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

[Yoda]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

If my plan is to steal the inventory of a major dealer, I would assume the authorities are going to put in a very solid effort to find me.

Peter, we know you would not do anything like that.

It's been a few days now since the police have issued any update. At least there should be a,"There are several people of interest" (duh.)

[samosa4u]

Is there anyone on here who works in insurance? And if so, how will something like this get resolved? Somebody on here did mention that the reward was put up by the insurance company - is this true? Also, what's going to happen when they review all the videos showing the theft? Are they not going to be asking the same kinds of questions people on here have been asking? Why didn't you do this or that, etc. What if they decide to only pay a small percentage of the stolen collection or nothing at all? Is this likely to happen considering the amount of money involved and what about lawsuits? I don't know anything about collectibles insurance and so that's why I am asking.

[parkplace33]

Originally Posted by samosa4u

Is there anyone on here who works in insurance? And if so, how will something like this get resolved? Somebody on here did mention that the reward was put up by the insurance company - is this true? Also, what's going to happen when they review all the videos showing the theft? Are they not going to be asking the same kinds of questions people on here have been asking? Why didn't you do this or that, etc. What if they decide to only pay a small percentage of the stolen collection or nothing at all? Is this likely to happen considering the amount of money involved and what about lawsuits? I don't know anything about collectibles insurance and so that's why I am asking.

This question has been asked for years and unfortunately, still haven’t had an a reliable answer. I asked the same think IRT the memory lane issue and never heard. I believe there are still two missing cards from that theft, so the insurance claim may have happened.

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by parkplace33

This question has been asked for years and unfortunately, still haven’t had an a reliable answer. I asked the same think IRT the memory lane issue and never heard. I believe there are still two missing cards from that theft, so the insurance claim may have happened.

As with all insurance questions, it turns on the coverage you have bought and specific policy terms. In high level generalities, I would not expect that arguable negligence by the sellers in breaking down their booth would bar their claim for property loss. They would sue whatever insurance carrier they have and also bring in any other insurance policy conceivably reachable (facility, security company, etc.) Unless the insurance policy sets forth specific conditions that these guys were required to do and did not comply, my gut tells me eventually they would recover the fair value of everything stolen (up to the policy limits).

If the policy says you need to have bonded security guys etc. and such requirements were not adhered to, that's an issue. Some one like Scott might have a better feel for what policies like these generally say.

[Fred]

Just curious - if you had $2M in cash, would you leave it out of your sight at a show? Ok, lets drop that, if you had $1M in cash, would you leave it out of your sight at a show? One more time - if you had $.5M in cash, would you leave it out of your sight at a show?

Overall, it's a crappy experience for the seller. I bet that doesn't happen to him again. It's one thing if the security at the event allows material to be stolen overnight, but this is not what occurred. The good news is that the venue appears to have a lot of cameras up and captured good video. Sad to say that perhaps that should be a consideration for larger shows.

[Kutcher55]

The insurance company will always do whatever it can do to pay as little as possible for a would-be claim unless it turns into a public relations nightmare for them in which case their risk management people will get involved and they will determine the path forward that results in the best possible outcome for them. The fact that this is a high profile issue that is getting public attention might be beneficial to Ashsh in a would-be claim.

[BioCRN]

In a former life as a DJ, we would have a long chain lock spread over multiple record case handles in the booth/stage to make an opportunistic theft less opportunistic.

It's kinda like how back in the day when binders were more common at card shows some dealers would wrap rope or chain around the display table through the center of the binder clips.

It's not 100%, but it's a lot more secure.

[brunswickreeves]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

As with all insurance questions, it turns on the coverage you have bought and specific policy terms. In high level generalities, I would not expect that arguable negligence by the sellers in breaking down their booth would bar their claim for property loss. They would sue whatever insurance carrier they have and also bring in any other insurance policy conceivably reachable (facility, security company, etc.) Unless the insurance policy sets forth specific conditions that these guys were required to do and did not comply, my gut tells me eventually they would recover the fair value of everything stolen (up to the policy limits).

If the policy says you need to have bonded security guys etc. and such requirements were not adhered to, that's an issue. Some one like Scott might have a better feel for what policies like these generally say.

Cards are incredibly liquid (new cards in and out of inventory lightening fast via sale and trade at each show). This could increase business value by tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars (the National)) in real time. A house, car, or boat are less liquid (in aggregate-no one dealer is going to sell hundreds of these a day like cards). And unlike most card deals, these assets come with a P&S Agreement and Title. How are prolific card business underwritten and insured? Cards have exploded as a very valuable asset class and the past few years in particular cards have skyrocket in value. So in aggregate are more valuable than ever. So a good takeaway for sellers would be to review and understand current insurance policies, or secure new coverage. It’s a travesty when cards (people’s property and livelihood they’ve put time, talent and money into) are stolen and very good people’s lives are upended due to other people’s lust and greed. Hopefully dealers out there are taking necessary measures. As a buyer, I’d be happy to provide ID, photograph, etc. to put dealer’s minds at ease. Thanks for listening to my TedTalk.

[Johnny630]

As a buyer, I’d be happy to provide ID, photograph, etc. to put dealer’s minds at ease. Thanks for listening to my TedTalk

So would I Ted.. I would gladly provide picture id at all shows.