Massive theft at Dallas card show, Nearly 2 Million Dollars worth of cards stolen

[rand1com]

Originally Posted by CobbSpikedMe

Ok, I've read the thread and I've seen several posts about having some sort of private security hired to watch a dealer's inventory at all times. This was the first thing I thought of when I heard about the theft initially. Why would you go to a show with $2M worth of cards (in just ONE case) let alone all the other inventory you have at your table and not spend the money to have people behind your table whose sole purpose for being there is to watch your stuff?!

Sure, it would add to your show overhead, but the peace of mind would be worth it. And with that inventory, you could make one sale and pay for the security for the whole weekend from it.

I know Ash is a great guy and dealer and hope all works out for him, but I find myself torn between feeling bad about this and feeling upset that he didn't have this type of security at his table. Am I alone here or do any of you guys find yourselves in the same boat as me?

ETA: Of course, I feel bad about it, but I'm still upset security wasn't there.

.

He had done hundreds of shows over the years without an issue until this particular one as far as I know.

He set up beside me in Boston last year at the Shriner's show and had one young helper with him but it was not his son but a close family friend.

Ashish walked the show a lot but the young man did a great job of protecting his inventory.

His son was doing a Dallas show the same weekend so he obviously did not have all of his inventory in Boston but one showcase had $250K based on his stickers and he had 12 showcases with all graded cards.

Yes, probably if he had more security this would not have happened but this was not his first rodeo.

It is what it is. He is a nice guy who has been robbed. That should be our focus.

Any comments detrimental to him are a shame IMO. Mistakes and oversights happen no matter the care taken.

I hope his inventory is found intact and returned to him and he can turn the corner with his business.

I'm sure tighter safeguards will be in place at future shows.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Ok, this won't go over well with most, but so it goes. Of course, everyone here feels horribly for Ashish, hates the thieves, and wants nothing more than that they be caught and the cards recovered. That all goes without saying.

But nobody has died here, this isn't a funeral, I don't see why people have to tiptoe delicately and avoid talking about how this happened. It's human nature to ask questions when stuff happens. And it seems to me most of the comments are fair. I'm not great with video but as far as I can tell a case with a million dollars or more of cards was just sitting down at the far end of a booth with multiple tables, no one was anywhere close to it even before the distractor guys came along. Obviously hindsight is 20 20, but I think the comments have been fair and not malicious or disrespectful in any way.

[Leon]

No, no one died. It could have been worse (in the big picture).

It happened because trained, professional thieves exploited a human mistake. That is it. Now, the focus should be on the thiefs. But that is just my opinion and this is a chatboard.

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Ok, this won't go over well with most, but so it goes. Of course, everyone here feels horribly for Ashish, hates the thieves, and wants nothing more than that they be caught and the cards recovered. That all goes without saying.

But nobody has died here, this isn't a funeral, I don't see why people have to tiptoe delicately and avoid talking about how this happened. It's human nature to ask questions when stuff happens. And it seems to me most of the comments are fair. I'm not great with video but as far as I can tell a case with a million dollars or more of cards was just sitting down at the far end of a booth with multiple tables, no one was anywhere close to it even before the distractor guys came along. Obviously hindsight is 20 20, but I think the comments have been fair and not malicious or disrespectful in any way.

[Peter_Spaeth]

It's not mutually exclusive. One can focus on the thieves (whatever that means?) and still discuss how this happened and can be prevented.

[G1911]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

It's not mutually exclusive. One can focus on the thieves (whatever that means?) and still discuss how this happened and can be prevented.

The idea that a crime should be discussed but without any discussion of how it happened or why or any practical lessons that can be learned is a little amusing. These things are normal matters of discussion for a crime in any other hobby or place. The list of things collectors don’t want anyone to discuss is just too long to keep up with.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by G1911

The idea that a crime should be discussed but without any discussion of how it happened or why or any practical lessons that can be learned is a little amusing. These things are normal matters of discussion for a crime in any other hobby or place. The list of things collectors don’t want anyone to discuss is just too long to keep up with.

Seems everything gets discussed. You should be fine.
.

[G1911]

Originally Posted by Leon

Seems everything gets discussed. You should be fine.
.

Hence why I said "don't want to be discussed" instead of "censor from discussion".

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

It's not mutually exclusive. One can focus on the thieves (whatever that means?) and still discuss how this happened and can be prevented.

I guess focus on the thieves means to give more attention to them than the reason it happened. Both inevitably get discussed, nothing wrong with that. But it was a human mistake, that is how it happened. Someone should have been with the cards all of the time. It's not rocket science.
.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Leon

I guess focus on the thieves means to give more attention to them than the reason it happened. Both inevitably get discussed, nothing wrong with that. But it was a human mistake, that is how it happened. Someone should have been with the cards all of the time. It's not rocket science.
.

Right, but people who say that are getting lambasted for being out of line and somehow insensitive.

[perezfan]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

It's not mutually exclusive. One can focus on the thieves (whatever that means?) and still discuss how this happened and can be prevented.

Agree...

A discussion of how the theft could better have been prevented potentially helps future crimes from ever happening. If we don't learn from our actions (and evolve accordingly), we are prone to recurring disasters. I fail to see how such a discussion is a bad thing.

We all want these criminals caught and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. But doesn't it also make sense to do whatever we can to disarm them moving forward?

[CobbSpikedMe]

Originally Posted by rand1com

He had done hundreds of shows over the years without an issue until this particular one as far as I know.

He set up beside me in Boston last year at the Shriner's show and had one young helper with him but it was not his son but a close family friend.

Ashish walked the show a lot but the young man did a great job of protecting his inventory.

His son was doing a Dallas show the same weekend so he obviously did not have all of his inventory in Boston but one showcase had $250K based on his stickers and he had 12 showcases with all graded cards.

Yes, probably if he had more security this would not have happened but this was not his first rodeo.

It is what it is. He is a nice guy who has been robbed. That should be our focus.

Any comments detrimental to him are a shame IMO. Mistakes and oversights happen no matter the care taken.

I hope his inventory is found intact and returned to him and he can turn the corner with his business.

I'm sure tighter safeguards will be in place at future shows.

Didn't think I said anything detrimental to Ash in my post tbh. I even said he was a good guy and dealer and that I did feel bad for him. I think it's great he's never had this problem at all the other shows he's done in the past, but he was lucky it didn't happen sooner with no security around. I mean, $2M in one case? Not to mention all the other inventory at the table. I do feel bad for him and hope these guys rot in hell for this, but my point is simple, pay for the security when you have that much money at you're table.



.