What is "IPO Pre-Funding"?
IPO pre-funding is a way for the ComicShares.Com buyers to pool their funds together to purchase an item and bring it into the ComicShares.Com portfolio. The item is not in ComicShares.Com's possession but is up for sale by a reputable seller. In order to purchase the item, ComicShares.Com offers members to buy their shares in advance via pre-funding.

How does the process work?
Basically, here are the steps that happen during an IPO pre-funding...

• ComicShares.Com identifies and targets a high-end item for purchase.
• ComicShares.Com offers shares for the item for sale on the "Pre-Funding" page.
• Members purchase their IPO shares in advance through the IPO pre-funding page, just as they would with a normal IPO.
• Once enough funds are available, ComicShares.Com negotiates with the seller and makes an offer the item.
• Once the purchase is completed, the item is brought into the ComicShares.Com portfolio!

How is the IPO pre-funding per share price determined?
The market cap for the item is set to the seller's asking price. For example, if the seller's asking price is $5,000, the item would be set-up with 1,000 shares for $5.00 per share for a market capitalization of $5,000.

What if the item is purchased for less than the asking price?
Of course, we will always negotiate for a lower price. Any difference in the asking price and the actual sales price will be credited back to your account. To illustrate, let's continue with the above example and say that the item is purchased for $4,500. The pre-IPO per share price is adjusted to $4.50 and the difference of 50 cents per share is credited to the buyer's account.

If there are additional shares available and depending on demand, the remaining shares will be offered at IPO for a price per share between $4.50 and $5.00. This is another potential benefit of participating in IPO pre-funding as the shares could appreciate before the IPO is launched.

What is the criteria for items in IPO pre-funding?
There is no set criteria per se, but the items will typically be among the best high-end items available. These items will be key books and will also be unique in at least their grade and/or scarcity. Of course, these will require a lot of capital and will range from as little as $2,500 to tens of thousands of dollars.

Examples of items that would fit this criteria are:

• Unrestored, high-grade (at least 5.0) Golden Age books like Action Comics #1, Superman #1, Detective Comics #27, Batman #1
• Unrestored, high-grade (9.0 or better) Silver Age books like an Amazing Fantasy #15, Spider-Man #1, Fantastic Four #1, Brave and the Bold #28, Avengers #1
• Highest graded Bronze Age books like a 9.8 Incredible Hulk #181 or 9.8 Giant-Sized X-Men #1

Who will the items be purchased from? How will we find ?
In most cases, we'll pursue items available from a reputable seller (like Metropolis Comics or Pedigree Comics or an eBay Power Seller) or auction house (such as Comic Link or Heritage). During the convention season, we'll also be looking for these items.

We at ComicShares.Com believe that this IPO pre-funding process will be the enabler for bringing the best collectibles to the ComicShares.Com community!