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

[G.A.tor]

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?

Yes

Talked to the local shops. They were all at Tampa con

[Kevin76]

Dealers that have these kinds of books in their inventory at shows really need to tighten up their security. I'd bring those back with me to the hotel, I'd never leave them at the show overnight even if they were locked up...who else has a key?? Don't let anyone behind the table and never display them on the wall near the edge of the display, all it takes is a second for someone to reach around and grab something. I'd start looking into getting some GPS tracking devices and in some boxes

[The_Investor]

I do not know Rick personally but he is one of a handful of really nice people on these boards that always takes the time answering my questions. A really nice guy!!! Not many people are nice like him on the boards !!!

 

Whomever took Rick's books please ship them back to him annonimously!!! How do you look at yourself in the mirror each morning knowing that you profit from other people's misfortune? Please send them back and you'll feel better. Life is not all about money!!! Please do the right thing and send them back. Redeem yourself and you will be a better person because of it.

 

 

 

[namisgr]

Sad on many levels.

 

I hope the books show up and are returned to their rightful owner, and the thieves caught.

[thirdgreenham]

It could have only happened during load in when the boxes were not secured.

 

So sorry to hear this. Unloading the van/truck at the beginning and packing up at the end of the show are indeed times where we must be paying close attention. If you have the man power/staff, one should stay at the booth, one at the van, and one moving the stuff. Either that or lock the van every time you leave with a load.

[G.A.tor]

It could have only happened during load in when the boxes were not secured.

 

So sorry to hear this. Unloading the van/truck at the beginning and packing up at the end of the show are indeed times where we must be paying close attention. If you have the man power/staff, one should stay at the booth, one at the van, and one moving the stuff. Either that or lock the van every time you leave with a load.

that is our standard op.

[Kevin76]

It could have only happened during load in when the boxes were not secured.

 

So sorry to hear this. Unloading the van/truck at the beginning and packing up at the end of the show are indeed times where we must be paying close attention. If you have the man power/staff, one should stay at the booth, one at the van, and one moving the stuff. Either that or lock the van every time you leave with a load.

that is our standard op.

 

Count the boxes and even have them numbered...20 boxes went boxes in the truck before the show, 20 boxes need to come off the truck, after the show, count how many are left, rinse and repeat. Hope the insurance company comes through for you.

[G.A.tor]

It could have only happened during load in when the boxes were not secured.

 

So sorry to hear this. Unloading the van/truck at the beginning and packing up at the end of the show are indeed times where we must be paying close attention. If you have the man power/staff, one should stay at the booth, one at the van, and one moving the stuff. Either that or lock the van every time you leave with a load.

that is our standard op.

 

Count the boxes and even have them numbered...20 boxes went boxes in the truck before the show, 20 boxes need to come off the truck, after the show, count how many are left, rinse and repeat. Hope the insurance company comes through for you.

Our boxes are numbered ... But we had about 170 boxes for Tampa (4 booths). 2 vans full.

And from the van to staging to the booth takes hours. Then it takes several more hours to set up the booth (build the grid wall , etc). The boxes of books are staged around the booth. Not a perfect system but pretty standard.

 

I've set up at a hundred + cons and never had any box of comics go missing. Sometimes a small window of opportunity presents itself and is taken advantage of ...accidents and mistakes happen, unfortunately. Dealing with it is the pits

[Sqeggs]

Count the boxes and even have them numbered...20 boxes went boxes in the truck before the show, 20 boxes need to come off the truck, after the show, count how many are left, rinse and repeat. Hope the insurance company comes through for you.

 

This analogy to shampoo instructions was kind of amusing ... the first 14 trillion times it was used. By now, it's maybe just a little tiresome.

[HENRYSPENCER]

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.

 

 

After what's happened to Gator, stolen or not, if I were a dealer in the future I wouldn't set up at this show without security cameras installed. This is the 21st century where there are cams cheap and practically everywhere and with what's happened in Florida you'd think the government would mandate surveillance cams in places where there are large groups of people gathered. You'd also think the owners of the facility would have proper security in place AND organizers of the convention would make sure the venue is safe prior to negotiating rates and setting the show. I'm not talking about comic book theft as much as I am public safety.

[GoldCap]

Wow. Sorry to hear of this Rick! Hopefully the box turns up with all contents intact and if it is theft...I hope karma does its thing to whomever is responsible.

[HENRYSPENCER]

Did you use white boxes? Were there any special logos on them?

 

Could your boxes have been close to another vendors boxes during unloading or booth setup whose setup help may have accidentally thought they belong to them?

 

This last case would be ideal as another dealer may accidentally discover your box prior to setting up at his/her next show.

[G.A.tor]

Did you use white boxes? Were there any special logos on them?

 

Could your boxes have been close to another vendors boxes during unloading or booth setup whose setup help may have accidentally thought they belong to them?

 

This last case would be ideal as another dealer may accidentally discover your box prior to setting up at his/her next show.

 

Yes. Standard white comic and cgc boxes. And yes we staged among many comic vendors. Hence my hope the box materializes. Another reason I continue to emphasize "missing" and not stolen. I'm holding out for just a human error and not a violation/theft.

[jsilverjanet]

while no where near the same value, I left a short box of keys at my first show. I had packed everything up and had left that last box on the table as I was loading into the van.

 

I was by myself and that box contained my bigger books and books i had purchased during the show.

 

When I got home and didn't find it I thought I had lost it as I was certain I had loaded everything up.

 

Luckily another dealer picked it up and gave it to the organizer who let me know he had the books but not after I had a panic attacked and thought someone had stolen them etc.

 

The frustrating part for me was the doubt of what I couldn't remember, did I leave them? did I misplace them? did someone take them?

 

So I can sympathize on that level, I would be comatose if the amounts were anything near Gators.

 

However I do agree that there are a lot of good people in this industry and people do look out for one another, hopefully someone has them by accident and will return them quickly.

[blazingbob]

Hope this helps with all the scenario's I know I've gone through when a box was missing.

 

1). When you are unloading is the van open or locked after each load?

 

2). Is the better inventory unloaded first or last into the booth?

 

3). Is someone in the booth as boxes are unloaded?

 

4). I generally have a checklist of the boxes for each show. There is nothing more upsetting then the look/feeling of "WTF is that box".

 

To the poster who feels GA/Florida is a hotspot of theft please talk to Jamie Graham, me, Phil Schlaefer etc who do a number of shows around the country. We are constantly swapping photo's of crooks who seem to fly around doing shows.

 

Now if I can only get Jamie to give me better descriptions then "White guy wearing a hat" I might not treat every customer coming up to my booth as a potential crook.

 

This thread is a reminder to me, to anybody walking by wondering why is Bob breaking down and John or my help standing around. I break down, my help watches the boxes. It has nothing to do with my help not wanting to help me. Helping me is making sure my boxes don't "walk away".

 

 

[Knightsofold]

I hope the insurance company is easy to deal with and helpful. I'm sure this is a tough claim to work through and will probably take a long time to process. I imagine you guys have special dealer versions of insurance for cons.

 

Sorry about this Rick, I'm glad it was a box of books that's easy to replace and has such large sale data.

[JiveTurkeyMoFo]

I'm not sure who, but I seem to recall one of the major dealers using these large oversized, lockable, duffle bag-type things that hold several shortboxes. Those things look like they would be hard to make off with, difficult to open and near impossible to hide.

[Cat-Man_America]

Did you use white boxes? Were there any special logos on them?

 

Could your boxes have been close to another vendors boxes during unloading or booth setup whose setup help may have accidentally thought they belong to them?

 

This last case would be ideal as another dealer may accidentally discover your box prior to setting up at his/her next show.

 

Yes. Standard white comic and cgc boxes. And yes we staged among many comic vendors. Hence my hope the box materializes. Another reason I continue to emphasize "missing" and not stolen. I'm holding out for just a human error and not a violation/theft.

 

[Mutant Manatee]

So much "helpful" advice in this thread. It reminds me of this Twitter exchange this morning:

 

 

 

 

Best of luck getting your books back, Rick. I know how upsetting it must be. I hope that everything turns out OK.

[gcstomp]

Jive, My last show I had that neighbor who had the heavy gauge zip up body bags. My memory is swiss cheese, cant remember dealer, but I did talk to him and check out the bags. During show, you unzip and let down the sides of bag as a table drape, at night you zip up the whole thing, and pad lock it, the material was some kind of double thick canvas.

 

I assume these are either very pricey, or new, as I dont see any other vendors using them yet, but I would feel more secure leaving boxes in the vednor room overnight with the body bags rather than my current method of just covering with tarp and crossing my fingers.