Frequently Asked Questions.
Certification
Certification is the process of confirming that an item is authentic and meets a certain required level of quality. With comic books, once a book is deemed authentic by the CBCS, it is inspected for restoration and conservation by our restoration detection experts. Then the book is graded by the CBCS team (grades range from 0.1 up to 10) and the comic is encapsulated in an archival safe, tamper-evident holder accompanied by the CBCS label, notating grade and all pertinent information.
CBCS grades any and all mainstream comic books that will fit into our holder. Currently, we do not certify underground comics or comic magazines. Poly-bagged comics must be removed before they can be certified. Items such as detached 3-D glasses, poly-bags, certificates of authenticity and other loose materials that can damage a book will not be encapsulated with the comic. These items will be sent back to you at no extra charge.
The cost to have a book certified depends on the tier you choose. Each tier has certain perimeters (such as year of publication, insured value, speed of turnaround) which will help you select the best tier to submit your comics under. CBCS’s prices for each tier are listed on our pricing page
Certification
Certification is the process of confirming that an item is authentic and meets a certain required level of quality. With comic books, once a book is deemed authentic by the CBCS, it is inspected for restoration and conservation by our restoration detection experts. Then the book is graded by the CBCS team (grades range from 0.1 up to 10) and the comic is encapsulated in an archival safe, tamper-evident holder accompanied by the CBCS label, notating grade and all pertinent information.
CBCS grades any and all mainstream comic books that will fit into our holder. Currently, we do not certify underground comics or comic magazines. Poly-bagged comics must be removed before they can be certified. Items such as detached 3-D glasses, poly-bags, certificates of authenticity and other loose materials that can damage a book will not be encapsulated with the comic. These items will be sent back to you at no extra charge.
The cost to have a book certified depends on the tier you choose. Each tier has certain perimeters (such as year of publication, insured value, speed of turnaround) which will help you select the best tier to submit your comics under. CBCS’s prices for each tier are listed on our pricing page
Shipping
Yes. Once you have filled out the CBCS submission form listing all the books you are submitting, you will be given the option to have all books submitted back to you at one time, or have the tiers sent back to you separately as they are finished. This option is listed on the shipping section of the checkout process. Please remember: If choosing this option, you negate the guaranteed turn times, as the tiers that are done first will have to wait until the tier with the longest turn around time is certified before shipping.
Packaging your books to ship to CBCS:
We want your comics to be received by CBCS in the same condition they were in while they were in your care and preparing your package is possibly the most important step to insuring this is successful.
We want your comics to be received by CBCS in the same condition they were in while they were in your care and preparing your package is possibly the most important step to insuring this is successful.
Shipping back to countries outside the UK require different charges than addresses with the UK. CBCS will notify you of the charges before we ship your submission back to you.
Yes, you can use your own shipping account to mail books back, after grading/pressing. If you decide to use your own account, all handling and insurance charges will be applied to that account. Insurance will be determined based on the declared value associated with the order or that is listed on the submission form. CBCS will also apply a £10 fee for each £1000 the order is insured for. This fee will cover insurance/handling while in CBCS possession. This fee will be paid by the customer and not charged to the shipping account.
Restoration and Conservation
Restoration is a procedure in which additive elements are used in order to enhance the appearance of a comic by covering or removing any damage found on a comic. Conservation is a process used to prevent the deterioration and further destruction of a comic.
Before a comic book is graded, it is checked for restoration or conservation by our restoration detection experts. CBCS has separated conservation and a restoration into two different categories. If restoration or conservation is found, CBCS will include a list of all the work detected on the label, classifying it as either conserved or restored. CBCS has 5 levels of restoration; slight, slight to moderate, moderate, moderate to extensive, and extensive. The more restoration that is detected, the higher the restoration level becomes. Books that have both restoration and conservation will receive the restoration designation.
No. Restored, conserved and unrestored comic books will all receive the same color label from CBCS, but all conservation and restoration detected will be noted on the CBCS label.
Restoration and Conservation
You can either fill out our on-line submission form (link to our form is on our homepage under “Submit your comic”) or you can stop by our both at one of the many conventions we will be attending every year. Submitters with a large volume of books may be able to drop them off at our offices.
Absolutely! In fact, you can send in more than one tier on a single CBCS on-line invoice. On the on-line submission form, there is a “tier” selection for each comic book you submit. Once you are finished entering the books you wish to submit, the invoice will auto-group all the different tiers together when you proceed to checkout. This allows you to group each tier together when packing the books for shipment to CBCS. You can also “Grade Screen” on the same invoice
Yes CBCS would be happy to crossover any CGC graded comic into our holder. You can either send in the CGC book in its holder, or you can remove it from the holder and send the book in raw with or without the CGC label.
Pressing
The address for the CBCS Pressing office is 3 Percy Mews Rear of 789 High Road Finchley London N12 8JT United Kingdom
CBCS does not consider pressing and dry cleaning to be restoration.
Yes, Fast Pass is an optional add-on for both Pressing and/or Grading. Just like with Grading, Fast Pass cuts the turnaround for Pressing in half.
Press Screen is a service that determines if your comic book is a good candidate to benefit from pressing, and potentially receive a higher grade after pressing and dry cleaning takes place.
Generally, it will remove surface soiling, including pencil marks, in white areas of the comic. Dry cleaning will not remove stains, foxing, pen, marker, sun shadows, dust shadows, deep soiling, or tanning. Likewise, it will not remove dirt or pencil marks in non-white areas of the cover.
Basically, defects that don’t break color make the best pressing candidates. Defects such as bends, indents, corner impacts, warps, waves, minor spine stress, moisture ripples (with no stains), stacking bends, spine rolls (if the spine is not fragile), dirt, or pencil marks. The key here is no (or minimal) color breaks.
Please note that this is just a guideline, and not all books that contain these pressable defects will receive a higher grade after being pressed. There can be other factors/defects on a comic that can negatively influence the grade, and cannot be removed by pressing.
Defects that do break color, while they can be flattened, are still visible after the press and will negatively affect the grade of the comic.
Defects that do not make good pressing candidates include color breaking creases/spine stress, chips or missing pieces, stains, covers or centerfolds detached from staples, rusted staples, rust stains, sun/dust shadows, tears, fingerprints, weak spines/brittle pages, missing pages/coupons, fading.
Again, pressing can make any of these things flat, but the defect is still there.
Yes, as long as the restoration is not sticky or has any material (such as glues) that are affected by heat. If it is determined that your book has a high risk of being damaged during the pressing process, it will be rejected for pressing at no charge to you.
Yes, in most cases. There are situations where it cannot be pressed, such as when an artist uses a densely opaque paint pen on a very glossy cover. If it is determined that your book has a high risk of damaging the signature during the pressing process, your book will be rejected for pressing at no cost to you.
Generally, yes. The methods we use can safely press an individual comic multiple times.
In many cases, yes. It differs book by book, depending on how badly it’s damaged. Honestly, we have seen books that were pressed so badly, they could only be helped by Dr. Stephen Strange.
We do our best to give you the best opportunity for a grade bump, but we do not guarantee you will get one. While it is rare, there is also a chance that a comic will receive a lower grade after pressing. We do not offer refunds for books that receive undesirable grades.
Yes, as long as grading has not begun on the invoice. Grading turnaround times will reset and include added time for CBCS Pressing services.
General Questions:
Yes. All books submitted to CBG will be insured up to the full value you have selected when filling out the submission form. Comics will only be covered by our insurance while on our premise. While at CBG, your comics will be kept safe in our climate controlled vault. Comics en route to CBG or being shipped back to you may be covered by the insurance of the shipping carrier. If using your own carrier, you should check with your shipping carrier to determine their liability and coverage.
Sure! CBG charges a replacement / re-holder fee the outer holder. There is a re-holder option you can select which is listed under “tier” on the submission form.
Yes. CBG guarantees that your comic book has been graded by at least two CBG graders and one Finalizer, and has been checked by the QC department for errors and defects on the label and holder before shipping.
A pedigree is a comic that came from a well preserved and extensively documented vintage collection. These collections are well known within the comic collecting hobby and recognized as being significant for various reasons. Please send with the comic, any certificates or paperwork & it will be sent back to you with your submission. A comic will only receive a pedigree designation if CBCS’s pedigree experts can positively ascertain its authenticity.
A variant is a comic book that was created as an alternative printing from the standard issue, or has something unique about it due to a difference during production. Some examples: A price variant, an alternative cover, a convention or store exclusive edition. There are many other variants not mentioned here.