Nick Cage's stolen Action Comics #1 has been recovered

[comicwiz]

I agree that it makes sense to have checks and balances, but I doubt many would follow any best practice. The same with the way pawn shops are supposed to follow certain protocol, but there always seems to be that that situation where it isn't followed to the letter because the item was too good to pass up or its worth was too high. I have heard my fair share of stories on the way both storage units and pawn shops conduct their business to not use a wholesale acceptance that they run every facet of their business in an aboveboard manner.

 

I guess I just didn't know enough about how it operates below the table (as you compared to say a pawn-shop). All I know from experience, is that every time I opened a SL, I was grilled for all of the mandatory ID as well as personal contact information. I suppose some guy could plop down 10k for a year and say no strings attached or something, but then that would further cement him in my mind (as the owner), unless I was complicit somehow of course. A fascinating, and less sterling operation than I originally thought, however-- thanks for the comment.

 

Come to think of it, what's to stop a less than honest owner from previewing abandoned lockers prior to auctioning select ones off to 'friends', or himself for that matter?

 

I was in the same boat a few months back when the thought of attending a storage auction entered my mind. I called a buddy of mine who likes going to flea markets and asked him if he would be interested in checking out a storage auction. We both agreed it would be cool just to attend, but he knew someone that might know more than just what we saw on the television shows. He contacted a long-time friend of his who does general maintenance for several storage companies, and when he asked him what he thought about storage auctions, he flat out told my buddy that he helps the owners clean out the units before they're auctioned.

 

Now it wouldn't be fair to generalize that all storage centers do this, but I also can't accept that they are that clueless not to be able to figure out the value caliber of units, based on the owners asking for climate control, surveillance, and practically escorting them on move-in to see items that are cellophane/bubble-wrapped, or given the white glove treatment.

[sacentaur]

Cage sold 400 comics from his collection for 1.5 million. I think he made some $$$$ on that deal.

 

Not correct AFAIK - it was reported that Cage invested about $2 million dollars, which is consistent with another board member who briefly worked with him and who told me that Nic claimed a $400,000 loss (mainly due to raw books coming back as PLOD's I presume).

 

Who was Cage's supplier of those books again?

 

Just watched the news for an hour, and it was the next to last story - the insurance company owns the book, having previously settled with Cage.

[Bronty]

well the loss could have happened due to selling costs as well or due to just plain overpaying.

 

guess the fact the insurance co owns it means we will see it for sale soon!

[herc2000]

Some funny posts on the first link.

 

"Comics are worth nothing, I bought a web of spider-man 1 in 1991 for $10, I looked and saw it on ebay last year for $8."

 

[fantastic_four]

Do these people use all fake ids to open the storage unit or something? And doesn't the operator do some kind of background check?

 

Why on earth would anyone do a background check for someone renting a storage unit?

[fantastic_four]

well the loss could have happened due to selling costs as well or due to just plain overpaying.

 

He probably just overpaid...he's repeatedly proven he flushes money away like mad.

[comicwiz]

Do these people use all fake ids to open the storage unit or something? And doesn't the operator do some kind of background check?

 

Why on earth would anyone do a background check for someone renting a storage unit?

 

Strictly as an insurance policy. The last thing you'd want for your business is to be connected to a crime scene, and not know who it was that brought it to your doorstep. I don't see this condition and requirement for due diligence on a tenant being any different for the rental of an apartment or a storage unit.

[NewWorldOrder]

Regardless of the insurance,this book belongs to it's rightful owner Nick Cage.

 

The rightful owner is the insurance company.

 

They 'bought' the book back in 2002.

 

Mr. Cage should have the option of buying the books back from the insurance company at the cost of payout plus annual inflation (not current fair market value).

 

I would certainly request a similar provision with my insurer. Insurance companies already make off like bandits. Not that I'm accusing anyone of being dishonest, but it is legalized robbery if they profit from Nick Cage's misfortune.

 

I have mixed feelings. I detest insurance companies, as I see them time and time again try to game exclusionary policies, to the detriment of my patients.

 

However, the whole point of the insurance contact is that they become a buyer of the item in the event of theft or loss.

 

I'd love to see your suggestion put into play, though - that Cage be able to reclaim his item at payout plus inflation.

 

The whole point of an insurance contract is to make the insured (you) financially whole again in the event of a covered peril loss by the insurer (Insurance company).

 

They did that ten years ago, so Mr. Cage can certainly ask the insurer if he can give the claim money back, and see what the insurance company says. You never know.

[NewWorldOrder]

Honestly I do not know what is more tragic about this news article then these two facts below.

 

 

" In the 1990s, he was cast to play Superman in a movie directed by Tim Burton, but the project fell through. Cage has a 6-year-old son he named after Superman's birth name, Kal-El."

 

 

[Bronty]

well the loss could have happened due to selling costs as well or due to just plain overpaying.

 

He probably just overpaid...he's repeatedly proven he flushes money away like mad.

 

my point exactly! all due respect to metropolis for their great inventory but they aren't exactly the cheapest shop in town and for the most part growth on golden age is slow and steady.... so if you overpay by 25% (not hard to do) you are going to have a 25% loss when you sell. Especially if the selling fees offset your modest growth during your hold period.

[sufunk]

Honestly I do not know what is more tragic about this news article then these two facts below.

 

 

" In the 1990s, he was cast to play Superman in a movie directed by Tim Burton, but the project fell through. Cage has a 6-year-old son he named after Superman's birth name, Kal-El."

 

 

People used to give me mess because i named my son Darren after the former Dallas Cowboy Darren Woodson. Darren's at least a semi normal name, to name your kid "Kal-el", you gotta have a screw coming loose!

 

[kimik]

well the loss could have happened due to selling costs as well or due to just plain overpaying.

 

He probably just overpaid...he's repeatedly proven he flushes money away like mad.

 

my point exactly! all due respect to metropolis for their great inventory but they aren't exactly the cheapest shop in town and for the most part growth on golden age is slow and steady.... so if you overpay by 25% (not hard to do) you are going to have a 25% loss when you sell. Especially if the selling fees offset your modest growth during your hold period.

 

Sort of like that Gary Keller guy that sold off a lot of books on Heritage last year (or one earlier?). I can remember seeing the posts from those sales and it looked like he booked some decent losses on a lot of comics he had purchased. Granted, he probably turned a pretty profit overall thanks to his keys, but some of the common books went for 30% or more of his purchase price if I recall correctly.

[Bronty]

well the loss could have happened due to selling costs as well or due to just plain overpaying.

 

He probably just overpaid...he's repeatedly proven he flushes money away like mad.

 

my point exactly! all due respect to metropolis for their great inventory but they aren't exactly the cheapest shop in town and for the most part growth on golden age is slow and steady.... so if you overpay by 25% (not hard to do) you are going to have a 25% loss when you sell. Especially if the selling fees offset your modest growth during your hold period.

 

Sort of like that Gary Keller guy that sold off a lot of books on Heritage last year (or one earlier?). I can remember seeing the posts from those sales and it looked like he booked some decent losses on a lot of comics he had purchased. Granted, he probably turned a pretty profit overall thanks to his keys, but some of the common books went for 30% or more of his purchase price if I recall correctly.

 

I wasn't tracking keller's books, but I recall tth2 made it sound like he took a bloodbath overall. Not hard to do if you pay top dollar and then liquidate for what the market will bear and incur selling costs in the bargain.

[VintageComics]

well the loss could have happened due to selling costs as well or due to just plain overpaying.

 

He probably just overpaid...he's repeatedly proven he flushes money away like mad.

 

my point exactly! all due respect to metropolis for their great inventory but they aren't exactly the cheapest shop in town and for the most part growth on golden age is slow and steady.... so if you overpay by 25% (not hard to do) you are going to have a 25% loss when you sell. Especially if the selling fees offset your modest growth during your hold period.

 

Sort of like that Gary Keller guy that sold off a lot of books on Heritage last year (or one earlier?). I can remember seeing the posts from those sales and it looked like he booked some decent losses on a lot of comics he had purchased. Granted, he probably turned a pretty profit overall thanks to his keys, but some of the common books went for 30% or more of his purchase price if I recall correctly.

 

I wasn't tracking keller's books, but I recall tth2 made it sound like he took a bloodbath overall. Not hard to do if you pay top dollar and then liquidate for what the market will bear and incur selling costs in the bargain.

 

His problem was that he did not hold the book for very long.

 

5 years seems to be the general (minimum) rule of thumb.

 

[CKB]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/comic_relief_for_nic_TN6M2DsGgUQirITHQmzpKN

 

Just a great closing on this article...

 

Fishler declined to say how much Cage paid for "Action Comics" No. 1 back in 1995. Another copy -- which went for 10 cents in 1938 -- was sold last March for $1.5 million.

 

He said the Cage book is still in near-mint condition.

 

"What surprised me is that it looked the same. It's very fine."

 

[kimik]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/comic_relief_for_nic_TN6M2DsGgUQirITHQmzpKN

 

Just a great closing on this article...

 

Fishler declined to say how much Cage paid for "Action Comics" No. 1 back in 1995. Another copy -- which went for 10 cents in 1938 -- was sold last March for $1.5 million.

 

He said the Cage book is still in near-mint condition.

 

"What surprised me is that it looked the same. It's very fine."

 

[hockey&comicsguy]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/comic_relief_for_nic_TN6M2DsGgUQirITHQmzpKN

 

Just a great closing on this article...

 

Fishler declined to say how much Cage paid for "Action Comics" No. 1 back in 1995. Another copy -- which went for 10 cents in 1938 -- was sold last March for $1.5 million.

 

He said the Cage book is still in near-mint condition.

 

"What surprised me is that it looked the same. It's very fine."

 

 

Did I miss it in the thread somewhere? Anybody know specifics about the book? For instance, is it unrestored?

 

Apparently it's near-mint. Or maybe it's very fine.

[kimik]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/comic_relief_for_nic_TN6M2DsGgUQirITHQmzpKN

 

Just a great closing on this article...

 

Fishler declined to say how much Cage paid for "Action Comics" No. 1 back in 1995. Another copy -- which went for 10 cents in 1938 -- was sold last March for $1.5 million.

 

He said the Cage book is still in near-mint condition.

 

"What surprised me is that it looked the same. It's very fine."

 

 

Did I miss it in the thread somewhere? Anybody know specifics about the book? For instance, is it unrestored?

 

Apparently it's near-mint. Or maybe it's very fine.

 

PGX grading standards........

[Bronty]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/comic_relief_for_nic_TN6M2DsGgUQirITHQmzpKN

 

Just a great closing on this article...

 

Fishler declined to say how much Cage paid for "Action Comics" No. 1 back in 1995. Another copy -- which went for 10 cents in 1938 -- was sold last March for $1.5 million.

 

He said the Cage book is still in near-mint condition.

 

"What surprised me is that it looked the same. It's very fine."

 

 

Did I miss it in the thread somewhere? Anybody know specifics about the book? For instance, is it unrestored?

 

Apparently it's near-mint. Or maybe it's very fine.

 

fish previously stated unrestored vf.

[Stronguy]

I agree that it makes sense to have checks and balances, but I doubt many would follow any best practice. The same with the way pawn shops are supposed to follow certain protocol, but there always seems to be that that situation where it isn't followed to the letter because the item was too good to pass up or its worth was too high. I have heard my fair share of stories on the way both storage units and pawn shops conduct their business to not use a wholesale acceptance that they run every facet of their business in an aboveboard manner.

 

I guess I just didn't know enough about how it operates below the table (as you compared to say a pawn-shop). All I know from experience, is that every time I opened a SL, I was grilled for all of the mandatory ID as well as personal contact information. I suppose some guy could plop down 10k for a year and say no strings attached or something, but then that would further cement him in my mind (as the owner), unless I was complicit somehow of course. A fascinating, and less sterling operation than I originally thought, however-- thanks for the comment.

 

Come to think of it, what's to stop a less than honest owner from previewing abandoned lockers prior to auctioning select ones off to 'friends', or himself for that matter?

 

I was in the same boat a few months back when the thought of attending a storage auction entered my mind. I called a buddy of mine who likes going to flea markets and asked him if he would be interested in checking out a storage auction. We both agreed it would be cool just to attend, but he knew someone that might know more than just what we saw on the television shows. He contacted a long-time friend of his who does general maintenance for several storage companies, and when he asked him what he thought about storage auctions, he flat out told my buddy that he helps the owners clean out the units before they're auctioned.

 

Now it wouldn't be fair to generalize that all storage centers do this, but I also can't accept that they are that clueless not to be able to figure out the value caliber of units, based on the owners asking for climate control, surveillance, and practically escorting them on move-in to see items that are cellophane/bubble-wrapped, or given the white glove treatment.

 

I worked for a storage place a long time ago; it is owned by the family of a good friend. Storage companies have an association that keeps a close eye on their practices and, for the most part, they do a really good job of watch dogging themselves. Of course there are some places who work out of the gutter but they are the vast minority.

 

Unit auctions have to be run according to the State Auction laws. Most of the time (at least where I was working) it was college students who stored their stuff over the summer and never came back. Their mail piled up at their old address and by the time they got around to dealing with the bills it was easier just to abandon it.

 

When we did auctions we never knew 100% what was in there. Once we had the paperwork in line we would open up the unit and make sure there wasn't anything illegal inside. We never went through anything aside from a cursory look mostly looking for old tires (illegal to store) and hazardous chemicals. There was no digging through boxes or anything like that. Once we were done we put our own lock on the unit and sent out auction notices. I would say the best you could get was a rough idea of what was in there but that information was off limits to anyone participating in the auction.