10 minutes ago, kav said:

Llook Out #1

Dang! I knew that but got distracted by kav's.

Unity #1

5 minutes ago, kav said:

Lois Lane #3

Nova #4

24 minutes ago, slym2none said:

Some things I don't question, but when the writers try to explain it, as with my case & Magneto, then I want a somewhat plausible explanation. "Somewhat" being the key word there.

-slym

That's the key to reading comic books. Don't ask, don't tell.

Looks like I'm late to the party.

Infinity Gauntlet #2

Try Green Lantern 93 (without Green Arrow).

It just keeps on getting worse.  I really crying inside. Two Iron Man 1. one fine and the other vf, two Marvel Premiere 15. Captain America 100  vf and one vg, I'm afraid to look any further.

I think some were stolen out right instead of switched out.  My comic stash has taken a big hit.

If you plan to sell at a con, you need to be more careful. Please don't learn the hard way like me.

9 minutes ago, kav said:

I agree it would be easier to just steal a book than remove book from bag, remove another book from bag, switch the books, tape em up-and do this for dozens of books and no one hears the Snnnnkt sound of pulling tape/stickers.

There were literally crowds around my booth. What I should have done was not allow people to open the bags. Next time, I will not allow people to open the bags themselves. Also, there were cheaper books on the floor that were obscured by the boxes and tables, I didn't realize what was happening with the view being blocked. I found mylars with high prices and $5 books in them. I'm sure they weren't that way before the show. I found some bags literally torn because they couldn't get the tape off easily.

3 minutes ago, kav said:

I'm gonna post a bit of tough love here-you dont want to get the police involved for someone who's stolen thousands and you seem to keep saying "it's my fault".  Both are mistakes IMO.  You might not have evidence for all his thefts but you have enough for police to question him and they're pretty good at getting people to crack.

This thread is a cautionary tale for others. A painful lesson learned.I'm not absolving the thieves. I just should have been more careful. The act of thievery is on them. I just wished I hadn't made it so easy for them.

I haven't lost faith in humanity. I still think most people are honest. I just can't be so trusting.

4 minutes ago, Bird said:

This sucks but I have to ask, how was it possible? Were you not at your booth? Maybe you got so many customers someone could pull shenanigans but were you not watching or on your phone? Not that you are at fault, the thief is to blame but I just cannot see this happening without some inattention.

I was busy. There were a lot of customers at my booth. I had one helper who knew comics, a boardie. My wife and a friend helped and they know nothing about comics. My guess the two weren't familiar with comics and just collected the money, Of course, I wasn't as vigilant as I should have been.

Honestly, I can't blame the person with all of it, although, I do believe he switched bags. There were probably others that took advantage of the situation, I provided the opportunity for dishonest people to cheat me. I shouldn't have left the more expensive stuff within reach of the thieves.

I'm literally sick to my stomach. I went thru my inventory and discovered many cheap comics in bags that were labeled with comics for much more. They included 4 X-Men 94, vf or better. I'm finding more and more. In one day, I've lost thousands. 

Now I can't be sure how many people were doing it. I know it's my fault for being so cavalier with my comics, but ...

I've been collecting comics for over 40 years and I love comics. This is enough to give it all up.

32 minutes ago, Number 6 said:

If you feel fairly confident it was him, do you have to catch him in the act to ban him from your booth?

A genuine question.  I don’t sell at cons so I don’t know what the etiquette is for banning someone from buying from you. 

I reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.

2 minutes ago, kav said:

If you have 2 witnesses and prints you have enough for an arrest.

I would rather handle it discreetly. In this hobby, reputation is everything. I'm not out to destroy somebody's reputation. I just wished he would come clean and settle up.

Just now, Robot Man said:

He already got away with it. Hard to prove it unless you catch him in the act. Confronting now him will only result in a lie on his part. If he did it once and got away with it, he will probably try it again. Wait till he shows up again and give him a chance to do it again. Once he does you’ve got him. Ban him from your booth and spread the word. Really suks but be a lot more careful in the future. Helpers in your booth work well too. 

I have 2 witnesses that observed him doing it. I understand it would be difficult to prove. But I did keep the empty bag which must be full of his fingerprints, just in case. Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if he was reading this thread. I seriously don't think he'll show his face at my booth again.

6 minutes ago, shadroch said:

Sounds like you are very nonchalant about your booth and your books.  Selling a high value book for the price on a bag is a really dumb rookie mistake.

It's not like you were the victim of a sophisticated scam, a trusted customer took advantage of you. He will only get away with it if you let him.

You're right. When it comes to selling, I've been incredibly naive. But this guy bought $thousands of books from me in the last 2 cons I sold at..

Chalk it up to being too trusting, disorganized, and not being more careful.

I’ve collected for over 40 years and am now selling a lot of my comics. I’ve been selling at the local con since last year, a total of 3 times. The last time I discovered how vulnerable I was to thievery. And not just inventory shrinkage. A good customer took advantage of my trusting nature and really shafted me, What he did was switched comics in different priced bags. Without really looking, I took his money for what the prices on the back of the bags. I later discovered an empty bag with a price tag of $550. One of my Incredible Hulk #180. There were other empty bags, So I know he cheated me out of more stuff. A couple of people mentioned to me that they observed him switching comics, but I really didn’t want to believe it. Stupid me.

I just had to vent.

Isn’t this the period that Marvel “tricked” Dc into increasing the prices on their comics from 15 cents to 25 cents? Marvel increased the page count and price to 25 cents for a month and then went to 20 cents; while DC made a long term commitment in their 25 cents increase.

Notice the sunken staples? Especially the bottom staple.

On 2/14/2019 at 7:29 AM, Aweandlorder said:

As long as the market stays healthy (or not healthy, depending on your perspective of things) newer books will gain value in the future. Bronze is the new silver.. copper is what bronze was 10 years ago.. 90s are what copper was 10 years ago and so forth and so on

Time marches on. What seemed new and common back in the day seems more desirable now to many new collectors. However, too many comics were hoarded from the Bronze age and beyond for most to increase in value much. Outside of the keys and the truly rare, most are still readily available and cheap. Demand, rather than age, is the main driver in prices.