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GAtor has books MISSING at Tampa Con which are then FOUND!

Started by Iceman399,

309 posts in this topic

buttock

buttock

Posted
Posted
as one can imagine, when you are consumed with something day and night for a short period of time, you kind of want to step away from it at some point...and I have been blessed with that point...

 

I also need to apologize to friends and customers that stopped by at Tampa con and didn't get my normal positive/enthusiastic reception from me...I was in a bit of a funk, and I do owe everyone an apology!...I will be better next time you see me :foryou:

 

and I want to continue to thank everyone for their positive words and support...

 

even if I don't respond much to this thread anymore (i'm exhausted), it truly is GREATLY appreciated...

 

God didn't want you buying that Surfer cover. He prefers Kirby to Buscema.

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VintageComics

VintageComics

Posted
Posted
Congrats on the return of all of your missing books Rick! That's truly a blessing, no matter what really happened.

 

GAtor, huge relief that you were able to retrieve the missing books.

 

And I'm sure all involved (not just GAtor) learned a lot from this experience.

 

 

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VintageComics

VintageComics

Posted
Posted
as one can imagine, when you are consumed with something day and night for a short period of time, you kind of want to step away from it at some point...and I have been blessed with that point...

 

I also need to apologize to friends and customers that stopped by at Tampa con and didn't get my normal positive/enthusiastic reception from me...I was in a bit of a funk, and I do owe everyone an apology!...I will be better next time you see me :foryou:

 

and I want to continue to thank everyone for their positive words and support...

 

even if I don't respond much to this thread anymore (i'm exhausted), it truly is GREATLY appreciated...

 

God didn't want you buying that Surfer cover. He prefers Kirby to Buscema.

 

lol

 

Yes, that's it. That's the lesson.

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Comicdey

Comicdey

Posted
Posted

:sumo:

 

Congratulation

 

And thanks to the individual who returned them.

 

Big books, big dollars, big stress, big lesson for those involved and the entire board collecting community. Insurance, Vigilance, and Fortune.

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greggy

greggy

Posted
Posted

Too bad none of your prayers are going to help Tebow get into baseball.

 

He should just relax and earn his millions elsewhere from playing.

 

xoxo

 

greggy

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steelcity

steelcity

Posted
Posted

Very pleased you got your books safely returned. I once had a box go astray that did make its way home. I can relate to the stress and ultimate huge relief associated with an experience like this. And my box had only a tiny fraction of the value of yours.

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IntoAnother

IntoAnother

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Posted

It's such great news that it also made its way to our " Heartwarming Pictures & News Stories Thread" in the Water Cooler!

 

More good news!

 

Found

 

:applause:

 

UPDATE: $85,000 worth of missing comics found

 

Panama City dealer thought rare issues were lost or stolen at Tampa convention.

 

By ERYN DION

News Herald Reporter

 

A $19,995 copy of “Amazing Fantasy No. 15,” a $8,500 copy of “Amazing Spider-Man No. 1” and a $15,000 copy of “Incredible Hulk No. 1” were among about $85,000 in comics reported missing by Panama City collector Rick Whitelock after he attended Tampa Bay Comic Con last weekend.

 

Whitelock, who owns New Force Comics on State 77, said the box containing the missing books was one of about 180 boxes of inventory he and his crew took to the Tampa show Thursday morning. After unloading everything, they secured it in the locked convention center overnight, but when they returned Friday morning to set up for the show, Whitelock noticed the missing box and began to panic. He spoke with the convention center’s head of security and filed a report with the Tampa Bay Police Department.

 

“It’s still, at this point, a mystery,” Whitelock told The News Herald on Monday morning. “I have no clue where the missing box is.”

 

Among the other rare finds that had gone missing were another 1962 copy of “Amazing Fantasy No. 15,” featuring the first appearance of Spider Man, worth $15,995; a $15,000 copy of “Brave and the Bold,” with the first appearance of the Justice League; and “Stranger Tales No. 110,” featuring the first appearance of Dr. Strange.

 

Whitelock said Monday morning he was optimistic the box was simply misplaced, rather than outright stolen, and may have been mixed in with inventory belonging to other vendors. He doesn’t think it was intentional, he said, because there were boxes containing books worth three or four times as much.

 

As it turns out, that’s just what happened, as a fellow dealer found the missing box late Monday.

 

Because the books are so high profile, Whitelock had been confident they would resurface if stolen and resold.

 

“Especially with social media, deals of this caliber rarely go undetected,” he said. “The comic book community is very tight knit. They’re always watching your back.”

 

Whitelock has been reading comics since he was “knee-high to a grasshopper” and has been dealing exclusively in comics and collectibles for decades. He’s been to “hundreds” of shows and never has had a problem like this.

 

None of the once-missing books was from his personal collection, and he had several more copies of the “Amazing Spider-Man” and “Dr. Strange” comics in his store.

 

“It is inventory and that is my job,” Whitelock said Monday before the missing box surfaced. “Clearly I love all my books, but in that respect, luckily there was nothing that was near and dear to me.”

 

Below is an earlier version of this story:

 

TAMPA (AP) — A Bay County comics dealer says books worth tens of thousands were stolen at a Tampa convention, including two rare editions that marked the first appearance of Spider-Man.

 

Tampa police say Rick Whitelock, of Panama City, said he brought several boxes of books to the Tampa Bay Comic Con on Thursday and left them in the locked convention center overnight. When he began preparing his booth Friday, one box was missing.

 

Whitelock told the Tampa Bay Times the box contained such rarities as two copies of Amazing Fantasy No. 15 from 1962, which features the first appearance of Spider-Man. Another book had the first appearance of the Justice League team of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and The Flash.

 

Whitelock says the books are unique and would be difficult to sell unnoticed.

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WilliamG.Staggers

WilliamG.Staggers

Posted
Posted
Excellent news! Trying to find the silver lining in this, I read you lost 7lbs during this ordeal so hoping that was a good thing for you.
i certainly haven't eaten or slept well but that changes now!

 

I was about to say! If I were you, my appetite would just be returning and I'd be making my way to the nearest Five Guys. Congrats on getting your books back! :headbang:

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