Anyone ever catch a thief at a Con.

[CycloneComics]

Mid 90`s I did a show at the International Centre on TO.

I had an idea a kid maybe late teens early 20`s was stealing books from boxes on my table. I walked away from the table while my help watched.Stood a few tables away and watched. Sure enough he was stealing books.He was slipping them under a book he set on the boxes.Was he suprised when I walked up and said HELLO A guy 6'2" can do that. I would have liked to have taken him outside and stomped him but I didn`t .Called the show promotor over and waited for his parents to come get him. His mom and dad got there, Oh wouldn`t you know it DAD`S a lawyer.So I ripped his dad for raising a little pissant of a kid.

Kid was banned from the shows.

Oh ya he was stealing books worth under $10.00

 

John

 

I should add that I saw him stuffing books in his bag he had hanging in front of him.He had other books in his bag that he couldn`t explain where they came from.

Mine were easy to spot I had my business name stamped on the backing board.

 

John

[shadroch]

Had a few bad experiances doing shows in the 80s.It's tough because you can't really do anything while they are on the show floor. There are no real boundrys that obviously show the person walked away with your book.The excuse is always-I thought you had another table and I'm bringing over there. Then you have the problem of -is the book clearly price tagged. If not,no one is going to do jack over a 12 cent comic book.

Best solution-follow a suspected thief and keep blasting him with a hidden water pistol. You'd be amazed the results it produces.

[Mike Bray]

About 15 years ago I was setting up at the monthly Nashville flea market (( which had about 10 comic booths and at least 20 sportcard booths so it was a con unto itself )) anyway another dealer friend of mine in one of the other buildings had some items lifted about $500 worth ... well word spread like wildfire among everyone .Guess what happens within half an hour a guy approaches my booth and looks around for a couple minutes then proceeds to ask if I`m doing any buying I say possibly and ask what he has --- bam!!!!! he shows me a couple of sportscards ( ones that were lifted from my friend ) and asks for something like 10% of their value -- I think for a couple seconds and tell him a friend of mine might be interested in the cards and ask if he could hold on for a minute - he says sure- I ask a friend who is at my booth to watch things for a second and I walk over to the owner of the cards and 3-4 minutes later when we return with securityin tow the guy is still their waiting to make his $50 buck score --- needless to say he was taken into custody -- only time i`ve ever cought a theif -- BigMike

[aardvark88]

Around 1989, I was selling at a local comicon in Vancouver, Canada. I was upset that my 1st Jason Todd Batman was stolen from my table. I ran around I notified my buddies who were the other vendors that it had a round red sticker on the front of the bag. 10 mins later, my buddy called me over & said this young 10 yr old kid was trying to flip my comic to him.

 

I apprehended the kid & told the promoter to call the kid's parents to pick him up from the con. His parents were Chinese & sure to wallop some sense into him at home. But I did not press the matter by calling the cops.

[sundog-migration]

about 3 or so years ago i was at a small one day show in atlants ..where i bought exactly sixty comics ...it was at the $dollar dealer . his girl friend counts my comics and is nice enough to give me an old short box..well i get home and im looking at my comics and i find a bunch of spiderman books. that i know i didnt pick out (im not big on spiderman....sue me) well i count the comics and i have over 90 comics...my only guess is they were in the short box when she threw them in...while i know it was her mistake but alittle piece of me felt kinda bad....but heck i wsnt going to drive back three hours to fix her screw up...and why did it have to be a character i dont like....karmas weird

[shadroch]

You know that makes you a gypsy,and a thief.Shame on you.

[sundog-migration]

im going to take that as a joke ..i dont think im no where near a thief..if it was from a local show or store id take them back and be a stand up guy...one..it was a three hour drive back two it was around 10 pm when i got home the show was over...three i didnt know the guys name or store name or nothing...i mean come on give me a break !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ComicSupply]

im going to take that as a joke ..i dont think im no where near a thief..if it was from a local show or store id take them back and be a stand up guy...one..it was a three hour drive back two it was around 10 pm when i got home the show was over...three i didnt know the guys name or store name or nothing...i mean come on give me a break !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Obviously you are telling us this because it has been burning at your soul. It is ok let it out

[PovertyRow]

You know that makes you a gypsy,and a thief.Shame on you.

 

tramp, too - you forgot tramp

[finecomics]

about 3 or so years ago i was at a small one day show in atlants ..where i bought exactly sixty comics ...it was at the $dollar dealer . his girl friend counts my comics and is nice enough to give me an old short box..well i get home and im looking at my comics and i find a bunch of spiderman books. that i know i didnt pick out (im not big on spiderman....sue me) well i count the comics and i have over 90 comics...my only guess is they were in the short box when she threw them in...while i know it was her mistake but alittle piece of me felt kinda bad....but heck i wsnt going to drive back three hours to fix her screw up...and why did it have to be a character i dont like....karmas weird

 

Sounds like something my wife would do... That is if this took place in atlanta. She would have been my girlfriend 3 years ago. Mid-late 20s, long dark hair, runs the $1 boxes.....

[shadroch]

Looks like Sun Dog has been given a chance at redemption.

 

Another Festivus miracle

[seank]

Not at a Con, but while working at a comic store in the 1980s we caught some kids attempting to steal some high-end baseball cards. I was watching these kids and something about the way they acted set off red flags. I told the bosses and they watched from a hidden spot in the back room. The guys in front gave them space and pretended to ignore them. About five or ten minutes later, one of the kids reaches around the baseball card case, opens it, and tries to slip out an old tobacco card. We nabbed them and called the police.

 

Later, police there, kids sitting on the ground crying, police officer picks up a wax pack of cards, tells the kids they're going to jail and says, "You're going to be no better than one these. They're going to pass you around like a pack of cigarettes."

 

We never saw those kids in the store again.

[jimjum12]

Working at a store in the early 90's we caught a guy selling books stolen from another store.They were easy to spot as this other store owner always prices his books ending with .99,no even dollar amounts.I got burned for a Cap 109 at a show,but was fairly certain who did it.They would work as a pair,and one would ask to see wall books while the other pilfered.We made it a point to be extra "attentive" to them from then on.Another friend had FF 1-100 stolen by a friend of his son.The kid and his mother BOTH began selling the books.Numbers 11-100 were never recovered,but a local store owner stopped payment on his check for # 1-10 and my friend was able to recover them.Before the lady realized she'd been busted,she had the nerve to come back to my friend's store and read him the riot act for giving her a bad check .GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[Jayman]

The kid and his mother BOTH began selling the books.

 

That kills me right there!

[Darrell F]

about 3 or so years ago i was at a small one day show in atlants ..where i bought exactly sixty comics ...it was at the $dollar dealer . his girl friend counts my comics and is nice enough to give me an old short box..well i get home and im looking at my comics and i find a bunch of spiderman books. that i know i didnt pick out (im not big on spiderman....sue me) well i count the comics and i have over 90 comics...my only guess is they were in the short box when she threw them in...while i know it was her mistake but alittle piece of me felt kinda bad....but heck i wsnt going to drive back three hours to fix her screw up...and why did it have to be a character i dont like....karmas weird

 

Sounds like something my wife would do... That is if this took place in atlanta. She would have been my girlfriend 3 years ago. Mid-late 20s, long dark hair, runs the $1 boxes.....

 

I don't see her doing this. She is a better salesperson than you are. When I visit the finecomics booth, she is the only one I will buy from.

[shadroch]

Shhhhh.

Fines trying to score some free Spideys and your'e mucking up his play.

[finecomics]

Shhhhh.

Fines trying to score some free Spideys and your'e mucking up his play.

 

 

Seriously, I had to call her today and read that to her. She started laughing. I bet you anything she did this, as we hand out short boxes all the time to $1 customers. I'm more curious to find out if they were spideys I bought before the show or another customer's pile.

[finecomics]

Where did that guy go?

[kidcolt]

I have never been to a convention, however I was a retail manager for 9 years and one night within 3 hours we arrested 6 shoplifters. Its never fun, some are real stupid haha.

[shadroch]

Guess he didn't want to return those Spideys.Can't blame him,with the run -up in sales of the black costume. Who'd have thunk Topher Grace had so many fans.