Stolen books @ Motor city.....

[Tony D]

Of course it could have been another dealer. They are just another person, although it would be the kiss of death if caught. Maybe they would keep it in their private collection, never to surface.

 

Many years ago, I was at a NYC convention where Sparkle City was attending. I was looking through their long boxes, when I noticed the guy next to me pull out a group of comics. He proceeded to hold them by his side and walked away from the table. To my knowledge, no one else saw this happen and there wasn't anyone from Sparkle City standing in the area who I could notify. I followed this guy at a discreet distance and watched as he handed the comics to a dealer at another table. The guy then walked back to Sparle City's table where he repeated his actions of pulling a group of books out of a long box. This time, Jay (don't know his last name), one of the owners, was nearby. I told him what had just happened and what had previously occured. I pointed the guy out and Jay proceeded to follow him to the other dealer's table where he witnessed him handing the comics to the dealer. Security was called and the guy was taken away. I don't know if anything happened to the dealer who was receiving the books. He could have claimed the guy was asking him to hold his purchases for him and this may have even been true, for all I know, but I doubt it. This dealer was from NYC and had a store in Brooklyn.

Jay recovered the books I had seen stolen, in addition to other books which were behind the table of the other dealer. Luckily for Jay, Sparkle City had price labels on their books with their name on the labels and were easily identified as coming from Sparkle City.

I was offered a reward for the acions I took in helping recover the books and was given a comic from Sparkle City's inventory which I was loooking to buy.

[bcruze]

Wow, I visted their booth at the Show.... I will say this out of all the booth's, they were the only booth that wouldnt allow you to look through stuff.. If you wanted to see something you had to ask for it and they would carefully hand it to you.. All of the other dealers you were allowed to pic through... The weird thing is Harley is local here to me.. He has no store. If you want to meet him its usually set up by appointment. I got a call from my insurance agent this week left me a voice mail on my phone asking if I could help price some vaulable comic book's. I tried calling back but had to leave a VM as well.. Interesting! Its only 5 dollars for every 100 books at State Farm Ins.

[slym2none]

I have been to a few "major" cons, and am always surprised to see dealers who take up 2 or more spaces and have only 1 or 2 people working their booth. It honestly makes me wonder how much product gets "lost".....

 

 

 

-slym

[bcruze]

I have been to a few "major" cons, and am always surprised to see dealers who take up 2 or more spaces and have only 1 or 2 people working their booth. It honestly makes me wonder how much product gets "lost".....

 

-slym

 

 

I'm gonna say a lot! I too had to flag people down to pay for items at this last show.. I could have walked off many times.. Just not my thing... Karma will come back to who ever stole these books!

 

bcruze

[Dale Roberts]

this happens all time. i seriously don't know why(dealers) they just don't hire security for $100 a day to watch out for this!?! but to harley's defense, it'll be hard for the thief to unload these books now.

 

This is what I do not understand, your asking for trouble and if your not responsible enough to protect your books at a show, then I dunno.

 

 

Some dealers do so many shows, it's hard to line up local help at each show. (As opposed to having someone travel with you which is MUCH MORE than $100 a day.)

 

 

 

even if you spend $1K on salary, housing, and traveling to and from show, it's much far less than what gets stolen at a show. if you're a big time dealer, i'm sure there some way that the cost for security outweighs the losses from thefts. my 2 cents

 

 

No one could afford to spend that kind of money for security at a convention, except perhaps for San Diego.

 

Theft is generally not that big of a problem. A couple of shows a year, someone tries to grab books. Sometimes you catch them, sometimes you do not. Just another cost of doing business that many don't realize until they get into the business. I think I lost 700.00 worth of books last year. Not quite the type of loss that warrants spending 15K a year on. And most major dealers have insurance for their inventory which covers books lost to theft. I know I do.

 

Yes, Jamie Graham lost books at Motor City last year, some big books including a Superboy #1.

[Chespirito]

Bad things always catch up to you, even that gum you might have stolen when you were a kid, I am not sure if it's "Karma" or what not but, there is some driving force that 'gets you back', in a good or bad way. The way I feel, if someone steals something, although I would be ticked off, let him/her enjoy it, they are going to pay back, sooner or later...

[Dale Roberts]

Everyone should realize that these books were stolen during breakdown. That's a pretty chaotic period where dealers are taking wall books down and breaking down their racks.

 

They're also trying to get their pallets or their boxes together, etc. and/or heading out to sign up for loading or to move their vehicles to the loading dock. (For larger cons.)

 

If you only have one or two people manning a booth, it's pretty hard to keep an eye on your stuff since one person essentially has to leave for extended periods of time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So is it possible....even likely....that another dealer stole these?

 

 

It is certainly possible, but I would not say it was likely. I don't know how many conventions you have been to, but at the end of most conventions, the promoters are done and head out the door. They rarely see to it that the attendees leave at the end of the convention and they generally are allowed to wander around and have free access to basically everything that any dealer might have access to. Generally they stand around in the way, but I would not consider it out of the question that someone might look for opportunities like this.

[Chespirito]

In that case..it could also be possible it was an accident, and the dealer doesn't know he "stole" them..

[Dale Roberts]

In that case..it could also be possible it was an accident, and the dealer doesn't know he "stole" them..

 

Not sure how that could happen.....

 

Regardless, good luck finding a buyer for a 18K CGC graded book which is a pedigree.

 

Harley actually had 3 people at his booth all weekend. This was not a case of understaffing. Probably just mostly bad luck and someone who saw an opportunity.

[Chespirito]

This scenario really sucks everywhich way you look at it

[Big Daddy]

Somehow I don't think it was the average collector who took these books. Mainly because the average collector has no idea the value or collectability of these books as well as who they would be able to unload these too. Plus when you take books like this you are now facing a felony instead of just a misdemeanor due to the value. I would have to say it was a dealer from out of town down on their luck or someone who knows of an unscrupulous dealer or collector they can unload the issues to. Just my

[Ultra Ambient]

So why don't dealers use some of those cages with wheels on them? You know, the ones you see office removalists use when they are moving computer equipment. Maybe they would take up a bit of space in your booth but you should be able to dismantle them.

[jimjum12]

In that case..it could also be possible it was an accident, and the dealer doesn't know he "stole" them..

 

Not sure how that could happen.....

 

Regardless, good luck finding a buyer for a 18K CGC graded book which is a pedigree.

 

Harley actually had 3 people at his booth all weekend. This was not a case of understaffing. Probably just mostly bad luck and someone who saw an opportunity.

 

Definitely an oppurtunistic "snatch and grab"....Harley has many more books that would be much quicker and safer to unload....if someone were premeditating.Probably someone hired to load up someone else's stuff, probably not a dealer's trusted right hand man.Sad. GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

[ComicsAndCode]

If the thief is caught, then there ought to be a public hanging at the next comic con, or SDCC for greatest exposure. Don't tell me that's not an effective deterrent?

 

 

[Stevenrams]

I Harleys defence, good criminals are not targeting the Image booth.

Just looking for the big fish

 

T

 

Gosh, sad to hear. I've bought a lot of books from Harley over the years. He's a great guy. I'll be on the lookout for them. I hope they catch the guy, too! The guy or guys who stole the books should burn in the fiery pits of eternal damnation for all I care--or at least serve time. I pray that the books turn up!

[Dark Knight]

I think in almost every Con I've been reading, there's always been some sort of a theft. It's definitely tough to keep a close eye out on the books especially with tens of people looking around in the comic bins. But, there has to be some sort of way to prevent such a thing from happening. I am pretty sure there are a few dealers who have not experience this sort of thing before. Must be the way they display their books up or how they place the boxes in such a way where the dealer knows what's going on. Perhaps a little meeting between dealers to help solve this problem would do even if every buyer to ask (one at a time or two) if they can look at a specific book.

 

I find it hard to believe that anyone can walk away from Harley's booth with that much books in his/her/their possession. Like everyone's been saying, its a box full of expensive books. Could it also be that someone (a dealer) took them by mistake thinking it was their box of books? Least unlikely as they would have contacted Harley weeks ago. I just hope Harley gets his books back and that more security would be present.

[whisp]

If the thief is caught, then there ought to be a public hanging at the next comic con, or SDCC for greatest exposure. Don't tell me that's not an effective deterrent?

 

 

I say chop off their hands wth a ninja sword.