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CBCS Grading announcement - it's official
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gregory
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Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2023 9:19 am

cstojano wrote in CBCS Grading announcement - it's official:
Attachment:
CBCS.JPG
Unfortunately it looks like someone stole my box coming back from CBCS from the local Fedex office. Here is what was in the box. This was in the Phoenix Arizona area. If anyone sees these for sale please let me know at atst1138@yahoo.com. I am waiting for Fedex to confirm before filing a police report. They have a case manager who is actually calling me with updates. The package hasn't move in their system since 10/14 and its literally 15 minutes from me.

Note: to confirm these were likely stolen by someone who works at Fedex. This isn't a porch bandit situation.

If this is confirmed and you are not compensated, PM me as I have a Slave Tribe in shrink I would donate to alleviate your pain.

Sir Kill Alot
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Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2023 9:25 am

Does CBSC use boxes that are plastered with their name/logo? If so, they need to stop doing that, otherwise this won’t be the last time this happens.

-SKA

Tszii
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Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2023 9:31 am

I imagine its not. CGC uses the most generic brown box.

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Last edited by Tszii on Sat Oct 21, 2023 6:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

cstojano
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Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2023 6:16 pm

gregory wrote in CBCS Grading announcement - it's official:
If this is confirmed and you are not compensated, PM me as I have a Slave Tribe in shrink I would donate to alleviate your pain.

Very kind, I hope it doesn't come to that.
I have watched the box slowly makes it way along I-20 from Charlotte, NC back to Arizona. Its interesting that whatever GPS they use is different from the normal tracking system. It seems to auto update every 12 hours regardless of where it is, so I had pings in Raleigh, MS, Baird, TX, and as of last night Sierra Vista, AZ. These are all VERY small towns. Hopefully its back in Phoenix by tonight for a Monday delivery. Lord knows that the package will look like.

Will update with info on the box/address details. Hopefully they don't use their name on the box. Prop Store of London is awful for this. Not only do they use their name but they use box tape that has their logo all over it.

cstojano
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Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2023 11:17 am

And now delivered, crisis avoided. Thanks for lending me your ear to complain for the last week or so. CBCS packing was great and the books look amazing. I need to get some pics up for folks interested. I admit I cannot really see the difference between the 9.2 and 9.8 grades. Here are the grader notes for those interested

7.5 Shrinkwrap: B
Notes:
spine stress breaks color
wear to all cover corners
shrinkwrap: tears at all 4 corners

9.2 Shrinkwrap: B
Notes:
3/4" crease bottom right back cover, tiny bend top right corner front cover
shrinkwrap: small tears X 4 conerers, 1" tear middle right back cover, tiny tear right top front cover (just below bottom right of logo)

9.4 Shrinkwrap: B+
Notes:
small crease-bend top right corner front cover, light wear bottom spine
shrinkwrap: small tear X 3 corners

9.8 Shrinkwrap: A
Notes: shrinkwrap: small tear bottom spine

9.8 Shrinkwrap: A+
Notes: none

Tszii
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Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2023 1:38 pm

Awesome good news!

I would appreciate the pics if you get those up. It takes me forever to do that, so I understand if you dont.

The notes appear a bit more detailed that CGC. The grades may be a bit more generous as well. I dont think that really matters. Grades with cards are debated like everything else. (It also may be I am still salty about some of my grades. :) )

cstojano
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Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2023 3:00 pm

Yeah the issue with images is how hard it is to get good ones without a scanner.
All that said, is there a difference between the 9.8 A+ and 9.8 A? Well the A+ is the Dark Sun piece which looks completely brand new (not rare by any stretch) and the shrink also looks like a product from this year whereas the older modules have a bit more tatty application of shrink (Dragonlance modules are pretty rough overall).

dosselmeyer
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Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2023 9:54 am

Tszii wrote in CBCS Grading announcement - it's official:Awesome good news!

The notes appear a bit more detailed that CGC. The grades may be a bit more generous as well. I dont think that really matters. Grades with cards are debated like everything else. (It also may be I am still salty about some of my grades. :) )

As the person who entered these notes, I thank you.

These grader notes are one of the things we do differently than CGC. For 10 years now, CBCS has put notes on anything that is a 9.6 or lower. CGC does not do this, I have a comic from them that's a 6.0 with zero notes.
In addition, our notes are free to the public (you need the item code on the label) and always have been.

To access CGC notes you need an account. CGC notes are now free but they used to charge you $10 per book to see the notes (they changed this about a year ago).

As to the grading standards. This submission was really just chock full of high grade goodness.

Our "policy" is to give the highest grade possible to the book, without being wrong.

The comic collecting community generally thinks our grades are more stringent than CGC but also significantly more consistent.

Thanks for the submission and I am so relieved that it made it to you (eventually!).

Badmike
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Posted: Tue Oct 31, 2023 11:56 am

Wow, those are some amazing grades. I can tell you from experience that RPG items rarely get over a 9.2. Those must have been absolute museum pieces! Also CBCS is a stricter grader than CGC from what I've found, by at least 1 to .5 an item grading. Also, they put the full name of the module/item across the top. Also, their cases are much sturdier than CBCS. Also they will not pull off the SW unless you indicate you want them to. The only thing IMO to recommend the CGC experience is you may get a better grade. CGC also takes longer LOL.

I have found they are really strict on color breaks along the spine. I have the out of SW stuff pressed but no clue how much that is adding to the value, I can say everything I have gotten back (including the lower grade 6.5-7.0 items) looks stunning in the cases. My wife is building me a shelf for my office to display the best items in my collection once I get them graded.

I think it helps they have actual RPG guys doing the RPG items. Also they asked for input from guys like Ingo and myself which I feel good about, I cannot see CGC calling me up and asking me for any input at all on anything. If they would have, I would have told the CGC guys that the name of the item ABSOLUTELY needs to go on the masthead portion.

Mike B.

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dbartman
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Posted: Tue Oct 31, 2023 3:42 pm

Also, their cases are much sturdier than CBCS.

Did you mean that the CBCS cases are sturdier than CGC cases?

Badmike
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Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2023 1:18 pm

dbartman wrote in CBCS Grading announcement - it's official:Did you mean that the CBCS cases are sturdier than CGC cases?

Yes, at least in my comparisons.YMMV.

Mike B

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FoulFoot
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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2026 3:17 pm

Received today in an email:

CBCS Service Update

Founded in 2014, CBCS quickly became a trusted resource for comic collectors seeking professional grading and authentication.

As we look ahead, we’re increasing our focus and investment in the core Beckett brand and expanding our broader grading capabilities. This includes continued development of our trading card and autograph authentication services, as well as ongoing hiring and team expansion across key areas of the business. These investments are focused on improving turnaround times, enhancing the customer experience, and strengthening the long-term value we provide to collectors.

As part of our strategy to focus on the Beckett brand, we've made the challenging decision to shut down CBCS. Effective April 17, new submissions will no longer be accepted. All existing orders, and any submissions received by that date, will continue through the grading process as normal.

The CBCS Population Report will remain available, and previously graded CBCS comics will remain documented in the CBCS database and population report.

Thank you to the collectors, partners, and supporters who have been part of the CBCS journey and helped build CBCS into a respected part of the comic collecting community.

dbartman
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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2026 5:04 pm

That's very disappointing news. While the service had its share of controversies, CBCS provided a necessary check and balance against the CGC monopoly. Now that they're folding, there are effectively no alternatives for professional grading. This doesn't just hurt competition, it makes every existing CBCS module suspect for future sales since the database will eventually become a static relic with no path for re-holdering or verification. For those who use these services, this isn't good for our hobby to lose the option of a second major resource.

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