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

[G.A.tor]

These are cmixer's pics from the Heroes Thread. My son took pics there but only of the top shelf in the case.

 

the 4.0 is there under the 4.5 but can't see anything

 

The 5.0 was from a post Sdcc purchase and had just been shipped to me in time for this con

[HENRYSPENCER]

Really hoping you find them as I'd be going postal right now. For such valuable items you are handling it well...

 

Wish there was a camera feed recording your car as you moved boxes into the show. I take it you either locked the vehicle each trip or had someone on watch both at the booth and at your car until setup was completed...

 

And your sure this box made it to the truck for the show and wasn't accidentally left back home?

[G.A.tor]

Really hoping you find them as I'd be going postal right now. For such valuable items you are handling it well...

 

Wish there was a camera feed recording your car as you moved boxes into the show. I take it you either locked the vehicle each trip or had someone on watch both at the booth and at your car until setup was completed...

 

And your sure this box made it to the truck for the show and wasn't accidentally left back home?

 

Yes. Had home checked thoroughly. Though I will be back tomorrow to confirm (again just in case)

 

We backed the vans all the way to where we were unloading , but it's possible there were brief pockets both at van and inside where books were staged we didn't have eyes on them. It's the nature of unloading at a con. You drop off books and go back for next load. Every vendor does it about the same.

 

 

And truthfully im not handling it all that well. It's eating me up. I want to yell, scream, kick, punch, curse, etc. I haven't slept last couple of days. I've tried to maintain a decent outword appearance and attitude but losing a box sux, and sux big time. No way to reconcile feelings until a resolution so I've tried to pray a lot and seek some comfort in the support from family and friends.

[s14roller]

Hang in there, Rick. Hope it shows up.

[jimjum12]

Really hoping you find them as I'd be going postal right now. For such valuable items you are handling it well...

 

Wish there was a camera feed recording your car as you moved boxes into the show. I take it you either locked the vehicle each trip or had someone on watch both at the booth and at your car until setup was completed...

 

And your sure this box made it to the truck for the show and wasn't accidentally left back home?

 

Yes. Had home checked thoroughly. Though I will be back tomorrow to confirm (again just in case)

 

We backed the vans all the way to where we were unloading , but it's possible there were brief pockets both at van and inside where books were staged we didn't have eyes on them. It's the nature of unloading at a con. You drop off books and go back for next load. Every vendor does it about the same.

 

 

And truthfully im not handling it all that well. It's eating me up. I want to yell, scream, kick, punch, curse, etc. I haven't slept last couple of days. I've tried to maintain a decent outword appearance and attitude but losing a box sux, and sux big time. No way to reconcile feelings until a resolution so I've tried to pray a lot and seek some comfort in the support from family and friends.

 

.... I know this isn't much help now, Rick..... but have you considered designing some type of web cam type thing to record your booth and van areas..... for the future ? It's possibly more than just coincidence that such a good box was taken..... someone knew what they were after.... GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[G.A.tor]

Really hoping you find them as I'd be going postal right now. For such valuable items you are handling it well...

 

Wish there was a camera feed recording your car as you moved boxes into the show. I take it you either locked the vehicle each trip or had someone on watch both at the booth and at your car until setup was completed...

 

And your sure this box made it to the truck for the show and wasn't accidentally left back home?

 

Yes. Had home checked thoroughly. Though I will be back tomorrow to confirm (again just in case)

 

We backed the vans all the way to where we were unloading , but it's possible there were brief pockets both at van and inside where books were staged we didn't have eyes on them. It's the nature of unloading at a con. You drop off books and go back for next load. Every vendor does it about the same.

 

 

And truthfully im not handling it all that well. It's eating me up. I want to yell, scream, kick, punch, curse, etc. I haven't slept last couple of days. I've tried to maintain a decent outword appearance and attitude but losing a box sux, and sux big time. No way to reconcile feelings until a resolution so I've tried to pray a lot and seek some comfort in the support from family and friends.

 

.... I know this isn't much help now, Rick..... but have you considered designing some type of web cam type thing to record your booth and van areas..... for the future ? It's possibly more than just coincidence that such a good box was taken..... someone knew what they were after.... GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

 

I know dealers like world wide have cameras. I've set up at shows for 12 years. Never had any issue. Lesson I guess I needed to learn though painful

 

 

And truthfully, if the box was taken, I don't think they had a clue. Boxes that would have been right next to it had 3-4x value. I believe it was random , if it was taken

[Azkaban]

Good luck hopefully you get your books back, thief

[Superman2006]

I'm sorry to hear this, Rick. Best of luck locating / recovering the missing box.

[Larryw7]

I think you'll get your books back, Rick. If it was theft, a lot of comic thieves aren't too bright. Hopefully local comic stores and the authorities will be able to catch them.

 

 

 

[jsilverjanet]

Sorry to hear about this Rick. I hope that these turn up soon.

[TeddieMercede]

Really hoping you find them as I'd be going postal right now. For such valuable items you are handling it well...

 

Wish there was a camera feed recording your car as you moved boxes into the show. I take it you either locked the vehicle each trip or had someone on watch both at the booth and at your car until setup was completed...

 

And your sure this box made it to the truck for the show and wasn't accidentally left back home?

 

Yes. Had home checked thoroughly. Though I will be back tomorrow to confirm (again just in case)

 

We backed the vans all the way to where we were unloading , but it's possible there were brief pockets both at van and inside where books were staged we didn't have eyes on them. It's the nature of unloading at a con. You drop off books and go back for next load. Every vendor does it about the same.

 

 

And truthfully im not handling it all that well. It's eating me up. I want to yell, scream, kick, punch, curse, etc. I haven't slept last couple of days. I've tried to maintain a decent outword appearance and attitude but losing a box sux, and sux big time. No way to reconcile feelings until a resolution so I've tried to pray a lot and seek some comfort in the support from family and friends.

 

Keep your head up Rick, I think we've seen in a lot of these cases the books if they were stolen will make their way back to you. The hardest part, which I can imagine is absolutely agonizing, is just waiting to get to that point.

 

You're one of the good guys in this hobby and you will have a lot more people then you expect looking/praying for a solid resolution.

[Designer Toast]

Rick,

 

I hope your books turn up soon, best of luck!

[Designer Toast]

Surveillance cameras: A lack of this technology at larger and older venues is pretty common. You'll find a lot of places have exterior cameras and little to no interior cameras, and most interior cameras are focused on loading docks, storage areas, offices, entries/egresses, roofs, etc..

 

Those venues with a decent camera system and any sort of release policy will generally not share footage with anyone who is not law enforcement. There is a huge liability in sharing footage with anyone who might be a crime victim.

 

If you're expecting great video coverage and crystal clear footage, you better invest in your own portable system and be sure it records to a hard drive and a cloud backup.

 

 

[The-Collector]

What a bummer. Could not have happened to better member of the comic community.

 

I hope it helps knowing that everyone on the boards has their fingers crossed that this is resolved quickly and in your favour.

[Cat-Man_America]

I'm confused, was the box locked up over night but wasn't there in the morning? Was a 3rd party involved in locking up the books or retrieving them?

 

Do u have front and back cover scans that you can share in case they try to crack them out to sell?

 

Really sucks and you have insurance but wondering if premiums will go up after this or stay the same.

 

Books like that, I would walk around with them chained to my neck or rent a safe deposit box for them.

 

Sorry to hear.

I hope they turn up.

 

Books were locked up overnight and untouched. So it happened during loadin and i didn't notice it was missing till next morning bc I don't set up loadin day

 

I lock up books, no one else

 

I don't sell online so I rarely take the time or have time to scan books (in fact since updating to new Windows last year my microtek i800 doesn't work anyway) and I don't post them here very often anymore so may or may not have pics

 

That was actually one of the least valuable boxes

 

 

 

So sorry to hear about this, Rick.

 

The news came to me from an author friend of ours who isn't even part of the comics scene. She sent me a link to the theft article with your picture from the BleedingCool site ...needless to say, my jaw hit the floor.

 

Sensationalized news of this magnitude gets around fast!

 

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/08/07/85000-in-comics-stolen-from-one-vendor-at-tampa-bay-comic-con/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

 

This is Mitchell Mehdy level notoriety.

[miraclemet]

Rick, Im crossing my fingers that you stumble across the box back at home and just forgot to bring it with... but just in case have you already contacted the local comic shops around Tampa for them to keep an eye out in case someone comes in selling?

[Doohickamabob]

This is a terrible situation and I feel for G.A.tor. Though I don't know him personally and haven't interacted with him here very often, it became apparent very early on that G.A.tor is one of the most knowledgeable and good-natured collectors in this forum.

 

Assuming this was a theft, it really blows and I hope they catch whoever did it. The first question is: Was this a planned-out burglary, or a crime of opportunity? I lean toward thinking this sort of thing is planned out by one or more people. I've heard people speculate there might be one or more criminals who have targeted these conventions on an ongoing basis. (I also have heard about a handful of criminals in the Southern California area who were known to work in teams in order steal comics -- often involving under-the-shirt theft at the booths and then a quick handoff to an accomplice in case the original thief was chased down and accused.)

 

The next question has already been discussed, but: Why don't these conventions and surrounding areas have better security cameras and the ability to review footage (or let law enforcement do so)? With millions of dollars worth of property at stake, it seems like it would be an easy decision to put security cameras in key positions throughout a convention space (or fake ones so that thieves would feel like they couldn't get away with it).

 

I propose that dealers who attend these conventions consider setting up their own portable security cameras at their booths or near their loading vehicles -- in a way that makes them hard to detect, mixed in with the comic racks. Several cooperating dealers with cameras can review footage in the event of a theft, and share the footage with each other. Either that, or set up other types of scenarios in an attempt to lure thieves and then catch them, though I am not sure what that would entail. I just want to see people like this get caught. (If indeed somebody is targeting comic conventions on an ongoing basis, and they're working out of the Florida area, then they would be likely to show up at the Miami convention on October 8 and 9.)

 

The reason I suspect there might be somebody committing multiple thefts is that when Googling "stolen comics" or "comic book theft," a large percentage of the recent results are from Florida and Georgia. In addition to this apparent theft, there were also:

 

-- May 26, 2016: A collector at MegaCon in Orlando, FL, had at least $20,000 of his personal collection of comics stolen when he set his backpack down while putting on a Ghostbusters outfit. He posted about it here under the name Antonio Estarke. The thief sold one of the comics the next morning, to a dealer at the convention, and was described as mid-50s, grey hair, mustache, military-style hat, overweight. Bleeding Cool also posted about it.

 

-- May 12, 2016: Two brothers near Pensacola, FL stole $30,000 worth of their own grandparents' comic books and sold them off at a local comic shop. The shop's security cameras, and policy of copying photo ID as well as thumb prints when making high-value purchases, was instrumental in catching the thieves.

 

-- March 25, 2016: Somewhere between $200,000 and $350,000 in comics was stolen from a comics shop in Atlanta, GA. One article said the thieves were "four men, dressed in masks and long sleeve shirts," who carried off a whole safe after using a crowbar to get in the door.

 

-- Jan. 9, 2014: $30,000 worth of comic books stolen in Augusta, GA. This one happened at a storage shed or something.

 

Chances are these are all unrelated thefts, but again, it is odd that these stories seem to happen more in Florida/Georgia than other locations. A few other recent "comic book theft" Google results referred to cases in New York, Ohio, Texas, California, and New Mexico.

 

Another question that comes to mind: How do thieves fence these comics? Taking them to dealers and comic shops, selling them on Craigslist or eBay, or an auction house, or what? In the Megacon example above, the thief sold off a comic the very next day, but none of the other stolen comics have shown up. Do thieves sit on the books for years, deslab and sell, submit to CGC for new serial numbers, or toss the comics in the trash because they don't know how to sell them? Are there dealers who look the other way or ask no questions when they think they might be buying stolen comics?

 

In the Tampa Bay area, have the local comic shops and dealers been alerted? Will the comics be posted on stolencomic.com? Is a full list of comics available? Here's the partial list from Bleeding Cool:

 

Amazing Fantasy #15 CGC 5.0

Amazing Fantasy #15 CGC 4.0

Amazing Spider-Man #1

Incredible Hulk #1

Uncanny X-Men #1

Brave and the Bold #28

Strange Tales #110

 

One last question: Has CGC considered taking a high-resolution scan or photo of each graded comic and putting those into an ongoing photo archive that members can access in case their comics are ever stolen? I am sure this must have been discussed at some point, and for all I know maybe they already do something like this. It seems like it would enhance the CGC service in case a comic was stolen and deslabbed, because then you would always have access to an image that you could compare to a copy that shows up for sale.

 

Sorry for being long-winded, but again, hearing about this stuff pisses me off. Assuming the comics were stolen, I hope the thief is caught and/or gets karmic retribution and/or gets kicked in the nuts.

[herc2000]

Sorry to hear this Rick, hate thieves whether this is the case or not, hope they are found and returned.

 

herc

[Omegadepot]

hope you get them back G.A.tor good luck!!! i am sure something will turn up.

[miraclemet]

Don't understand how there isn't a camera feed in a large convention center such as this?

 

 

The center claimed privacy issues why they had no internal camera...I requested they review the dock footage to rule out me leaving box on dock (didnt think this was a possibility but not ruling anything out)

1. not a lawyer, but live in FL long enough to know....

 

This is weak sauce on their part. There are no privacy issues.

 

Florida allows for video taping in public areas and in businesses, basicly unless it's a place a person would expect privacy (i.e. bathroom/locker room) its fair game in FL. (just no sound I think).

 

The problem is that if the hall DID have cameras then their customers (i.e. you and who ever else pays for use of the hall) would have a right to the use of those cameras. And then the center is on the hook for maintaining them. And the cost out weighs the benefit (to them).

 

but then again Im no lawyer, so what do I know!?!?