invoice saying I am claiming my complimentary services of which I did in my submission. I have sent two boxes to CBCS. One box claiming the complimentary 2-Day Modern services of which they adjusted the invoice. The second box where I was claiming the complimentary Fast Passes was billed at the full amount. Since then, I have reached out to Customer Service. Their once responsiveness is totally non-existent now. Searching the forum, seems a lot of people had similar experience but supposedly things improved when they ramped up their Customer Service team. I am totally at a loss on what to do next to get my billing issue fixed. I know I can potentially claim the Fast Passes in the future. However, this is not the solution I want as I followed the instructions that was provided to me correctly and am unsure when my next submission will be. Still hoping to get a response from Customer Service but any insights will be surely appreciated. Thank you. |
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 COLLECTOR
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dielinfinite private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Email customer service on a weekly basis. They will respond eventually | ||
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 Collector
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Happyfacecomics private msg quote post Address this user | |
| e·ven·tu·al·ly /əˈven(t)SH(o͞o)əlē/ Learn to pronounce adverb in the end, especially after a long delay, dispute, or series of problems. "eventually, after midnight, I arrived at the hotel" |
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 Have I told you about the time I dropped off 3,000 comics at SDCC?
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Scifinator private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @JERGO - Welcome to the forum. It may take a minute as they are so slammed (as you could probably gather after reviewing the posts for months), but eventually it will get corrected. Just email as @dielinfinite suggested and reference the ticket # from the first response email that your receive(d) on the subject. And....be patient. Cheers  |
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Collector
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JERGO private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Sigh... quite annoying really. Reason I chose CBCS over the others was they gave me a good impression initially on how responsive their Customer Service was. | ||
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Collector
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Happyfacecomics private msg quote post Address this user | |
| When and where was that sign located ? I must have missed it! |
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| Post 6 • IP flag post | ||
 Where's his Bat-package?
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by JERGO Don't despair over your choice yet. The Other Guy is the one who hasn't answered my inquiries about some returns I have since December of last year. Over time, the stack of returns has grown and now I have 26 books to be returned to resolve a variety of issues. So you have in one corner CBCS who has some CS delays, and in the other corner you have The Other Guy who also has CS delays but you can add 'screws up a lot' into the mix, too. Trust me, you made the right choice. Welcome to the forum!  An example of something I have NOT seen coming from CBCS:  |
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 I blame the forum gremlins.
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figment private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Byrdibyrd That is a SERIOUS variant right there! |
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| Post 8 • IP flag post | ||
 Collector
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Ginosdad private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Wow! Even reading about it for a whole month, you still took the plunge??? LOL!!! Kidding!! Well worth it. Welcome!! |
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Have I told you about the time I dropped off 3,000 comics at SDCC?
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Scifinator private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @Byrdibyrd - Superman, Batman...it's all the same, all that matters (to some) is the 9.8 in the white box bolstered by the hologram on the opposite side. |
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 Thank you sir. May I have another?
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Siggy private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by JERGO Well, to be fair I can't imagine they'd do otherwise. Good luck- Sometimes the first sub can be hectic. Once it's ironed out, try not to look at the calendar- The process moves MUCH faster that way |
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 I had no way of knowing that 9.8 graded copies signed by Adam Hughes weren't what you were looking for.
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drchaos private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I recently had a good experience with customer service over the phone. If you do get stuck remember that you can get answers on this forum. |
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| Post 12 • IP flag post | ||
 Collector
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bennyb86 private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Byrdibyrd So you know it's Friday when it seriously took me looking at that for about 5 minutes for me to realize what was up with that slab. @JERGO welcome! You did make the right decision. Don't worry, it WILL get fixed. It just might not get fixed anytime soon. I'm still waiting for a somewhat billing error to be resolved from August last year (probably not imspiring much hope here) but it will be worth it when you get a nice professionally graded comic in a holder that does not have newton rings |
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Collector
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JERGO private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Thanks for all the responses guys. Will continue to wait and see how things pan out. @drchaos how do you reach them over phone? I just get an automated message saying to leave a message and a ticket will be generated. @Byrdibyrd lol... don't know what to say on that one. at least it's a 9.8  |
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Where's his Bat-package?
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by bennyb86 I was lucky to spot it right away when I first got them. The only reason that happened was because I remembered how disappointed I was that the Batman #609 was a 9.6 and not a 9.8 when I read it on the website (I don't do the unboxing thing - not my style). I saw the 9.8 and knew something was wrong. It took a bit before I saw the title. And yes, Superman had the Batman label. Quote: Originally Posted by JERGO Yup. The 9.8 Superman with the Batman label and the Batman with Superman label are still waiting to get sent back... along with their submission mates! There are SIX of them - 3 Batman & 3 Superman - and ALL of them have the labels swapped.  |
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I had no way of knowing that 9.8 graded copies signed by Adam Hughes weren't what you were looking for.
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drchaos private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @JERGO I think I send an e-mail and got a call back. Don't remember exactly. |
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| Post 16 • IP flag post | ||
 I'm a #2.
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BigRedOne1944 private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by JERGO Welcome to the CBCS forum! While I believe you are going to be delighted with the CBCS product(Slab), I would also suggest not letting the local board CBCS apologists try to sway you into any kind of false pretense regarding CBCS's non-existent customer service and often times lack of quality control, both of which have been well noted over the years and began long before any of the current influx in submissions, many of the CBCS board apologists would like you to believe is the reason for the poor customer service. Then you will always have the "But CGC did this" or "CGC done That" Crowd. This is the crowd that has no real helpful solutions to your CBCS questions. They only attempt to deflect attention with some CGC rant that has nothing to do with your original question. Yes..... Any up start grading company is going to have their share of "Growing Pains" and while CBCS has done an admirable job with their slabs and products, I don't think they can no longer rely on the "New Company" excuse for not attempting to address their well known customer service issues more over the years. Im serious..... at this point in their evolution and people are still having to hand write a note on the submission form in order to use the membership coupons they paid for? That's straight up stone age in today,s hi-tec world. Those discounts should be listed right on the submission form and be deducted and totaled right when you fill out the submission by this time in their evolution. Reimbursing credit cards, hand written notes are all very amateurish for a company that has now been around long enough to have moved to the next level of professionalism. Its also one of the reasons I don't even bother with CBCS memberships, You end up losing money on the coupons and the lack of being able to even implement them. I do believe that the CBCS customer service Email team has become more responsive as of late and they do deserve credit for that in a VERY tough job market where finding quality employees has become VERY difficult. That being said their quality control has to become more focused and less prone to the silly mistakes and clerical errors in the labeling department, that can really put a lot of unnecessary pressure on an already under staffed department. Are you going to be frustrated? Absolutely!  CBCS Apologists telling you to be patient... do this and do that? You can be most certain of that.  The "CGC did this and that" deflection crowd? while it has absolutely nothing to do with your chosen plight with CBCS......... You can bank on a plethora of that non-sense as well.  YOU have chosen to enter the bizarre world of comic book grading, and for that you have no one to blame but yourself. At this point there are going to be many trials and tribulations, as well as some frustrations regardless which company you choose to take this often times crazy journey with. Once you survive the insane TAT's and other frustrations involved with the grading business I think you will be more than happy with the end product from CBCS. I believe they are all honest hard working people doing the best they can in this crazy world we live in. In the end I still think the CBCS Slab and Label are the best in the hobby and thats coming from somebody who has just sent the same book back a second time for label errors. Frustration can often be part of the equation in the grading industry no matter what grading service you choose. Hang in there! You might even get to see your books again at some point  |
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 It was a one trick pony show but always hilarious.
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GAC private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by JERGO Welcome to the forum indeed!! Also, dont be swayed by disgruntled CBCS posters. CBCS is the best in the business by far for what's really important (best grading and slabs). It'll be worth the wait! Cheers! |
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 Collector
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Darryl_H private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @JERGO email me at dhayden@cbcscomics.com with the info and invoice # | ||
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 Collector
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Ramage23 private msg quote post Address this user | |
CBCS Apologists SWAG!!!   |
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It was a one trick pony show but always hilarious.
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GAC private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Ramage23 LOL!!!!!!!  Hilarious!!! |
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I blame the forum gremlins.
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figment private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I'm not an apologist, but I do know what it's like to be totally and utterly underwater at work. Thanks to the explosion of prices and popularity in our hobby, submissions are through the roof rising at near exponential rates over the past 12-18 months. It's a situation both CGC and CBCS found themselves in. CGC "solved" the problem by throwing obviously unqualified bodies at it, as their quality of late so surely demonstrates. CBCS hasn't solved the problem and a modern press and grade turn time is now almost two years as a result. Both companies make mistakes, everybody makes mistakes, but the mistake rate between the two is now far in favor of CBCS. The quality of encapsulation is now FAR in favor of CBCS. The consistency and rigor of grading standards is in favor of CBCS. Price certainly favors CBCS unless you consider turn around time, then it's debatable. CGC's web site is more user friendly and tracks product through the line with more granularity and timeliness. Having to constantly refer to the "Invoice" is something CBCS desperately needs to fix. As to customer service, I think I am lucky in that I have only needed limited help from customer service from either company. But when I did both were courteous, relatively prompt and mostly helpful. I call a draw between the two in this regard, but a good web site can go a LONG way in reducing the need for human customer service in the first place. I have always used both companies, but tipped from CGC to CBCS in August of last year for the bulk of my submissions. Will I wait longer? Yes. Will I get a better product? Without question! |
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| Post 22 • IP flag post | ||
 Masculinity takes a holiday.
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EbayMafia private msg quote post Address this user | |
| The CBCS apologists must have hearts made of pure gold. Sit there 8 months waiting for their comic books to get graded and then bend over backwards to console a newbie who's having trouble using his free line-cut vouchers. I like to think I'm one of the good guys...but you all put me to shame. I see these posts about "why isn't my line-cut voucher working properly" and I just click on the forum home button. | ||
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Where's his Bat-package?
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by GAC SAAAAAAMME!!! OMG! Where can I get mine!???   |
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| Post 24 • IP flag post | ||
 Suck it up, buttercup!!
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KatKomics private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by figment I think many of us stray into the apologist category from time to time - you started off saying not an apologist and then made apologies!! I applaud the boldness @BigRedOne1944 is correct!! Hand writing in to use promo codes or coupons..in 2022??? Phone calls and e-mails unanswered...just not cool. Like he said...maybe when they were the new kids on the block but that has passed...maybe if it was a new phenomenon due to the pandemic....but these were issues even before that and the volume of submissions has only highlighted the deficiencies I trust in the process because I've not been burnt by CBCS (yet), I prefer their product and trust my books will eventually make it back safe and sound (week 53 and counting on my oldest order - double what TAT was when I submitted) - BUT - I've dealt with CBCS before - if you were new to this it would drive you mad - 10's of thousands of $$ in books in the ether!!??? it's enough to upset even the most level headed.... |
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Where's his Bat-package?
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Byrdibyrd private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Ramage23 I am humbled. I thought I was pretty hilarious when I was selected for jury duty (Giant. Eye. Roll.) and asked the judge if I could wear a "Team Jury" T-shirt on casual Fridays. I received permission, wore the shirt in court, and still have that shirt somewhere to this day. That, however, pales in comparison to the positively glorious CBCS Apologist T-shirt. You get ALL the beer! |
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Suck it up, buttercup!!
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KatKomics private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Ramage23 where's the kickstarter link so I can get a shirt!! are there mugs or mouse pads?? |
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 Collector
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50AE_DE private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Byrdibyrd Direct edition listed as news stand.  The signature was authenticated. But the 5.5 grade was as if the folds and scuffs printed on the cover of the comic… were actually folds and scuffs.  https://bleedingcool.com/comics/slabbed-comic-distressed/ |
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Masculinity takes a holiday.
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EbayMafia private msg quote post Address this user | |
| lol..."do dis and do dat" Quote: Originally Posted by Ramage23 |
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| Post 29 • IP flag post | ||
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Suck it up, buttercup!!
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KatKomics private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by 50AE_DE to be fair CGC has done the same thing with the distressed comics - a POX on both their houses!!!! |
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