New Professional Comic Book Grading Service – CBCS
There’s some new competition in the professional comic book grading services industry brought to us by none other than Steve Borock. The new company is Comic Book Certification Service or CBCS and expects to go live in July. You can visit the CBCS website here, although at the current time it is just a placeholder with a FAQ. Some of the more common questions are answered below. I look forward to this new service and I’ll send some books in for review once it’s available. Stay tuned…
Q&A from Steve Borock:
Turn Around Times
“We will have Guaranteed times on getting books to you. If we fail to deliver on that, you get money back. I have told all the employees that if, in a rare case, something happens to a book, they must tell me right away or they will be fired. Mistakes happen, but if we do make a mistake, we would let you know and compensate you. More details will follow once we are up and running,” Borock said.
Grade Screening
“We will be offering a service called ‘Grade Screening,’ where you pick a minimum grade on every book in your submission. If we determine that the comic to be at least your minimum grade specified, the book will be certified and placed into a CBCS holder. If it does not meet the minimum grade you picked, we will not grade it or put it into our holder. We will send your un-graded book back to you with the rest of your submission, and you will just be charged a very minimal rejection fee,” he said.
“There is no minimum number of comics to be eligible for this service and you can select a different grade for every book in the submission. There will be no impact on the turn around times and ‘Grade Screening’ is covered under the CBCS Turn Around Guarantee,” he said. This will allow you to certify those borderline books you’ve been holding on to without taking the risk of parting with money you would not have previously spent.”
Pricing
Modern tier: 1978 to present $15 per book.
15 business days. Valued up to $250
2-Day Modern tier: 1978 to present $35 per book.
Valued up to value $2000
Expanded Modern tier: 1969-1977 $20 per book.
20 business days. Valued up to $250
Expanded consumer tier: Pre-1969$22 per book.
30 business days. Valued up to $250
Consumer tier: Any Year $29 per book.
30 business days. Valued up to $400
Quickstream tier: Any Year $49 per book.
10 business days. Valued up to $1150
Rapid tier: Any Year $75 per book.
4 business days. Valued up to $4000
1-Day tier: 2.5% of Market Value.
Same Day service. Minimum charge $110, maximum charge $1975 per book. No value limit.
CBCS Re-holder: $9.50 per book.
6 business days. No Value limit.
Signature add-on is $5 per book
(not per signature)
Image add-on is $4 per book
(Free Image for 1-day tier)
Video add-on is $30 per book.
Authorized Dealers get a 10% discount on all tiers, but not on the add-ons.
CGC Mobile Verification Tool
I’m happy to announce that CGC has introduced a mobile certification tool! This is similar to the product offered for coin collectors and an important addition to the hobby. They have also announced there will be several enhancements in the coming year including the ability to purchase grade notes.
You can visit the mobile verification site at m.CGCcomics.com
The full press release for this new tool is here.
CGC Comics – Comic Book Glossary
CGC Comics – CGC stands for Certified Guaranty Company. CGC is a professional grading company specializing in grading and encapsulating comic books and magazines.
CGC was founded in 2000 and has graded over 2 million comic books. Their service includes restoration check, grade assignment, and final encapsulation.
CGC uses the following 10 point grading scale:
10.0 Gem Mint
9.9 Mint
9.8 Near Mint/Mint
9.6 Near Mint +
9.4 Near Mint
9.2 Near Mint –
9.0 Very Fine/Near Mint
8.5 Very Fine +
8.0 Very Fine
7.5 Very Fine –
7.0 Fine/Very Fine
6.5 Fine +
6.0 Fine
5.5 Fine –
5.0 Very Good/Fine
4.5 Very Good +
4.0 Very Good
3.5 Very Good –
3.0 Good/Very Good
2.5 Good +
2.0 Good
1.8 Good –
1.5 Fair/Good
1.0 Fair
.5 Poor
Labels are color coded as follows:
UNIVERSAL (BLUE)
This label is applied to comic books that are simply the grade as marked, with no qualifiers or special considerations.
SIGNATURE SERIES (YELLOW)
This label is applied to comic books that have been signed by someone of significance to the comic, under the direct observation of a CGC representative, and are thus certified as an authentic signature by CGC.
QUALIFIED (GREEN)
A Qualified label is used by CGC for certified books that have a significant defect that needs specific description, or to note an unauthenticated signature (one which was not witnessed by CGC). For example, it would be a disservice to the seller and buyer to call a 9.4 book with the cover detached from a staple a 6.0 so CGC will give this book a Qualified grade of 9.4 and a Label Text notation of “COVER DETACHED FROM BOTTOM STAPLE.” Or, if the book is signed on the cover it may be noted as “NAME WRITTEN ON COVER IN MARKER.”
RESTORED (PURPLE)
This label is applied to any comic book that has evidence of repair so that it will appear as it did when it was in its original condition. Restoration can come in a variety of degrees, from slight professional restoration (SP) to extensive amateur restoration (EA).
SIGNATURE SERIES RESTORED (YELLOW / PURPLE)
Applied to a restored comic book that has been signed by someone of significance to the comic, under the direct observation of a CGC representative, and are certified as an authentic signature by CGC. Degree of restoration is also noted on the label.
MODERN (RED)
An outdated label used originally to distinguish modern comics (these books can be sent in for our New Holder service and receive a blue universal label at the same grade).
You can read more about CGC at their website www.CGCcomics.com
