PSA 8 1955 Topps Clemente.... STOLEN!

[hcv123]

Originally Posted by samosa4u

I know a dealer friend who sets up at the Expo here in Toronto (held twice a year), and he always has members of his entourage chilling at his table. He sometimes brings his neighbor, his GF, brother, etc. and a few of his close friends here drop by - it would be IMPOSSIBLE for anyone to steal his cards.

And as for anyone who is thinking "well, can't members of his entourage steal from him?" The answer is "no." He has been doing this for 20+ years, and if any one close to him wanted to steal, then it would have happened by now. He surrounds himself with the right people and he doesn't have to worry about a damn thing going missing.

It is not a question of "if" you're employees are going to steal from you, it is a question of how much you are going to let them get away with. In the first place I think it is quite naive to think that you or a dealer that you know is "theft proof" - that thought alone makes you more susceptible. That your friend has family and friends that he trusts "chilling at his table" is certainly a great help for him. To depend on that alone and think he is impenetrable.....well, I hope he doesn't find out the hard way. I trust a couple of people with everything, I trust most people as much as they earn, I trust my video camera 100% all the time. I have unfortunately been stolen from by people who I never thought would steal from me. Theft is usually a function of motive and opportunity - we don't know enough about most people to consider if they have motive. We do have a large degree of control over the opportunity we provide to people looking to make a bad choice - some great opportunity controls have been suggested previously in this thread.