What would you do?

[vintagetoppsguy]

Let's say you're set up as a dealer at a card show and you purchase a graded card from a customer. The customer walks away, you price the card and put it in your display case. A while later, another dealer comes up to you and says the card you bought from the customer was stolen from his table earlier. What would you do?

Has this (or anything similar) ever happened to anyone at a show?

[Frankish]

Just call the police, I guess (or whatever security is working the show and have them call the police). And, if I could get away from my table, maybe try to look around the show to snap a pic of the customer if he was still around. Either the customer or the dealer is lying...and I'm not really equipped to figure out who.

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

Let's say you're set up as a dealer at a card show and you purchase a graded card from a customer. The customer walks away, you price the card and put it in your display case. A while later, another dealer comes up to you and says the card you bought from the customer was stolen from his table earlier. What would you do?

Has this (or anything similar) ever happened to anyone at a show?

I'd first ask for a copy of the police report or report he filed with the show organizers regarding the theft. I'd also ask for names of any witnesses with relevant information.
No report prob no dice. Then if he comes forward with that I'd ask for some proof of ownership prior to the day in question. Either proof of his purchase or maybe some dated photographs or inventory lists. Something like that. Short of that kind of factual support I think he's probably sh*t out of luck.

Of course if the guy who claims he was ripped off is someone I know beforehand to be on the up and up, that would be an entirely different calculus.

Burden on him to prove it.

Could be a situation where he actually was ripped off, but the card you have is the same grade but an entirely different card.

[JeremyW]

Is this a $10 card or a $1,000. card? Either way, I would ask for video.

[packs]

No report no return for me. How do I know I'm not being taken for a ride? Sob stories are a dime a dozen.

[Johnny630]

Does anyone know if PSA or SGC have a System or Database for Victims Of Theft to post pics and cert numbers of said stolen card ?

[G1911]

If I knew them and trusted them and thought them of good character, I would give them the card for nothing.

If I did not know them, I would require reasonable proof of the claim, and if such proof was provided or ascertained, I would give them the card for nothing.

If I knew them to be a person of dishonesty and low character, I would immediately dismiss the request for the card.

[Peter_Spaeth]

The dealer who did not safeguard his card bears at least some responsibility here, ethically if not legally. Why should David (or whoever it is) be the ONLY one of the three parties here to suffer a loss?

[sportscardpete]

I would tell the guy there is a free t-shirt giveaway behind him and when he turns around I would run.

[hcv123]

While thankfully this has not happened to me, I am aware that it has happened.

Stolen property is just that - stolen property and if the owner has filed a police report and presuming it is that cert# in the report, then it is my understanding he is entitled to the return of his property.

[Casey2296]

Can we just remove the index finger of adults who are caught stealing so this scenario would happen less often?

Or, they can Rochambo for it...

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by Johnny630

Does anyone know if PSA or SGC have a System or Database for Victims Of Theft to post pics and cert numbers of said stolen card ?

PSA should set up a Title Transfer Service, similar to real estate transactions.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by sportscardpete

I would tell the guy there is a free t-shirt giveaway behind him and when he turns around I would run.

That's great.
.

[Directly]

I would immediately contact my private Collectibles Insurance carrier and ask for their assistance in the matter and follow their protocol. (They may cover the loss with a police report along with any other information they may need)--

[Eric72]

Card shows are filled with people who conduct cash transactions with no receipts. Taking off my rose-colored glasses for a moment, I wonder what would stop a pair of con men from committing fraud this way:

• Criminal #1 sets up a table at the show
• Criminal #2 "steals" a high-dollar card from that table
• Criminal #2 sells the high-dollar card to a legit dealer
• Criminal #1 "discovers" the card and claims they are the rightful owner of stolen property
• The criminals now have the card back and the money paid by the dealer

Personally, I'd call the police, the show promoter, and a lawyer...and not necessarily in that order.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by Eric72

Card shows are filled with people who conduct cash transactions with no receipts. Taking off my rose-colored glasses for a moment, I wonder what would stop a pair of con men from committing fraud this way:

• Criminal #1 sets up a table at the show
• Criminal #2 "steals" a high-dollar card from that table
• Criminal #2 sells the high-dollar card to a legit dealer
• Criminal #1 "discovers" the card and claims they are the rightful owner of stolen property
• The criminals now have the card back and the money paid by the dealer

Personally, I'd call the police, the show promoter, and a lawyer...and not necessarily in that order.

That's why many said they would need to see a police report.

[Fballguy]

Seems like the police report would be the linchpin here.

But, being 2021 and cameras being so prevalent in society and not to mention cheap, portable and easy to use (I just installed 3 more on the outside of my house this weekend and I'm nowhere close to being a handy man)...Do dealers set them up at their booths? I'd think nowadays they'd be staples in the dealers traveling bag.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by Fballguy

Do dealers set them up at their booths?

I'm setting up at the TriStar show here in Houston the first weekend in June with a dealer friend of mine. He recently bought cameras and will use them at the show for the first time.

[Fballguy]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

I'm setting up at the TriStar show here in Houston the first weekend in June with a dealer friend of mine. He recently bought cameras and will use them at the show for the first time.

I'll be going to that show.

[philliesfan]

Card shows are filled with people who conduct cash transactions with no receipts. Taking off my rose-colored glasses for a moment, I wonder what would stop a pair of con men from committing fraud this way:
Criminal #1 sets up a table at the show
Criminal #2 "steals" a high-dollar card from that table
Criminal #2 sells the high-dollar card to a legit dealer
Criminal #1 "discovers" the card and claims they are the rightful owner of stolen property
The criminals now have the card back and the money paid by the dealer

A slight variation:

Criminal #1 sets up a table at the show
Actual Customer #1 makes a legitimate purchase of a high-dollar card from that table
Customer #1 sells the high-dollar card to a legit dealer for a small profit
Criminal #1 "discovers" the card on the legit dealers table and claims they are the rightful owner claiming it was stolen. Let's say he goes through the whole process of filing a (false) police report making up a fake description of the person stealing it.

Now the Criminal dealer has the original price he sold it for and the card back.

Some people really disgust me.

Bob

[packs]

The police report isn't instantaneous and there is proof required when filing. It wouldn't be worth anyone's time to do that. By the time the report is filed the show is over and the card is gone.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

Can we just remove the index finger of adults who are caught stealing so this scenario would happen less often?

Or, they can Rochambo for it...

My wife references “rochambeau” quiet often. Let’s rochambeau on out of here ... I’m gonna rochambeau this right here . She’s from the hard scrabbled streets of the Bronx and there is a Rochambeau Avenue over by where she lived. I always thought it was Bronxian slang.

[The-Cardfather]

Here's a quick story. I don't know if it's relevant here, but here goes.......

In 1981, I had purchased a couple of retail boxes of 1981 Fleer baseball wax packs from a candy/tobacco wholesaler in my Brooklyn neighborhood.

Sometime in 1981 (or possibly 1982) I had put a box of these cards on display on my table at a NYC card show. I was selling the packs individually.
I did notice that the glue/wax or whatever Fleer used to keep the packs closed wasn't holding up very well. The thought occurred to me to use a bit of Elmer's glue on each pack to keep them closed, but I decided against it because I didn't feel right about "altering" the packs.

So during the show, a mother (and her two young sons) returned to my table loudly demanding a refund on a few of these packs because she felt that I had opened the packs, removed the star cards and resealed the packs. I tried to assure the woman that this was not the case, but she then said that she spoken to two reputable dealers at the show (I'm not going to name them) who concurred with her.

At this point, I had a crowd of people staring at me, and I did nothing wrong! I sheepishly gave the woman a refund and told her to keep the cards. I reiterated that I did not do what I was being accused of, but she would hear none of it.

After that, I removed all these cards from their packs.

This happened nearly 40 years ago, but I remember it as though it was yesterday.