Cards stolen at the National

[Tony Gordon]

I had a binder of early Bowman and '52 Topps baseball stolen from my booth today (341). The cards are commons in off grade condition. The '50 Bowmans were in 12-pocket sheets while the other years were in 9 pockets and the '52 Topps in 8 pocket sheets. Each card was in an individual sleeve and priced in a blue Sharpie. I know it is a shot in the dark but if anyone sees them this weekend, or down the road in their shop or at another show, please PM me. Thanks! - Tony Gordon

[Jcfowler6]

That blows. I was selling some cards at a pawn shop I managed back in the early 90's. I had an employee that didn't know much about the cards and the kid in there swapped a bunch of hof players into common holders with $.10 stickers. So the kid got away with some good stuff for $1.

I know the feeling. Feel for ya.

[leftygrove10]

That's too bad, Tony... I hope you are able to recover the cards...

Does insurance generally cover losses like that at a card show?

[bobbyw8469]

Dang....that is terrible......sorry for your loss.

[jp1216]

Good Luck Tony. Hope a good ending follows.

[scottglevy]

Originally Posted by leftygrove10

That's too bad, Tony... I hope you are able to recover the cards...

Does insurance generally cover losses like that at a card show?

Collectibles insurance typically does. Last year at the national the guy we were sharing a booth with had a Johnson T206 swiped from our table -- which was embarrassing for me because I think it happened on my watch. But he recovered his losses with the insurance he had.

[Brendan]

Really sorry to hear that. I hope you end up finding it.

[WhenItWasAHobby]

Sorry to hear about that.

Unfortunately, from what I was told several years ago from a long-time dealer that this is an on-going problem at the Chicago shows. He's been ripped-off several times there in the past 8 years and so have many others at that venue as well as others in that region.

I commented on this on the CU Board with the user name "dude" several years ago:

http://forums.collectors.com/message...hreadid=589377

[Tony Gordon]

Thanks guys. I talked with just about every vintage dealer at the show and most all of them have some sort of story about being ripped off at a major show. One dealer told me his car was stolen out of the parking lot at the '08 National. There are some war stories out there. At this show, several other dealers were hit yesterday. The dealer behind my booth lost a '63 Topps set, another dealer lost a '53 Bowman Color set, and a dealer had a '65 Topps Namath rookie stolen yesterday. I also received a call a short time ago from a dealer who had a binder stolen today. I think now is the time to start a dialogue about increasing security at the National. I would like to see more security personnel on the floor, security cameras and "spotters" out looking for thieves.

[barrysloate]

It's outrageous that vendors have to deal with this. The show should have better security. Sorry to hear about your loss Tony.

[HOF Yankees]

Tony good luck I hope you get back your cards. I agree with very high end stuff at a national sports collectors convention the security should be increased

[383astro]

Originally Posted by Tony Gordon

Thanks guys. I talked with just about every vintage dealer at the show and most all of them have some sort of story about being ripped off at a major show. One dealer told me his car was stolen out of the parking lot at the '08 National. There are some war stories out there. At this show, several other dealers were hit yesterday. The dealer behind my booth lost a '63 Topps set, another dealer lost a '53 Bowman Color set, and a dealer had a '65 Topps Namath rookie stolen yesterday. I also received a call a short time ago from a dealer who had a binder stolen today. I think now is the time to start a dialogue about increasing security at the National. I would like to see more security personnel on the floor, security cameras and "spotters" out looking for thieves.

Holy Crap, monetarily losing those 2 sets would be like losing my whole collection.

[rainier2004]

I hate thieves...as a buyer Im in huge support for increased security as well. I would volunteer my time and pay for a background check and "spot" all day for 3 days for free admission on day 1. Im amazed at how trusting dealers are at the shows but it provides for a wonderful environment just like when you were a kid. Id pay more for my ticket if I knew the $$$ was for extra security as well.

[carrigansghost]

National background clearance already done on me. I have also installed many surveillance systems and would be more than willing to work for free. I also look the part of a lowlife.

Rawn

[whitehse]

Walking the show floor yesterday I do not recall seeing a single cop or security person inside the convention all. Being a former loss prevention person, there were many times through the day that I noticed it would have been so easy to steal a card, a binder or just about anything because of the lack of attention by some dealers. I found myself sitting at a number of tables going through boxes where the dealer didnt even acknowledge my existance and was preoccupied with their phone or computer. I could have filled the bag I had with a good amount of cards and faded into the crowd.

I think the National promoters might need to provide a mandatory security class that has the cost built into the price of the booths as many of the dealers (not all) didnt seem to have a clue as to how to keep their stuff secure.

Again, this is coming from someone who has 15 years of retail loss prevention experience. I wanted to say to a few of the dealers I dealt with "is this item free because they way you have it on your table it will be gone by the end of the day" but I kept my mouth shut.