SUBMITTER AGREEMENT
CAC Grading, LLC (hereafter referred to as “CAC”) and you, the person or entity submitting one or more coins for review (“Submitter”) enter into this Submitter Agreement (the “Submitter Agreement”). By clicking to agree to this Submitter Agreement, completing or submitting our Submission form and/or by submitting any items to CAC (each, a “Submission”), Submitter is affirming that the Submitter has read this Submitter Agreement and thereby acknowledging and agreeing to be bound by the terms and conditions herein. All Submitters acknowledge that CAC Grading, LLC is a new entity completely separate from the original Certified Acceptance Corporation (“OLD CAC”). Consequently, any Submitter Agreement(s) that some Submitters may have previously signed with OLD CAC is not applicable to CAC Grading, LLC. Any person who wishes to become a Submitter to CAC Grading, LLC must agree to this Submitter Agreement. Certain terms used herein are as defined at the end of this Submitter Agreement.
ELIGIBILITY
In order to submit a coin or other item, you must be the owner of the item or have the appropriate rights from the owner to possess and submit the coin. To the best of your knowledge, neither the coin nor the Holder (if any) is counterfeit. We are not responsible for coins and/or Holders with soldered and/or glued components or other add-ons, enhancements or other non-standard additions or components, nor any special packaging or labeling other than as included on the Slab as prepared by the applicable prior third party authentication service, as these types of other items can be damaged even when handled properly. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT, IN OUR SOLE AND ABSOLUTE DISCRETION, TO REJECT ANY COIN SUBMITTED BY YOU AND NOT TO GRADE SUCH COIN. If we reject any coin for no reason, your fee will be refunded, but if we reject it for reasonable cause, such as breach by you of this Submitter Agreement or as otherwise stated herein, the fee is not refundable. In order to submit any coins to us for grading, you will be required to register and create, and maintain in good standing, an online account with us, in accordance with and subject to the terms of our TOS (your “Account”).
SUBMITTER ACCOUNT AND TERMS
Each Submission sent in by a Submitter must be accompanied by Submitter’s completed Submission form (each a Submission Form”). Submission Forms can be filled out online or via paper, but if started online, a printout with the unique submission number and certain other information as determined by CAC must accompany your physical Submission. A Submission form will not be deemed completed unless the Submitter indicates that the Submitter has reviewed and agreed to the terms and conditions herein via a CAC approved method (e.g., checking a box on and/or signing the form). All Submitters must be approved by CAC prior to submitting any Submission. Submitter will be required to complete an account application with CAC and such account application must be approved by CAC prior to Submitter sending in any Submissions. Establishing an account with CAC will require Submitter to provide a default payment method to be kept on file for all costs incurred by such Submitter for each Submission.
Submitter may not under any circumstances attempt to influence CAC graders or personnel in connection with any Submitted items. Submitter may not lobby graders including but not limited to contact by phone call, text, or in person. Submitter may not pay for any meals or entertainment or purchase gifts of any type for any CAC personnel, or attempt any other activity that may be perceived to impact the impartiality of CAC graders or personnel. If CAC determines, in its sole discretion, that any Submitter has engaged in the above activities or any similar type of activity which has as its goal to improve the results of items it has submitted, then the grader or graders, or other personnel who have been contacted will not be permitted to grade any items or provide any other service for that specific Submission or potentially for that Submitter in the future (in CAC’s discretion). In addition, CAC reserves the right, at all times, to cancel such Submitter’s account which will result in the Submitter no longer being permitted to submit any items to CAC.
At any time that any Submitter believes an item has been improperly graded or otherwise improperly labeled, Submitter can follow the procedure as outlined in CAC’s Grading Policy found on our website.
Submitter shall not promote signature labels or special labels as investments, nor shall Submitter make any claims concerning a market premium carried by such labels.
SUBMISSIONS
Submitter must complete a Submission form in its entirety in order for the Submission to be processed in a timely manner by CAC. CAC is not responsible for any delays in processing a Submission as a result of any missing or incorrect information on a Submission Form (such as combining items on a submission form that should be on different service tiers and therefore different submission forms) or for being unable to contact Submitter to obtain the necessary information. In the case that there is any incorrect information on a Submission Form, CAC may, in its sole discretion, correct the Form, and all Submitter approvals and consents remain in effect; by way of example, if a Submitter submits a Modern coin on a Classic service tier along with other Classic coins, CAC may remove the Modern coin from the Submission and create a separate Submission for that coin. By signing this agreement, Submitter expressly consents to such changes made by CAC on Submitter’s behalf. Submitter also consents to pay any additional grading or other fees that may apply.
You represent, warrant and covenant that (a) your Submission Form, including without limitation your description(s) of any submitted coin(s) therein, is/are accurate and not misleading; (b) you have no knowledge and no reasonable basis to believe that any coin submitted by you (including its Holder) is counterfeit or altered or Tampered (defined below) with in any way; and (c) to the best of your knowledge, the Submitter Declared Value is a reasonably accurate fair market value as estimated by you in good faith (although as described further herein, the maximum recoverable amount will be the Covered Value). You agree to promptly correct and update any such submission information as soon as possible if and when you discover any such information is inaccurate. If any coins are being submitted by you for or on behalf of a third party, you represent and warrant that you have obtained all necessary consents and approvals, and have the full power and authority to do so, and that such third party has been made aware of and has agreed to and accepted this Agreement (including signing or clicking to acknowledge a duplicate copy hereof as necessary). You agree to provide that third party-signed or acknowledged copy to CAC at any time upon request.
SHIPPING
Submitter is responsible for making its own determination as to what shipping method to utilize and what amount of insurance shall be purchased for each shipment made to CAC. CAC shall not be liable for any losses incurred by Submitter during shipment. CAC shall obtain insurance or use Submitter’s insurance for all items returned to Submitter and, in the event any loss in such return shipment, CAC shall provide reimbursement to the Submitter in an amount as determined solely in the discretion of CAC. CAC shall not be liable for any amount in excess of the Covered Value (defined below).
Inbound. You bear all risk of loss or damage during shipping to us, and you are responsible for appropriately wrapping, protecting, shipping, and insuring all coins during the process of shipping or delivery to us. We are not responsible for any coins unless and until received, and verified by us to be received, in good condition (including without limitation not damaged or lost during shipping, and that the package actually includes all coin(s) listed on the submission form), eligible and matching your description(s) on the submission form.
Outbound. When we return coins to you, they will be insured either by you, if you provide your own shipping account and insurance information for such use, or by us, at your expense, for the Covered Value. Once we deliver or submit the coin(s) to (or they are picked up by) your designated return shipping service, such as FedEx or USPS, we are no longer responsible for any risk of loss or damage, and any loss or damage is solely the responsibility of the return shipping service. You must inspect all coins immediately upon receipt, and we disclaim any liability for damage or discrepancies or errors, including but not limited to errors in the description of the coin, unless reported by you to us in writing within thirty (30) days of the date the applicable coin(s) was/were shipped back to you.
PAYMENT
For each Submission, Submitter shall pay for postage and insurance to and from CAC and for all services performed by CAC and its agents. The rates for all such services shall be those rates in effect on the date the Submission is received by CAC with a proper Submission Form. When submitting a Submission Form, the Submitter is required to provide a good faith estimated Submitter Declared Value (defined below) for each item. CAC uses an independent third party valuation partner to create the CAC Estimated Value (defined below) objectively and automatically based on the item and grade. The CAC Estimated Value is not a guaranteed value, not an offer to buy, is not provided by CAC (but rather, by an independent third party), and is for information only. Grading fees are typically based on item value within a range or tier; the grading fee amount charged by CAC may be the rate charged for a tier higher than the tier of the Submitter Declared Value, such as based on the CAC Estimated Value, or if, in the sole determination of CAC, such item properly belongs in such higher tier. For any invoice amount that remains unpaid for over thirty (30) days, CAC will charge interest at the rate of one and a half percent (1.5%) per month. In addition to fees hereinabove listed, CAC reserves the right to charge additional fees for other services or costs involved in any Submission. The Submitter must maintain a payment method on account, and CAC will utilize this payment method once the fees for a Submission are finalized without further authorization from Submitter. Submitter is responsible for keeping payment and account information up to date, and authorizes CAC to charge Submitter’s payment method(s) on file, as more fully set forth in the CAC Terms of Service (“TOS”) posted on our website.
Items may be held by CAC and not returned to Submitter until Submitter has paid in full for all related services from the Submission. For example, in the event a Submitter has an unpaid balance that has been outstanding for more than thirty (30) days, any items that have been submitted to CAC will be held by CAC until such unpaid balance is paid in full. During such time, CAC will automatically obtain a lien on all such items in its possession. Submitter may not send to CAC any new Submissions until such unpaid balance is paid in full.
By agreeing to this Submitter Agreement, Submitter also agrees to the CAC TOS, Privacy Policy and any other applicable terms and conditions posted by CAC from time to time.
TAMPERING AND ALTERED ITEMS
CAC will not grade items that show any evidence of Tampering (defined below) or other alteration. If CAC elects not to grade an item due to perceived Tampering or alteration, Submitter is responsible for the service fees associated with these rejected items.
All Submitters agree they shall not submit any Tampered items for grading.
ITEMS NOT GRADED
CAC reserves the right to return any item submitted without being graded if such item is judged by CAC (in its discretion) to be counterfeit, Tampered, or an item that CAC does not grade. Submitter shall remain responsible to pay all Submission fees in connection with such returned items. If a Submitter repeatedly submits counterfeit or Tampered items, CAC reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to refuse any future submissions from such Submitter and/or to suspend Submitter’s account.
REMOVING ITEMS FROM HOLDERS
If Submitter indicates on the Submission Form that a coin submitted from a different grading service is being submitted to cross over to a CAC holder then Submitter consents that such coin may be removed from its holder. Submitter acknowledges that CAC is not obligated to contact Submitter to confirm any instructions given on the Submission Form. If Submitter clearly indicates a minimum grade for cross over on the Submission Form and CAC’s determination concludes such coin does not meet the minimum grade requested, the coin will not be removed from the holder but Submitter will still be charged the applicable service fee. In the event Submitter does not indicate any minimum grade then CAC will remove the coin from the holder and Submitter acknowledges that such coin may receive a grade lower than its original holder.
Submitter acknowledges the inherent risks in removing an item from its holder and agrees to waive any claim for damages against CAC, its directors, officers, agent, and employees in connection with any loss or damage arising out of CAC’s fulfillment of Submitter’s request to remove an item from its holder unless Submitter can prove gross negligence or willful misconduct by CAC. Submitter further acknowledges that removal of an item from its holder may, in and of itself, cause a loss of value. For instance, it is possible that a coin has rim damage and the existing holder may cover such rim damage or the coin planchet may be flaking and upon removal of a coin with rim damage or a planchet defect, the rim damage is now evident or the planchet defect could cause the planchet to flake. These are just non-exhaustive examples of two types of loss of value that could occur once a coin is removed from its holder and CAC is not liable for any loss of value to the coin under such or similar circumstances.
FRAGILE ITEMS
While CAC will use due care while handling all submitted items, some items submitted could be in an extremely fragile state and it may not be possible to not damage such an item while it is being graded. Submitter acknowledges this risk and releases CAC of any liability associated with such unavoidable damage which may occur during grading, handling or shipping.
STICKERING SERVICE
If you are submitting a Slabbed item, in another company’s Holder, for review for stickering only, you acknowledge and agree that, whether or not the item qualifies and/or gets a sticker, we are not responsible for any authentication done by such third party grading service, nor for the quality or durability of the Holder, nor for any other services performed by, or materials provided by, such third party, nor are we responsible for any other factors outside our direct control. See the Force Majeure section below for more details.
POST-GRADING REVIEW (ALLEGED DAMAGE, CLERICAL ERRORS, ETC.)
It is your responsibility as the Submitter to promptly review your coins when you receive them back. You will receive an email or other digital notice when your coins are shipped back to you. If you do not notify CAC of any concerns or objections within 30 days of them being shipped back to you, you will waive your rights to any remedies of any kind, including without limitation for loss or damage during grading or shipping, missing coins, mistakes, or other errors, etc.
It is the policy of CAC to use commercially reasonable efforts to attempt to settle any reasonable disputes.
Within thirty (30) days of a completed submission from CAC being shipped to you, Submitter shall notify CAC of any clerical errors discovered and return such coin(s) if necessary. For more detail about, and examples of, such errors, see our Grading Policy on our website. If such clerical error might increase the value of the item and Submitter, rather than return such item to CAC, chooses to retain or sell such item, if at any time in the future, a subsequent owner or purchaser notifies CAC of the clerical error and requests a refund of the purchase price paid of value differential for the item based upon such clerical error, then the original Submitter shall be liable to reimburse CAC for such difference in value. The original Submitter shall be liable for such amount even if such Submitter did not intentionally deceive any such subsequent purchaser.
RESERVATION OF RIGHTS
CAC will utilize best business practices to attempt to grade all items received within its currently published time frame. However, such time frames are non-binding goals, not guarantees. CAC is not liable in any manner whatsoever to any Submitter for any types of loss or damages due to delays or failure of CAC to grade any item within such published time frame. CAC reserves the right to update all terms and conditions in this Submitter Agreement at any time without notice. CAC reserves the right to cancel any Submitter’s account at its sole discretion at any time.
Our services, brands, holders, labels and other technology are proprietary intellectual property of CAC. You may not use nor reverse engineer any of our materials to study or endeavor to create any competing product or service, to imitate or counterfeit our Holders or labels, or to engage in any way to infringe upon our rights. You may not Tamper with or alter in any way our logos, printed grades, labels or Holders, including without limitation by altering or removing our logo or grades, without our express written consent.
AUTHENTICITY & GRADING POLICY
All eligible coins reviewed, graded and inserted into CAC holders by CAC are guaranteed (to the eligible owner) to be genuine and not materially over-graded, according to the terms and limitations in our Grading Policy, found on our website. We are not responsible for fake or counterfeit CAC holders.
GOVERNING LAW
This Submitter Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The parties hereby consent to personal jurisdiction of the courts of the Commonwealth of Virginia with respect to any legal action to enforce the terms and conditions of this Agreement or otherwise arising under or with respect to this Agreement, and agree that the appropriate courts located in Virginia Beach, shall be the sole venue and forum, for the bringing of such action. Each of Submitter and CAC agrees that the prevailing party shall be entitled to an award of its reasonable attorney’s fees, costs, and expenses.
DISCLAIMERS
Except as expressly set forth herein to the contrary, all Services are provided “as is”, and COMPANY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, REGARDING OUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
LIMITATIONS
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, THE MAXIMUM AGGREGATE LIABILITY THAT WE SHALL HAVE TO YOU, OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR WHOM YOU MAY BE ACTING, ARISING FROM ANY CAUSE, ACT, OMISSION OR OTHER CIRCUMSTANCE, SHALL IN NO EVENT EXCEED THE LESSER OF THE FEE OR THE AMOUNT ACTUALLY PAID BY YOU FOR THE SERVICES RENDERED BY US WITH RESPECT TO THE APPLICABLE COIN(S) SUBMITTED HEREUNDER. IN NO EVENT SHALL WE OR ANY OF OUR AFFILIATES, OR ANY OF OUR OR THEIR RESPECTIVE EMPLOYEES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS OR AGENTS, BE LIABLE TO SUBMITTER OR ANY OTHER PARTY FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION DAMAGE, COSTS OF DELAY OR LOST PROFITS), EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
INDEMNITY
Notwithstanding anything contained herein, Submitter shall indemnify, hold harmless and defend CAC and its stockholders, officers, directors, employees and agents (collectively, the “Indemnities”) from and against any and all demands, claims, actions, suits or other proceedings and any and all liabilities, costs and expenses, including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys’ fees and disbursements and costs of investigating claims of alleged violations, arising from any failure of Submitter to perform any of its obligations under this Agreement or any other applicable policy or terms.
DATA & IMAGES
CAC may compile data regarding each coin submitted, including, but not limited to, data relating to the identity, minting, condition and grade of the coin as well as statistics regarding usage of our services (collectively, the “Data”). CAC may collect images, photograph, digital, video, animated files, interactive viewing software, virtual simulations or other rich media, of each coin submitted, with and/or without its Holder (collectively, the “Images”). CAC owns and has all rights in and to such Data & Images, including without limitation the rights to use and commercially exploit the foregoing. If and to the extent Submitter is required to license or approve such use or ownership of such Data and Images by CAC, Submitter hereby does so, and hereby assigns any necessary rights to CAC. If CAC makes available copies of the Data and/or Images to Submitter with respect to Submitter’s own submitted items, then Submitter also has the non-exclusive right and permission to use such copies of such Data and/or Images of such items as legally permissible. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, we may elect, in our discretion, to post Images in our online gallery, to make them searchable and/or sortable, and/or to let viewers “like” or “share” them to social media, and/or we may elect to keep an online library or history of all your submitted coins that you can see in your Account.
FORCE MAJEURE
We are not responsible for any obligation(s) hereunder if they are delayed, impeded, or rendered prohibitively expensive, impractical or impossible by an event beyond our reasonable control, including without limitation: flood; fire; earthquake; severe weather including snow, ice, rain or wind; other acts of God or of the public enemy; explosion; war; hostility; terrorist act; civil disturbance; riot; insurrection; embargo; pandemic; epidemic; virus; quarantine; strike; work stoppage; governmental action including without limitation changes in legislation or orders; disruptions of i) supply chains, ii) utilities, iii) transportation or iv) internet, and/or any other similar or dissimilar events outside our reasonable control (each, a “Force Majeure Event”). We shall not be liable to you for any damages, whether or not foreseeable, arising out of or relating to the suspension or termination of any of our obligations or duties under this Agreement by reason of the occurrence of a Force Majeure Event.
MISCELLANEOUS
The terms and provisions in this Agreement (together with our other applicable policies and terms), constitute the entire agreement of CAC and Submitter (and any third party for whom Submitter may be acting) regarding, and supersede all prior agreements and understandings (written or oral) between or among such parties relating to, the subject matter hereof (and no prior understandings, customs or courses of dealings shall be binding on the parties hereto). If any term or provision of this Agreement is determined to be invalid or unenforceable under applicable law, such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any of the other of the terms or provisions of this Agreement. No failure by CAC to enforce strictly any provision of this Agreement shall constitute a waiver of its right to enforce any other provisions of this Agreement or otherwise or to enforce the provision in question on any subsequent occasion. The rights, remedies and benefits herein are cumulative and, except as expressly set forth herein, are not exclusive of any rights, remedies or benefits which the parties hereto may otherwise have. The rights and obligations of Submitter hereunder may not be assigned or transferred without the prior written consent of CAC. Any attempt to do so will be void and of no force or effect. Each party shall execute and deliver such additional documents and instruments as any other party may request to better evidence or effectuate the agreements contained herein. Failure to comply with this Agreement may make you ineligible to submit any future coins for Services in our discretion.
CHANGES
We reserve the right to modify or discontinue any Services at any time with or without notice to you, including without limitation by adding or subtracting features and functionality, third party content, etc. In the event of such modification or discontinuation of the Services, your sole remedy shall be to cease using our Services. Continued use of the Services following any such changes will indicate your acknowledgement and acceptance of such changes and satisfaction with the Services as so modified. We reserve the right to change these terms and conditions at any time. These terms are posted online, and you are responsible to check for updates from time to time. Any use of any part of the Services after any updates is your consent and agreement to such updated terms.
CERTAIN DEFINITIONS
“Holder” or “Slab” means a sonically sealed plastic protective coin holder or “slab” as created and sealed (in its original condition, without being altered or tampered with), containing a coin sealed therein, which such coin has been authenticated and possibly graded by. An item can be Holdered by a third-party authentication Service (such as NGC, PCGS, ANACS or IGC) when being Submitted to CAC, or by CAC such as after such coin has been authenticated and graded by CAC and is being returned to Submitter after CAC has performed such services.
“Holdered” or “Slabbed” means the act of sealing a coin in a Holder or Slab.
“Value” as used herein, has the applicable meanings:
“Covered Value” means, (a) until the coin has been processed, graded and the value estimated by CAC, that the coin is presumed to be worth the Submitter Declared Value (absent clear evidence to the contrary); and (b) once the coin has been graded and the value estimated by CAC, thereafter, the CAC Estimated Value as reasonably determined by us.
“CAC Estimated Value” of any item means the estimated fair market value of such item, as reasonably determined by CAC, using an independent third party price guide to estimate value objectively and automatically based on the item and grade (e.g., based on published third party price lists); CAC is not responsible for such valuation process, and does not in any way guarantee such value except as otherwise expressly stated herein.
“Submitter Declared Value” or simply “Declared Value” for each coin is the estimated value Submitter has listed as the reasonable estimated value of the applicable submitted item(s), in your Submission Form. You represent, warrant and covenant that any estimates are reasonably made in good faith.
“Tampering” is defined as performing any cleaning or other alteration of any portion of a coin, by any manner or process which has as its goal to cause a coin to appear to be in a higher state of preservation or more valuable than it otherwise would have been. Such alteration may involve the movement of metal, the addition of foreign substances, the use of any chemicals or heat to alter the appearance of the coin, artificial toning, cleaning, or any other process which has as its goal to artificially improve the appearance, grade, and/or value of any coin.
