Blackgate Comics are approved UK Dealers through the Comic Grading Company CBCS and CGC , Have your favorite comics Graded for as low as £35
able to correctly fill in all necessary forms CBCS require please send your comics in at least 1 week before our dispatch. Please see below for our dispatch dates along with the latest date we need to receive your comics in by for checking and application submission
When sending your Comic to us we recommend you send them Signed and Tracked by Royal mail this way you will have peace of mind that your comic will not be lost in the post, We also recommend reading our “How to package your comics” section for the best way to send your comics to us. Friday 31st July 2015 we ship for grading. Friday 24th July 2015 receive your comics for grading by. Monday 31 August 2015 we ship for grading. Monday 21st August 2015 receive your comics for grading by. Wednesday 30th September 2015 we ship for grading. Wednesday 23rd September 2015 receive your comics for grading by. Friday 30th October 2015 we ship for grading. Friday 23rd October 2015 receive your comics for grading by. Monday 30th November 2015 we ship for grading. Monday 23rd November 2015 receive your comics for grading by. Wednesday 30th December 2015 we ship for grading. Wednesday 23rd December 2015 receive your comics for grading by. Please note we encourage you to send your comics in as soon as possible, If your comic arrives after the cut-off date as seen in the dates above they will go on to the following months dispatch. Pricing
Pricing (based on current turnaround times listed on Facebook)
Modern tier: 1975 to present £35 per book. Valued up to $250*
Price Includes Shipping to and from the U.S and return Delivery to customer via secured and tracked post
Consumer tier: Any Year £45 per book. Valued up to $400*
Price Includes Shipping to and from the U.S and return Delivery to customer via secured and tracked post
Rapid tier: Any Year £110 per book. Valued up to $4000*
Price Includes Shipping to and from the U.S and return Delivery to customer via secured and tracked post
**Valuing your comic: We value your comic by the current raw copy prices, a good place to find out the current market value is via Ebay sold listing prices to gauge an average value of an un-slabbed comic. Add-on Services Available
CBCS offer additional services, please note the addon prices are an extra charge on top of the standard grading prices
Example:
Darth Vader #1 Signed by Adi Ganovi at a Comic Con would classed as
Modern tier: 1975 to present £35 per book. Valued up to $250*
Un-witnessed Signature add-on (VSP) is £15
Total to pay: £50 per book
Available add-ons
CBCS Re-holder: £9.99 per book. Un-witnessed Signature add-on (VSP) is £15. If you have a book that was signed without being witnessed by a CBCS representative, you can submit the book under our VSP Program. CSA will determine the authenticity of the signature. If the signature is deemed authentic, the comic will be encased in our pristine plastic with our VSP red label. If the signature is not authenticated, you will be given the option of having the book graded with our blue label with a lower grade due to the writing on the comic, or having the book returned to you. Turnaround Times
Turnaround times do vary for example: Comic Con season in America generally causes a few delays due to CBCS receiving a large amount of submissions during the months of May to September. We like to say that from the date the comic has left Blackgate Comics (Please see Date Table on other page for Shipping out dates) your comic should be returned back to us with 6-7 weeks, but for the latest turnaround times please check on the CBCS page to give you an indication of the wait the link is found here https://www.facebook.com/CBCScomics?fref=ts. We will also keep watch over your comics whilst they are away and update you throughout the process. How to Package your comics
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. Vintage comic books are quite fragile, which is one of the reasons they can be so valuable when they have been preserved in high grades. Special care must be used when packaging comics for shipping. Other than a package being crushed, the biggest cause of damage to comics during shipping is movement. You will need to pack the books to eliminate as much movement inside the package as possible. The first step is to place your comics in protective bags that are only slightly larger than the book itself. Placing Modern Age books into Golden Age bags leaves the book well over an inch to slide from side to side in the bag. Remember, we're trying to prevent movement, so this is a crucial step. Don't choose a bag that is too tight as this can introduce damage itself. The bag should be just slightly larger than the book and it should have an appropriately sized board inserted behind the comic book. For a little added protection, you can choose to use a few extra boards unless you're using thick Fullbacks. Properly sized bags will prevent your books from moving inside the bag. You will want to pack the books into bundles of ten or less. Place the first two comics face to face with the spines on opposite sides. It is incredibly important to be mindful of the spines on the comics. You will want to keeps the spines away from each other and never have any packaging pressure directly on the spine of a book. Create a stack with every two books placed face to face, spines on opposite sides, until you have a group of ten books. Take a large piece of paper (newspaper, gift wrap, brown packaging paper, etc) and wrap the bundle of ten comics as you would a birthday present. By wrapping the bundle, you are preventing the comic bags from moving around. Find or cut two pieces of cardboard roughly 1/4” larger than the bundle of comics. Place one piece of cardboard under the comic bundle and tape it directly to the board. Do not tape on the sides as it puts pressure on the spines of the comics. Rather tape it on the top and bottom edges of the bundle. Do not tape very tightly. You just want it tight enough to prevent the books from moving. Place the second piece of cardboard on the opposite side of the bundle and tape it on the top and bottom edges as you did to the other piece of cardboard. Once you have a completed bundle, wrap it in a layer of bubble wrap. Once you've finished your bundles, put them into a box. Be sure to use some extra foam peanuts or bubble wrap around the books inside the box to prevent damage from the package being mishandled. Make sure the box has been topped off with peanuts and there is no empty space left. You don't want to over-stuff the box, just take up the extra room to prevent movement during transit. Paying for your grading
We recommend you pay via Paypal for the service as in the event you need to make a claim you will be fully covered by Paypal Payment Protection. To buy the Service please make payments to [email protected]
Make sure you put in the notes of the comic you are sending including the issue number, along with full contact details home address (or where you would like the comic sent once its arrived back from grading) email and also contact telephone number. To have your comic graded you will need to post your comic to the address below:
Blackgate Comics
10 Fraser Road
Havant
Hants
PO9 3EJ
If you have any enquires about the service or for more information please contact us through our page or via email [email protected]
