Insane theft at the Dallas Card Show

[gorillaz]

Just saw this posted on twitter/x earlier. The amount of stuff is insane.

Insane theft at the dallas card show today… just a fraction of what was in the stolen slab box. Contact @cardzzzzz4u if you see anything
https://x.com/rohanscards/status/181...797097631?s=46

https://www.instagram.com/p/C9I__QYs...w4cmV5aTlmdw==

[theshowandme]

Dealer is on instagram and Twitter explaining the situation

https://x.com/cardzzzzz4u/status/181...864797129?s=46

https://www.instagram.com/p/C9I-8rpS...N4OXA0NnFnbQ==

[3124508 on COMC]

Dallas is a great illustration of the worst the hobby has to offer.

Four guys to steal one case of cards. What a racket.

[wiper]

Originally Posted by 3124508 on COMC

Dallas is a great illustration of the worst the hobby has to offer.

Four guys to steal one case of cards. What a racket.

it was quite a case though

[ThoseBackPages]

they should be strung up!

[hairysasquatch]

Given the value of stuff I saw at the Philly show the last time I was there, I really wondered about the security arrangements.

[mjohnatgt]

https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=351081
Net54 link

[Archangel1775]

Any statement from the promoter?

[gorillaz]

Originally Posted by Archangel1775

Any statement from the promoter?

Nope, just a share from the person who’s stuff got stolen.

[Cracktoast]

Do dealers not keep an list of cert #'s that they can contact the grading companies and have the slabs decertified ? Now days anyone buying a graded card should do a cert # check to make sure the card isn't stolen especially cards of the value we are talking about in this case. I realize it's not fool proof but it would at least potentially make it harder for the thieves to quick flip the cards to another legit dealer or collector.

[Archangel1775]

Definitely gotta let all the heavy hobby hitters know about this. This is just bad.

[mfw13]

Honestly, I'm surprised that there isn't more theft at card shows.....many dealers are very careless about protecting their cards and get easily distracted.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by Cracktoast

Do dealers not keep an list of cert #'s that they can contact the grading companies and have the slabs decertified ? Now days anyone buying a graded card should do a cert # check to make sure the card isn't stolen especially cards of the value we are talking about in this case. I realize it's not fool proof but it would at least potentially make it harder for the thieves to quick flip the cards to another legit dealer or collector.

I doubt most dealers are that organized.....especially given the volume of cards they often have in their display cases.

[rudan007]

Originally Posted by mfw13

Honestly, I'm surprised that there isn't more theft at card shows.....many dealers are very careless about protecting their cards and get easily distracted.

The dealer should have had someone with him ready to engage with the thieves. Thats about 2 million dollars worth of inventory. There are pawn shops that have armed security that have less overhead than what those cards are worth

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by mfw13

Honestly, I'm surprised that there isn't more theft at card shows.....many dealers are very careless about protecting their cards and get easily distracted.

Fortunately, there are very few thieves amongst us. However, I agree that these dealers are very easy marks.

These thieves were not particularly smart though. Great job stealing a bunch of easily identifiable massive cards. Good luck doing anything with them without getting caught.

[Braswell10]

I mean this is a huge deal and should hopefully get a serious look from law enforcement. From a quick glance, this is nearly 1 million dollars worth of cards.

[rudan007]

One of the criminals were stacking chairs for an hour to scope it out. It was a planned heist....

https://youtu.be/obr2SUda5Rs?si=G2-sa-Or8Orv8o8i

[livealoha]

Very sad to see however with the value of those cards why didn’t the owner keep a better eye on those cards? I mean if it was me and I had a box of those cards I wouldn’t take an eye off if them not even for a second. Too many thiefs and bad people in our hobby.

[Cracktoast]

Originally Posted by rudan007

The dealer should have had someone with him ready to engage with the thieves. Thats about 2 million dollars worth of inventory. There are pawn shops that have armed security that have less overhead than what those cards are worth

From the video that was released there were at least 3 people working the table. 3 of the 4 guys involved distracted them so the 4th could grab the case. It's amazing how calmly he grabbed the case and casually walked off. They clearly have worked this scheme many times before. An amateur would have been shaking and likely would have ran with the case.

Neo posted a good video as well and said it appears they had been casing the table all day and even changed clothes a couple of times so as not to look suspicious.

[Scottish Punk]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

Fortunately, there are very few thieves amongst us. However, I agree that these dealers are very easy marks.

These thieves were not particularly smart though. Great job stealing a bunch of easily identifiable massive cards. Good luck doing anything with them without getting caught.

And it looks like their faces are on camera. Probably seen in different parts of the day. I would hope PSA/SGC are going to have 52 mantles flagged. Or do we think these guys are going to try to move them and keep the serial numbers intact? You could do private sales, but putting any of these out on social media is a big risk.

I would put RFID tags or something in my case if I had that kind of inventory.

[Cracktoast]

Originally Posted by Scottish Punk

And it looks like their faces are on camera. Probably seen in different parts of the day. I would hope PSA/SGC are going to have 52 mantles flagged. Or do we think these guys are going to try to move them and keep the serial numbers intact? You could do private sales, but putting any of these out on social media is a big risk.

I would put RFID tags or something in my case if I had that kind of inventory.

Or non numbered stuff like that do you simply crack and sell Raw ? Sure you are losing value but at the same time they have no money into them so whatever they might get is pure profit.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by rudan007

The dealer should have had someone with him ready to engage with the thieves. Thats about 2 million dollars worth of inventory. There are pawn shops that have armed security that have less overhead than what those cards are worth

True....but I bet that at the National, there will be tons of booths with 6/7-figures worth of cards in a single, poorly secured case.

There's no escaping the fact that cards are easy to steal and are attractive targets because of their small size and high value.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by Cracktoast

Or non numbered stuff like that do you simply crack and sell Raw ? Sure you are losing value but at the same time they have no money into them so whatever they might get is pure profit.

If the art world is anything to go buy, there are plenty of unscrupulous buyers out there happy to buy stolen items for their PC's. Given that the thieves were clearly targeting this dealer/table, it's even possible that they were stolen to order.

[mrb842]

$2 million worth of cards and you have people just walking into your area like that?

People need to get a lot smarter with how they protect their stuff. Feel bad for the guy but feels like dealers

1)Need to invest in store security and training for staff on shop lifting
2)Need to invest in show security for their booths
3)Need to invest in training for themselves for shows on security and shoplifting

The people who are stealing whether it's breaking in or what these guys pulled have clearly been thinking more about this than stores who at best put up a camera in their stores or have a safe there can do it alone. You go to shows and the thieves are thinking about their mission like these guys were. Meanwhile you've got exhausted dealers away from home who are tired, talking to customers, running all over the show, checking their phones, talking to friends.

Unfair match.

Someone is going to make a ton of $$$$$$$ of this teaching dealers how to avoid these situations-staff training videos etc. Big business opportunity for some cop or law enforcement official reading this who knows cards.

[TheHeel]

Originally Posted by rudan007

One of the criminals were stacking chairs for an hour to scope it out. It was a planned heist....

https://youtu.be/obr2SUda5Rs?si=G2-sa-Or8Orv8o8i

These guys will be caught.

Hopefully cops lifted prints from the guy stacking chairs.