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

[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.

[ocjack]

Way back when I was doing shows, the usual form of protection once the show closed was a sheet thrown over your table and a couple of chairs piled up on top of them to make it even more difficult to steal something. Those were the days........

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by ocjack

Way back when I was doing shows, the usual form of protection once the show closed was a sheet thrown over your table and a couple of chairs piled up on top of them to make it even more difficult to steal something. Those were the days........

I remember those days. And there would usually be a security guard walking up and down the aisles, although, since he didn't always know who was working at which tables, I always wondered how effective that really was.

But even then, we took the really valuable stuff back to the motel with us.

[Jewish-collector]

I remember dealer Alan Rosen would carry a gun at all times.

[Rich Klein]

as for the card albums, I know of people who had entire albums stolen from their tables in the day.

As for this story it has made the national news and then some. Both my wife and mother-in-law (who lives with us) asked me separately last night about this theft. Using the standard of if someone not in theh obby knows you are or a situation this quialifies

There are really good photos of the miscreants, and for the the insurance almost all of the cards are graded which is a great help in stopping any discussion with them not wanting to pay you

And yes, I do have experience in that subject as I chatted many times back in the day with insurance companies wanting to get some background on values claimed

Some were easy to verify but others like if the person claimed ALL their 1950's cards were mint was enough for me to tell the company -- not a chance every card (and they were all raw in those days) is mint

I also had a fascinating experience with an FBI agent once about a different situation and let me tell you how good they were in getting the person they were after.

This is expensive enoiugh the feds will be involved.


Rich

[ChasingPaper]

If they were smart and had patience, they would crack all of the cards out of their slabs to negate their cert numbers and hold onto them for a couple years and possibly the culprits do not live in Texas where the search is being centered. At least it would be fairly easy to identify the cards even if they were cracked out and raw based on their high end condition and individual appearances. Not that buyers and grading companies would be that proactive to try and take their own time in possibly identifying any of them. Or, maybe they are just collectors and have no plans to sell them...ha! The perps also didnt take much thought or effort in disguising themselves in any way. Not the brightest bunch.
Hopefully they are all found soon and the card thieves get whats coming to them.

[Leon]

I think having footage exposed, of the thieves, is a good thing. If there are enough clips maybe we make a new thread about it...

https://www.facebook.com/reel/7800783823371049

[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.