What is the sneakiest thing you have seen at a show...

[CycloneComics]

I used to be a dealer at shows local to me and conventions in Toronto...

 

 

What is the sneakiest trick you ever saw happen....

 

My favorite was....

 

I used to always have my brother Dion come with me for the shows and he had to go and leave the table for a bit,so I was alone.

Two guys came up to the table and one came around to look at some books on the wall.

Mean while the guy out front is looking through the boxes ..... no big deal so far.

Guy beside me has a nice little stack o books so he asks for a price on the stack.

I give him a price and he doesn't like it so he goes through the stack again and splits em in two piles.

I give him a new price on the one stack o books he likes best.

Just after that the guy out front asks about a book in the box as a way of distracting me from the guy with the stack o books.

I have VERY good periferal vision and I noticed the guy take a couple books from the not liked stack and slip em into the liked pile.

Then when I was done with the guy out front , the guy beside me makes a lower offer for his new favorite stack o books thinking I didnt see him.

I tell him NO and pull the books he slipped into the pile and reafirm my price on the stack as it was.

 

For some reason he never bought a single book.

 

I have more sneaky ones,but this is the best one.

[Buzzetta]

Few times I watched a store for someone I was always aware of how parents have no problems using their children as diversions for their own illicit acts.

 

Ask the guy at the counter about this book while a parent would be:

a) changing price tags

b) slipping additional comics into a bag

c) outright shoplifting

 

One guy was a regular customer and friend to the owner. I never told the owner what his regular customer tried to do. I basically threw the guy out of the store and told him to come back when the owner was there.

 

Owner often wondered why the guy switched stores to go somewhere else after that.

 

[tangelwood42]

A pedobear sneaking up on a little 11 yr old girl?

[BlowUpTheMoon]

Boardie thehumnatorch saw this.

 

 

 

The guys across from us showed Artboy a trick people were using to steal books. Pull it out to look at it and then then slide it back at the front of the box in front of the inner flap and slide it down through the box and under their coat. Artboy then tried it on me while I was looking right at him. I never saw a thing. Note to self, tape the bottom of every box at the front where one fold of cardboard meets the other to close this loophole.

[Doohickamabob]

Boardie thehumnatorch saw this.

The guys across from us showed Artboy a trick people were using to steal books. Pull it out to look at it and then then slide it back at the front of the box in front of the inner flap and slide it down through the box and under their coat. Artboy then tried it on me while I was looking right at him. I never saw a thing. Note to self, tape the bottom of every box at the front where one fold of cardboard meets the other to close this loophole.

Somebody has been doing this repeatedly at shows in Southern California. The person has accomplices and tends to pass the comic off to them, so that when he is confronted he no longer has the comic on him and cannot be arrested.

[Kevin.J]

I had a table at a local comic mart in the 1980s.

A guy asks if he can take a Conan Treasury edition out of the bag for a closer look, I agree and he does.

Another customer starts asking about something else for a few seconds.

The first guy now has the Treasury back in the bag and is offering me the 2 quid for it.

Another dealer at the next table asks me not to sell it to him as a favour to him as he now wants it, after a bit of arguing I say to the guy its not for sale anymore.

The guy walks away, I offer it to the other dealer, he says he doesnt really want it but comes over and takes out the Silver Surfer #1 the guy had stashed inside the Treasury edition.

I never saw a thing.

Good job there are some honest dealers around.

[sacentaur]

The owner of Metropolis Comics before he hired subordinates to staff the booth for him at shows.

 

It was at SDCC, and he had the Larson copy of More Fun 56 on his display. I was familiar with this particular book because it had recently been advertised in TBG by a private collector (I can't recall his name) with a coupon out of the interior. I had considered buying the book from the ad at the time, but did not.

 

The price was 2.5x Guide and there was no mention of the coupon being out. I vividly recall hodling the book and flipping to the "Radio Squad" story only to see that the wrap had been replaced (the paper quality didn't match the rest of the book, though it was close).

 

I pointed this out to him, and he just gave me a blank stare and said matter-of-factly, "It's still the Larson copy". Not what I would expect a dealer to say: no incredulity, no discussion, no feeling, nothing at all.

 

I came back a short time later to his booth with a friend whom I wanted to witness the book, but it was no longer on display. He denied even having it, nervously shuffling around and ignoring us despite repeated questions.

 

We walked away.

 

To this time, I have never seen that book reappear to see the light of day. The book may be forgotten, but the experience will never be.

[sacentaur]

Boardie thehumnatorch saw this.

The guys across from us showed Artboy a trick people were using to steal books. Pull it out to look at it and then then slide it back at the front of the box in front of the inner flap and slide it down through the box and under their coat. Artboy then tried it on me while I was looking right at him. I never saw a thing. Note to self, tape the bottom of every box at the front where one fold of cardboard meets the other to close this loophole.

Somebody has been doing this repeatedly at shows in Southern California. The person has accomplices and tends to pass the comic off to them, so that when he is confronted he no longer has the comic on him and cannot be arrested.

 

Yes, they were at WonderCon Anaheim back in March of this year and were recognized by multiple dealers. No doubt we'll see them at SDCC, as well.

[VintageComics]

I had an 11 year old kid come by and impress me with his knowledge of World War 2 so I gave him a free Invaders comic. To this day I'm convinced that his mom trained him to do it because she has a secret Invaders collection.

 

[Mark 1]

The owner of Metropolis Comics before he hired subordinates to staff the booth for him at shows.

 

It was at SDCC, and he had the Larson copy of More Fun 56 on his display. I was familiar with this particular book because it had recently been advertised in TBG by a private collector (I can't recall his name) with a coupon out of the interior. I had considered buying the book from the ad at the time, but did not.

 

The price was 2.5x Guide and there was no mention of the coupon being out. I vividly recall hodling the book and flipping to the "Radio Squad" story only to see that the wrap had been replaced (the paper quality didn't match the rest of the book, though it was close).

 

I pointed this out to him, and he just gave me a blank stare and said matter-of-factly, "It's still the Larson copy". Not what I would expect a dealer to say: no incredulity, no discussion, no feeling, nothing at all.

 

I came back a short time later to his booth with a friend whom I wanted to witness the book, but it was no longer on display. He denied even having it, nervously shuffling around and ignoring us despite repeated questions.

 

We walked away.

 

To this time, I have never seen that book reappear to see the light of day. The book may be forgotten, but the experience will never be.

 

Which owner?

[dr_manhattan]

The owner of Metropolis Comics before he hired subordinates to staff the booth for him at shows.

 

It was at SDCC, and he had the Larson copy of More Fun 56 on his display. I was familiar with this particular book because it had recently been advertised in TBG by a private collector (I can't recall his name) with a coupon out of the interior. I had considered buying the book from the ad at the time, but did not.

 

The price was 2.5x Guide and there was no mention of the coupon being out. I vividly recall hodling the book and flipping to the "Radio Squad" story only to see that the wrap had been replaced (the paper quality didn't match the rest of the book, though it was close).

 

I pointed this out to him, and he just gave me a blank stare and said matter-of-factly, "It's still the Larson copy". Not what I would expect a dealer to say: no incredulity, no discussion, no feeling, nothing at all.

 

I came back a short time later to his booth with a friend whom I wanted to witness the book, but it was no longer on display. He denied even having it, nervously shuffling around and ignoring us despite repeated questions.

 

We walked away.

 

To this time, I have never seen that book reappear to see the light of day. The book may be forgotten, but the experience will never be.

 

 

Now that's sneaky! Wonder if the book has been in fact sold since by Metro.

[Monster's Lair Comics]

Before people used either their phones, or an iPad to have a list, many people brought their typed out lists. It was common for people to lay these lists over a book, ask about a second book, decline it, then walk away with their list and the book under it.

 

It was also common in the sports card shows to do this with the Beckett price guides that everyone walked around with.

[sacentaur]

The owner of Metropolis Comics before he hired subordinates to staff the booth for him at shows.

 

It was at SDCC, and he had the Larson copy of More Fun 56 on his display. I was familiar with this particular book because it had recently been advertised in TBG by a private collector (I can't recall his name) with a coupon out of the interior. I had considered buying the book from the ad at the time, but did not.

 

The price was 2.5x Guide and there was no mention of the coupon being out. I vividly recall hodling the book and flipping to the "Radio Squad" story only to see that the wrap had been replaced (the paper quality didn't match the rest of the book, though it was close).

 

I pointed this out to him, and he just gave me a blank stare and said matter-of-factly, "It's still the Larson copy". Not what I would expect a dealer to say: no incredulity, no discussion, no feeling, nothing at all.

 

I came back a short time later to his booth with a friend whom I wanted to witness the book, but it was no longer on display. He denied even having it, nervously shuffling around and ignoring us despite repeated questions.

 

We walked away.

 

To this time, I have never seen that book reappear to see the light of day. The book may be forgotten, but the experience will never be.

 

 

Now that's sneaky! Wonder if the book has been in fact sold since by Metro.

 

I doubt it (for several reasons), but one never knows (good question) - how about contacting them personally (and ask to speak only to the boss)?

[sacentaur]

It was common for people to lay these lists over a book, ask about a second book, decline it, then walk away with their list and the book under it.

 

Yup, that's a good one j-m and we just saw it at WonderCon Anaheim as well.

 

A dealer tipped me off so I followed him briefly. The guy pulled a notebook out of his backpack and laid it right down on top of the book (which he had pulled and placed on a box of books directly in front of him). He grabbed them together but looked around and apparently saw me watching him, so he laid the book back down before replacing his notebook and then left the booth.

 

Really nothing we could do other than alert other dealers.