Sometime in 2019, CBCS Comics offered a discount on their grading services, and I decided to send a couple comics from my collection to get encapsulated for preservation. As my loyal readers can probably attest to, I don't typically send comics to get graded to sell... or at all. There was a cover that I had created by artist Robert "Floydman" Sumner, and signed by "Weird Al" Yankovic. I felt that having this preserved would be a great idea.
I also felt that I wanted to have both the Stan Lee and Larry Hama signatures authenticated on the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #50 that I had sent to PGX years ago. For whatever reason, even after I have asked to have Hamma's signature authenticated when I sent it to PGX, they failed to do so. This always bothered me... so, away to CBCS.
As you can read in my previous post about my original experiences with PGX, I paid good money to have this issue, that has so much sentimental value to me, signed by Stan Lee and encapsulated. I had this issue signed by Larry Hama at Rose City Comic Con in 2015.
I have had the pleasure of working with CBCS Comics before, and have never been disappointed. The entire experience was excellent, and I feel that their customer service was excellent and their service was on time.
When I got the books back, I was both happy and upset. Here's why I was happy:
Here are the notes from CBCS on this book:
Signees:
Verified Sig: LARRY HAMA.
"Stan Lee" signature unverifiable by BAS.
Notes:When I reached-out to Beckett Authentication Services for further comment, this is unfortunately all they would comment:
spine stress breaks color
light edge & corner wear
many crinkle bends to front & back cover
John,
Because we deemed the autograph inconclusive, we can no longer give information regarding the signature.
Sorry for any inconvenience.
Thank you,I was devestated when I got this book back. I don't have issue with CBCS, of course. My outrage is directed at PGX for apparently grading this too high in the first place, and possibly sell me an unauthentic Stan Lee signature.
Yoni
I have sent PGX an email to comment on this issue, and have given them 5 business days to respond. If they don't respond by next weekend, I will provide an update here.
PGX response so far:
ReplyDelete"Hello,
I apologize if we missed authenticating the Hama signature through some error. I do not know if you contacted us about it but it would have been something we would have corrected if it was an error on our part. We stand behind the signatures we have authenticated, I do not know what procedures are used or standards needed to authenticate signature by another company.
Thank you,
Daniel Patterson"
Latest response from PGX:
ReplyDeleteHello John,
I apologize, I will check with Daniel to confirm more information regarding services provided for you in the past. Please understand that we did not respond right away to this recent email because we check all emails personally and not over the weekends. I cannot attest to email responses back in 2016 as I haven't been with the company that long.
With regards to the Stan Lee signature, CBCS not being able to authenticate it does not change the fact that we did. Our authentication means that the signature went through full authentication processes and no reason for doubt came up. Stan Lee's signature is a difficult one to authenticate as it is simple and had many basic variations throughout his life. Since his passing we have stopped authenticating his signature and most other companies have stopped as well. This doesn't mean that we don't back the books that we had previously had authenticated with his signature, it just means that we have chosen not to continue authenticating it.
I am not aware of why the Larry Hama signature wasn't authenticated. It's possible that it was overlooked or it's possible that our authentication process couldn't confirm it. Unfortunately, in order to look up the notes for the book in question, I would need the serial number (9 digit number starting with 501) on the label provided for the book as, at the time that it was graded, that's how grading information was recorded and stored. Still, I will check with Daniel and see if there is more information that he might have with regards to your past submission. I apologize for how you feel you have been inconvenienced and will do what I can to see how we can make things right with you.
Collette Schneider | Manager
Here's the latest information on this ongoing saga...
ReplyDeletePGX has agreed to re-certify both signatures on this book free of charge, but I believe they will want me to pay for the re-grading. Not sure how I feel about this. Since they are currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I'm not getting any further responses from PGX.
We'll see what happens once they are able to get to their email and respond.