An Open Letter To People Considering the NFFC
Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2004 2:30 pm
My name is David Lichtman, and I am a born skeptic. When matters involve money, my skeptical antennae go nuts. I don't trust anyone as far as I can throw them -- and I am not a strong man. But Greg, Tom and Krause Publications I trust.
Krause and I go way back. Twenty years, in fact. Even though they've been around longer, that's how long I've been reading their various publications. If you've never been a hobbyist the names may not mean anything to you -- but they are the folks behind: Sports Collector's Digest and Tuff Stuff (two of the leading sports collectors magazines), Comics Buyers Guide (the leading comig periodical), Goldmine (the gold standard for record collectors), Antique Trader (40 years as a leading antique periodical), and literally dozens of other hobbyist magazines. Last, but not least, they are a leading publisher of fantasy magazines.
It is a real company with real financials and a real management. And they are but a division in a much larger, financially secure company (F+W Publications).
Krause exists and thrives based on the trust of its readers and has far more to lose than any of the other forces behind the other high stakes games if they lost that trust. Other people can just move on to something else -- Krause can not.
I don't want to be accused of being a kissass, but Greg's reputation is spotless as well. He has separated himself from the others in his position by running an open message board in which he encourages honest discussion, with no "bans" on mentioning other high-stakes leagues. He can do this because he is confident in his product. In an industry that has its fair share of trashtalking, ou can not find anyone that has a bad word to say about Greg. Those of you who have been around for a while know how powerful a statement that is.
So my bottom line is this -- you have every reason to trust this contest, every reason to believe that it will happen, and every reason to believe that Krause's long-term goals are served by satisfying league members in a way that will let the NFFC continue to grow while many other startups fail.
The strong demand for the WCOFF single-city format is proof positive that there is room for at least one other 600-team league to survive and thrive. And for the reasons I have outlined above, I believe that the NFFC will do just that.
Sorry for the term-paper length posting, but I really do feel strongly about this and I hope you get off the fence and jump aboard. Get in on the ground floor of something that is going to blow up. You won't regret it.
If you have any questions that you don't want to ask the powers that be, please feel free to e-mail me for an honest response ([email protected]).
[ August 17, 2004, 08:32 PM: Message edited by: Ico Jones ]
Krause and I go way back. Twenty years, in fact. Even though they've been around longer, that's how long I've been reading their various publications. If you've never been a hobbyist the names may not mean anything to you -- but they are the folks behind: Sports Collector's Digest and Tuff Stuff (two of the leading sports collectors magazines), Comics Buyers Guide (the leading comig periodical), Goldmine (the gold standard for record collectors), Antique Trader (40 years as a leading antique periodical), and literally dozens of other hobbyist magazines. Last, but not least, they are a leading publisher of fantasy magazines.
It is a real company with real financials and a real management. And they are but a division in a much larger, financially secure company (F+W Publications).
Krause exists and thrives based on the trust of its readers and has far more to lose than any of the other forces behind the other high stakes games if they lost that trust. Other people can just move on to something else -- Krause can not.
I don't want to be accused of being a kissass, but Greg's reputation is spotless as well. He has separated himself from the others in his position by running an open message board in which he encourages honest discussion, with no "bans" on mentioning other high-stakes leagues. He can do this because he is confident in his product. In an industry that has its fair share of trashtalking, ou can not find anyone that has a bad word to say about Greg. Those of you who have been around for a while know how powerful a statement that is.
So my bottom line is this -- you have every reason to trust this contest, every reason to believe that it will happen, and every reason to believe that Krause's long-term goals are served by satisfying league members in a way that will let the NFFC continue to grow while many other startups fail.
The strong demand for the WCOFF single-city format is proof positive that there is room for at least one other 600-team league to survive and thrive. And for the reasons I have outlined above, I believe that the NFFC will do just that.
Sorry for the term-paper length posting, but I really do feel strongly about this and I hope you get off the fence and jump aboard. Get in on the ground floor of something that is going to blow up. You won't regret it.
If you have any questions that you don't want to ask the powers that be, please feel free to e-mail me for an honest response ([email protected]).
[ August 17, 2004, 08:32 PM: Message edited by: Ico Jones ]