A letter from Jeromy Murray, VP of CBCS and Beckett7282
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Squack private msg quote post Address this user | |
| First off, let me say that I echo the sentiment of having faith in CBCS. However, it is increasingly difficult at the moment to defend them in any real way. My plan, currently, is to hold off on submissions until things get better. If they stay the same or, heaven forbid, get worse, I still have my books. If TAT's get better, they have more of my business. All we can do as consumers use our voice in the form of the dollar to make sure the message is sent. Unfortunately, it seems with submissions being up, that message is not being received, which is causing a disconnect between the perception of the business and the reality of the business. I am hanging in there, but do recognize the vast opportunity that CBCS has missed in the market. | ||
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dpiercy private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Just want to point out modern submissions, that are not fast passed, have ALWAYS taken at least 6 months. I have submitted books since the beginning and know this to be true. I don’t expect that to ever change. Just my experience and opinion. | ||
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Quote:Originally Posted by dpiercy That is a sad expectation when CBCS’s own expectations are 8-12 weeks  |
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Quote:Originally Posted by poka This sums up my feelings perfectly. Unless there is significant progress made to catch up on backlog and to get TAT to a reasonable level, and that is seen by this community very soon (within next 30 days??), then this letter from Becket/CBCS VP is noting more than a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, and signifying nothing. My apologies to the Bard. |
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TheComicDoJo private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I’m a new dealer however I’m not going to offer the service to my client base until turnaround times are under control. It would be bad business for me and unfair for my clients. I am however submitting for myself, family and friends. It stinks having to tell them it could take 4 months or longer while I see other folks getting CGC books back in weeks. His apology was needed however it has done nothing to restore any confidence in the company. |
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BLBcomics private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by poka You left out the very next lines, "...This is just phase one BTW. Is CBCS going to be able to handle the flow influx?..." Having had another small stroke June 29, I closed my eBay gig July 10. Am partially paralyzed in right hand/arm up to elbow. Simply can not lift boxes safely any more. I faced hard reality.  The other 40,000 are going as well. Imploding is being done in staged "phases." At 66 now am entering a new phase of my life. Buddy's son Conan has built a most wonderful easy to navigate computer site. CGC has had 19 years now to perfect their gig. CGC owner has proven he has less than zero ethics. Until CBCS came along CGC was perping monopoly attack modes on many sellers. There are millions of comics yet to be certified, once expansion growth is under-way, I say "watch out" to the arrogant Florida slab guy. CBCS moving to Dallas makes em closer to Heritage,which remains the "largest" dollar volume seller of comics. I am sure that is whom a previous writer was referring to, right? |
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shrewbeer private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Sounds like a DocBrown post (RMA)? | ||
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| It is, and as a rule we don't allow posts from banned members on this forum | ||
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poka private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @BLBcomics sorry to hear about your situation. Good luck with your next phase and I am sure we are all looking forward to your written story | ||
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BLBcomics private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Appreciated Poka. It was disheartening at first, then catharsis as I realized age 66 time clock is ticking for me to finish up long over due comics business history book(s) which many friends keep nudging me right along. I "lost" a decade dealing with medical scenarios which I have written about extensively. What eBay calls "Intent to Disrupt" attacks were rampant on my store from the cesspool CGC became post Steve Borock's tenure there. As Katy's situation worsened, those CGC attacks grew ever more intense. But I am not trying to take over this important thread as I applaud CBCS coming on to the scene a few years ago. I made mention of this only to let CBCS know there are thousands of comics waiting to be processed, but remains superfluous until their "TAT" comes under semi-control. I am not the only one out there hoping catch up happens sooner than later. Steve's previous owner boss at CGC sought to make monopoly in the back issue business which grew to the point many many souls in this wonderful hobby grew scared of that CGC owner. Friends were telling me thusly. From my humble perspective the fool who made a Texas Attorney General report today is merely a CGC-Tool-Troll who could simply stop payment on his credit card and ask for his books back. What does he think he is accomplishing other than coming off as a twerp? I think there is a Fred Flintstone lacking bedrock principles behind pushing such a movement of wasted energy. Knowing full well there was a cross country move in motion and "new" submissions were pushed in? Beckett's will integrate and upgrade the CBCS gig. Of that I have no doubt. Time with patience is in order. I know Steve Borock & crew is working burning the candles at both ends grading books every day. CBCS needs to put out call they need to hire more comics grader souls as there are many thousands of comic books waiting to be submitted. CBCS can and will blow CGC out of the water. Here is a very rare 1937 comics fanzine I have come across #8 9 10 of which very few knew existed until recently. Each issue contains amongst other stuff comics history tidbits by Joe Simon. A couple years later he begins teaming up with Jack Kirby. If/when CBCS upgrades this chat room boards scenario, I have many thousands of rare tidbits to scan share here. Many collectors I know have less than zero desire to matriculate over inside CGC as that cesspool is full of attack trolls.  |
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BabaLament private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by BLBcomics  @BLBcomics With all due respect to your "humble perspective", I have not, nor shall I, submit books to CGC; nor am I a member or participant of the CGC forum(s). I am a loyal, if somewhat disgruntled, CBCS customer. I did what I believe was necessary to receive a response from Customer Service, and it worked. While I appreciate the linguistic gymnastics used to question my intelligence and integrity in a single sentence, perhaps you would be so kind as to attempt to disagree respectfully in the future. |
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Frontier2Xterra private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I think it’s getting a bit out of control here. Twerp? Fred flintstone? Albeit one of my fav cartoons, let’s be reasonable. It’s a legit claim. No customer service response or action. Results or lack thereof have consequences. Whether we like the services or not there are legitimate and now legal concerns. |
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BLBcomics private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Hello Mr BabaLament, I hereby publicly apologize for my commentary. Am man enough to make such commentary here. I had looked at your Texas AG form which I read as late May 2018 which to me translates in to about 12-13 weeks ago. Considering the cross-country move of a company, (assuming) your knowing same at time of submission in Houston, it sounded on the face of it a bit drastic. Considering also there are presumably a lot of souls calling in, a message machine would quickly fill up, especially if there are souls calling in every hour every day. That said, I read at CGC chat boards which constantly attack CBCS over there taking such criticism to rather insane levels. I presumed (wrongly, you assure me) you might have been goaded to take such a (to me) drastic action. Right now over in CGC cesspool there is a thread called CGC vs CBCS vs PGX which is just one of many which have run there. Some of that neg energy rubbed off on me which translated in to me making my post I did here. Again, with your public assertions made here my (erroneous) assumptions prompt me again to state my apology very public. Some years back I moved my comics business across country out of the Bay Area in to the mid west. Took me longer than I had originally envisioned to make it "organized" back then in the mid 90s. Then, in 2006-2010 I dealt with mind numbing pain from needing dual hip joint replacements stemming from having been a passenger in a vehicle accident back in 1973 coming out of a Houston comic con headed to the Dallas comicon the next week end (written up as On The Road in the Dark Horse book Between the Panels, but I digress a bit.) Just about the time I was healing up my oldest daughter Katy began a series of skull opening brain moving surgeries which truly turned life upside down 2010-2017. During that time span attacks from persons inside those CGC chat cesspool rooms took on insane proportions. What got "lost" there was CGC had popped the bottom staple of an All Star #8 which some how that evil company tried to make my fault. They still attack me to this day in their insane liar chat rooms. I conflated a bit too much - and, again, my apology. I bet you got CBCS's attention today though.  |
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BLBcomics private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Oh, the Fred Flintstone reference was not aimed at BabaLament. | ||
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BabaLament private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @BLBcomics Apology accepted. Thank you for your candor. My sympathies for your run of foul luck; I hope things have improved, and continue to do so. | ||
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Guy private msg quote post Address this user | |
| A partial refund, or a substantial credit on future submissions is the only apology that would ever get me to use this service again. | ||
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Cowabunga_Kyle private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @BLBcomics I love how you accused @BabaLament of being goaded by CGC forums to take an action when it was you who admittedly was goaded into making inflammatory comments against a user here by none other than CGC forums. Which gives me leave to disregard all of your future posts. Cheers |
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BLBcomics private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Any and all of you who give them selves leave to disregard all my future posts, by all means, ignore what I write. I could care less nor will I lose zero sleep if my posts are "disregarded". I used key phrase "...may have been..." goaded to which BabaLament replied he had not been influenced by others. I take him at his word. Ergo, I apologized. "Candor" could should be my middle name. I speak my mind openly, I seek same from others. The quest for Truth continues. I think - and still do - it be a bit unfairly drastic to file a form with the Texas Attorney General, but then post same on this CBCS chat room which I still fail to see why same was publicly posted. What purpose did that serve? CBCS will come thru the other side of this transition and blaze new trails continuing bringing ethics back in to the certification gig which had prior to these guys & gals opening up had all but disappeared. Power Corrupts, Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely so the saying goes. From 1999-2015 CGC had become a monopolistic-seeking swamp which many many souls told me they had become afraid of. I am not, nor will I ever be. Mark Zaid contacted me a few times earlier on when CGC damage popped the bottom staple off an All Star #8 as well as got two inch wide packaging tape on the front cover of an All Star #7 that the owner of CGC was threatening to sue me. Huh? My reply was, "Bring It On! I want to talk to a Judge and Jury..." After 52+ years since I placed my first ad in RBCC #47 Oct 1966 age 14 have seen most all the players enter the set tooting their horns. And many of those heavily vested in CGC 'stock' are attacking others who are not which is what happens over inside the CGC cesspool on a daily basis. Back in August 1972 when the late much missed John Barrett, myself Robert Beerbohm and Bud Plant began our chain store operation Comics and Comix when Bud was still going after his business degree at San Jose State, for one of his classes we made up a 40+ query questionnaire handing out a couple thousand of them in effort to learn the psychological make-up nature of our customer base. We extrapolated all the data over a month or so. What we discovered is the comic book collector reader as a group by nature are some of the most defensive lost souls out there. The very nature of collecting comic books already made one defensive dealing with those who do not collect. The comic book reader lives inside various fantasy worlds. Here is a reality on the path of life.  |
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BabaLament private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I can't tell if those are going up or down; either way, the photo is enough to cause vertigo!" | ||
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Zevgoli private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by BLBcomics This post makes no sense at all. |
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BLBcomics private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Zevgoli I draw from more than a half century dealing in comics for a living. Maybe one day it will. That is up to you to choose to "see" - in the mean time I hope CBCS draws upon its new resources to get up and running at a faster pace. The war for the soul of the collecting world is just beginning its newest phase.  |
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shrewbeer private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Guy That was promised already a while ago to those that had 2-day moderns that took months. Checks were said to be coming from India. Wont be naming names, but Mr Squidward says his still has yet to arrive. |
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TheComicDoJo private msg quote post Address this user | |
If I submit a new order on Tuesday will it come back on Tuesday? o_O  Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!!! Here’s to another week of fun filled updates on this thread. |
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 Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock
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Tedsaid private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by BabaLament Well ... they're stairs. They go both up and down. lol ... j/k. That pic is from the top looking down. But your comment reminds me of a Mitch Hedberg joke: "I like an escalator because an escalator can never break: they can only become stairs." |
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Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock
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Tedsaid private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Here's something I posted on CBCS's Facebook page, but thought I'd put it here, too. I get more interesting comments here, and better ones, too. TATs are currently about six months, I believe. Like many here, I am pulling for CBCS. (And will give them business again soon, I'm sure, when things are better.) I don't know what the holdup is on the back end, hiring new people and such. My guess is, CBCS has been too cautious, trying not to over-hire graders, etc. And that causes them to undershoot, over and over again. CBCS should, right now, today, aim to grade twice as many comics per day as they take in. That's 200%. At 200% and a six month TAT, it will take six months to catch up to the backlog ... IF everything stays the same. (Spoiler alert: it won't.) At only 150%, it will take a year to catch up. Think about that ... if CBCS grades 50% more comics EVERY SINGLE DAY than they take in, it will still take a year to catch up. And once you reach 200%, keep hiring and training more, because it won't stay 200% for long. It would be reasonable to most customers if they knew you were catching up at the rate of 200% right now. They can live with that, if it's true, and if you tell them. So I think you should also be utterly transparent in two things: how many new orders (number of comics) you get each day, and how many are graded each day. Draw the two numbers, update daily, show graphs going back six months. Separate out visually the comic show dumps where you get a whole bunch of orders added all at once. Don't want to share the data with CGC? Don't worry about it. They may be lacking in ethics at the top, but they are experts at this business; they already know exactly what you are doing. The point is, show everyone exactly the challenge you are facing, and how well you are currently handling it. If you are below 100%, they should know that. And if you are making only slow process, they should know that too. It can only help build trust with your customers if they know the big picture AND the details. You have the data already, # of books processed daily, so just post it. Why not? It would literally take an hour to set up, and a minute to update daily. Anyway, the main reason you should aim to vastly overshoot in new hires is exactly what BLBcomics and others have said ... there are TONS of people waiting for shorter TATs to start sending you comics. The numbers and market share will climb as you make progress, and you'll have to hire and train even more people. Submissions are probably slowing down now, with the summer all but over, but they'll be going the other way in six months. If you aren't caught up by then you will start to quickly fall behind again. You are leaving sooooo much money on the table. One more quick comment, responding to Darkseid_of_town's observation about how long it takes. Yes, a premium sports car or waiting for a concert or tournament to start takes a long time. They are meant to. A comic book being graded though? It's the size of the discrepancy that is astonishing here. A comic takes, what, 5-10 minutes to grade, then grade again, put in a case? (Probably much faster than that, but they do have to look at every page. And some grades are trickier than others.) So, here is something that takes 10 minutes to do, for a price tag of $20 or $30 bucks, but manages to take six months to get to? That's just crazy. You will get so much business when your TATs are 4-5 weeks, and fast pass is a couple of days. Added bonus: you will get business back from CGC, who are currently killing it grading all of your books. |
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Gabriel85301 private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by BabaLament It's called the Stairway to Heaven. It's in Hawaii. It's off limits to everyone. People Constantly disappear trying to climb it. |
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Mr_adam_R private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by BLBcomics WHAT IN THE BLUE BLAZES ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!?!?!?! |
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RRO private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Keep these posts coming, the topic is becoming dizzying and taking on a stream of consciousness motif. | ||
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BabaLament private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @Gabriel85301 That's it?! When I was stationed in Hawaii, one of the things covered at indoc. when we got to the island was, "thou shalt not sneak onto the Stairway to Heaven." A couple of guys tried it, but I wasn't willing to risk reduction in rate & half pay for six months. | ||
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robertofredrico private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Mr_adam_R I think that BLBcomics assumes that his writing style is "sophisticated", "scholarly" and "intellectual". He doesn't realize that he actually sounds rambling, incoherent, and stream-of-consciousness. Kind of like if James Joyce had taken a hit of acid. |
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