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CGC Acquires Classics Inc - Response to your Questions

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Thank you all for your feedback on our latest acquisition. While it is difficult to get into an ongoing dialogue with the many CGC users, we would like, at a minimum, to respond to some of the questions that have been raised.

 

We have every intention to continue to operate transparently and welcome both criticism and thoughts on how we can best serve the hobby.

 

While many of you are very critical about some of our business decisions and other operating issues, I will address the following:

 

Turnaround times

No one is more frustrated than all of us at CGC with how far behind we have fallen and we are doing everything in our power to get caught up. Grading is not a business that can be rushed for obvious reasons. Being a CGC grader is not as easy as some of you may think and hiring qualified people that want to grade all day versus working in the marketplace is not an easy hire. We are constantly looking for qualified graders and if any of you would like to apply, we will be happy to evaluate your skills.

 

Conflict of Interest

At the end of the day our credibility is the most integral component of CGC. We have worked for over a decade to build this company into what it has become today. We have no interest in assigning the wrong grade to any book and I can assure you, from the top down at CGC, we all feel the same way. We are not in this for any short-term gain and would like to remain your grading service of choice forever. We take our responsibility to the hobby very seriously and will never abuse your trust.

 

As all of this relates to the purchase of Classics Incorporated, I am happy to consult with an advisory group of your peers to make sure that we do this properly. We are here to make money but we are also here to be transparent and do what is best for the hobby. While it is hard to please everyone, we will certainly go out of our way to address as many of the legitimate concerns that you have. The following is a list of the most frequently asked questions and responses:

 

Can Matt still sell comics?

No, Matt cannot engage in selling comics just like the rest of the employees employed by the Certified Collectibles Group.

 

Is Matt still pressing right now?

Yes, Matt is still taking submissions as normal until the changeover on 2/1/13.

 

When is the cutoff for submitting to Classics before merging?

Any books not finished in Dallas right before 2/1/13 will be transferred to the new office, completed and submitted as usual. This transfer will occur seamlessly.

 

How will the submission process for pressing change?

Customers will still submit through the Classics site as usual. We will most likely streamline the submission form making it even easier.

 

Resto removal?

Classics will still offer this service. However, Classics can now work with CGC to ensure all removal is achieved before grading which will eliminate wasted CGC fees.

 

Will Classics still offer a screening service?

Yes, but only a prescreen service. The traditional proscreen service where Matt assigns a potential grade will end as of 2/1/13.

 

Will graders undergrade to help pressing business?

Absolutely not. CGC grading will not change from what it has always been.

 

If a book is pressed by Classics, will it get an automatic upgrade?

No, the grade of the book is the grade of the book. Not all books are upgraded because they have been pressed. All books from Classics will still be objectively graded, just like every other submission. This is not an upgrade service in any way and there is no assurance that the book will upgrade.

 

As an independent member of the Certified Collectibles Group (CCG) of companies, Classics will operate as a stand alone business separate from CGC.

 

Will CGC still accept books pressed by other companies/people?

Absolutely. The purpose of this acquisition is to offer a high end, streamlined service that our clients deserve. It is not to put anyone out of business.

 

Will Classics’s pressing fees change?

Pricing structure and new turnaround times will be announced shortly.

 

If there are any other questions regarding the merger, please email them to either Harshen Patel at hpatel@cgccomics.com or Matt Nelson at comics@classicsincorporated.com . We’ll release another email answering your additional questions. I want to thank all of you for your input and passion about the hobby and our business. We will continue to keep all of you in the loop as we make final decisions regarding logistics for the Classics integration.

 

Regards,

Steve Eichenbaum

CEO

Certified Collectibles Group

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Seems reasonable. The butthurt mafia won't approve, but that is to be expected.

 

I prefer Anally Irritated Mafia, myself.

 

Good that they addressed it, however - actions speak louder than words.

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Resto removal?

Classics will still offer this service. However, Classics can now work with CGC to ensure all removal is achieved before grading which will eliminate wasted CGC fees.

 

As an independent member of the Certified Collectibles Group (CCG) of companies, Classics will operate as a stand alone business separate from CGC.

 

Who from CGC will be working with CI on the resto detection in the instances of removal? And if CI are still an independent company, how come CGC will be allowed to do this now?

 

Not being arsey here, just a genuine question out of interest.

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Seems reasonable. The butthurt mafia won't approve, but that is to be expected.

 

I prefer Anally Irritated Mafia, myself.

 

Good that they addressed it, however - actions speak louder than words.

The problem is for some people, and you might be one of them, that no matter what CGC does or says it won't be enough to convince people that they are, we're, and will remain on the up and up.

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No. Why would they? They haven't in the past and what would make you think they would change that stance now?

My question was directed to Steve Eichenbaum, I didn't know you were working for CGC and could answer for them.

 

As for why they would, one of the reasons that was given in the past is that pressing was very hard to detect and then that there was no way for CGC to confirm that a book has been pressed or not.

 

Now that this is going to change for several books, I would like to know what will be CGC stance for the books that they now know for sure that have been pressed.

 

Thank you in advance Mr Eichenbaum for your upcoming answer to my question.

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No. Why would they? They haven't in the past and what would make you think they would change that stance now?

My question was directed to Steve Eichenbaum, I didn't know you were working for CGC and could answer for them.

 

As for why they would, one of the reasons that was given in the past is that pressing was very hard to detect and then that there was no way for CGC to confirm that a book has been pressed or not.

 

Now that this is going to change for several books, I would like to know what will be CGC stance for the books that they now know for sure that have been pressed.

 

Thank you in advance Mr Eichenbaum for your upcoming answer to my question.

I guess thinking about how things work at CGC is being a toughie for you.

So to make sure there is no conflict of interest CGC he graders have no idea as to who has submitted books or what if anything has been done to them.

Why would that change? For it to change it would mean that the graders would have to be made aware of which books have or have not. Let that happen and see what kind of hell breaks loose.

So, while I am not working for CGC I did sleep in my own bed last night and didn't need a lot of mental acuity to come up with an answer to your moronic question.

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