can we visit Sacramento???

Jason R · Post by **Jason R** » Dec 6th 2002, 10:54 pm

The sad thing is that I tried to warn the investors about this and nobody believed me.

Read my posts from October when I said AU was leaving CMIH and that Ross was taking AU with him.

vapspwi · Post by **vapspwi** » Dec 6th 2002, 11:03 pm

bitca wrote:She could do nothing for me there; it seems that AU and CMI have parted ways. She mentioned something about being sold to another company and a bunch of firing. They are managing the website for a bit longer but after that they are done.

So, is this actually the bombshell that it seems (I realize that Jason had said this was coming)? By that, I mean, what does this really MEAN?

Does it mean that the evil behind AU (Ross et al) have bailed, leaving the AU name behind to deal with the fallout (the rest of the shipping and all of the refunds and stuff)? I'm not real good with all this financial wheeling and dealing.

I'm getting a bad feeling that, if all this is for real, that AU will collapse, leaving us all SOL with respect to refunds and the bonus materials, and Ross will get away scot free. Am I reading things right? I don't want to fan any flames until I understand everything correctly.

JRjr

andrewgd · Post by **andrewgd** » Dec 6th 2002, 11:44 pm

Jason Rosenfeld wrote:The sad thing is that I tried to warn the investors about this and nobody believed me.

Read my posts from October when I said AU was leaving CMIH and that Ross was taking AU with him.

So basically it sounds like Ross is taking AU and making it the true extension of his Comics & Comix stores, and leaving the CMIH label behind, along with all the investors. And without AU, I beleive that leaves CMIH with nothing. No website, no stock, no customers. Maybe they have other ventures, but that's not what it sounds like when Ross says "I am the board of directors, I can do what I want."

Here's my theory: Ross runs brick and mortar comic stores, and sees that Fandom.com and AU are going out of buisness. He gets investors to supply the capital needed for him to purchase the AU stock and website. Then, after selling off all the previous AU stock, he dumps CMIH and its investors, and uses AU as the online equivalent of his brick and mortars.

That seems like his overall scheme, and doesn't really take into account the 2ners and MSCL (which seem now like projects he thought he could make a ton of money on without putting in too much effort.)

In early 2002 Ross must have realized the costs of shipping the old AU stock to Cali, and the cost of paying off AU's debt and extended rent on the old warehouse. Ross decided he'd pick up on this MSCL deal, which was "money in the bag."

Unfortunately, he underestimated the costs of paying rent on an empty warehouse, and the comic business is in the crapper, so he decided to double/triple charge customers to raise capital, and repay them when more orders were placed. He then found out that he could save $2 a set and released the exclusivity of the disks. After doing that, he began losing sales instead of making more, since other retailers were selling for upwards of half his price.

That increased his money problems instead of making them better. Now he's got hundreds of customers waiting for a refund, and can only pay them once he's made more sales. Unforunately, I don't think that's going to happen.

This is all just my deduction, but it all sounds very very likely to me. I'd love to post this at the CMIH page, but posting there seems not to be working at the moment...

fnordboy · Post by **fnordboy** » Dec 6th 2002, 11:48 pm

eh it all sounds too fishy to me. I wouldnt believe anything coming from anybody remotely associated with AU right now.

But if it is true we can all kiss our refunds and probably the bonus disc and lunchbox goodbye. I'm so glad i ended up spending 230 dollars on this crap.

so-called customer · Post by **so-called customer** » Dec 7th 2002, 12:32 am

I'm not really up with who is holding what stock, but another way of taking over control of a company is to drive its stock into the toilet, buy out all the outstanding shares for pennies on the dollar, then rename the company with all the assets intact.

Either way, it is shady business, and I do feel for those still dealing with AU, as I am certain they will never get what they paid such a premium for, and Ross and co. will make off with the cash to start over under another name.

vapspwi · Post by **vapspwi** » Dec 7th 2002, 11:01 am

andrewgd wrote: So basically it sounds like Ross is taking AU and making it the true extension of his Comics & Comix stores, and leaving the CMIH label behind, along with all the investors. And without AU, I beleive that leaves CMIH with nothing. No website, no stock, no customers. Maybe they have other ventures, but that's not what it sounds like when Ross says "I am the board of directors, I can do what I want."

Well, this sounds a little more hopeful than the scenario I was thinking of. At least this way, if I'm reading things right, all the little 12 year olds holding CMIH stock get shafted, but Ross stays with AU, AU stays in business a little while longer, and Ross and AU are still stuck holding the bag on all the MSCL bonus materials and refunds.

JRjr

andrewgd · Post by **andrewgd** » Dec 8th 2002, 2:50 am

No offense to fourwordman, but I think that information should possibly be taken down, as well as its post in all the other threads. As much as we hate what has been done, direct personal contact is probably not good, won't solve anything, and may become illegal.

fourwordman · Post by **fourwordman** » Dec 8th 2002, 3:15 am

andrewgd wrote:No offense to fourwordman, but I think that information should possibly be taken down, as well as its post in all the other threads. As much as we hate what has been done, direct personal contact is probably not good, won't solve anything, and may become illegal.

Are you from the planet commonly known as Earth?

It is not illegal to pass on any information if it is not classified by any contract, agency or government as secret. And contacting a public figure at his place of residence is also not illegal.

Rickie Love · Post by **Rickie Love** » Dec 8th 2002, 3:32 am

Ross is a public figure?!?

Did I miss something?? Wait... wasn't he on that show Barney & Friends?? I always KNEW Barney was evil!

(Seriously...I don't like Barney...he creeps me)

vapspwi · Post by **vapspwi** » Dec 8th 2002, 11:37 am

andrewgd wrote:No offense to fourwordman, but I think that information should possibly be taken down, as well as its post in all the other threads. As much as we hate what has been done, direct personal contact is probably not good, won't solve anything, and may become illegal.

Agreed. No matter what Ross has done, contacting him at home can only be a bad thing. If individuals start pursuing courses of action that are of questionable legality, it weakens the position of all of us seeking restitution for this situation.

JRjr

Jason R · Post by **Jason R** » Dec 8th 2002, 12:22 pm

Please do not post personal information for ANYONE on this site. I have deleted the post.

Jason

lance · Post by **lance** » Dec 8th 2002, 2:25 pm

Hey all,

While Ross' address may be public information I don't think it is a wise idea to contact, harrass or threaten him. This opens one up to all kinds of legal problems. Keep up the pressure as Jason suggested but don't contact Ross. I know it is tempting to give him an earfull but there are better ways.

My 2 cents,

Lance Man

P.S. Rickey Love did you ever see the Saturday Night Live where Charles Barkley beats up Barney in a game of baskeball? Truly a classic.

Rickie Love · Post by **Rickie Love** » Dec 8th 2002, 5:14 pm

Hey Lancey (I can't seem to leave your name alone...it just has so many possibilities!

) No I missed Barney gettin' his fat Welch's Grape purple ass beaten by Barkley...but I'm loving that mental image - woohoo!!

"Exxcccellent..."

pete · Post by **pete** » Dec 10th 2002, 4:28 pm

If i lived in Sacramento i would drive to the office and would not leave until I had my refund and my DVD.

Post by **Natasha (candygirl)** » Dec 10th 2002, 4:35 pm

Well, bitca tried that approach and it didn't work. Unless you are suggesting armed robbery, there isn't much you can do when a business refuses to fulfill your request.

Except file fraud reports and call tv stations.

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