It looks as if the thief who broke into three stores in the St. Louis area and other stores through the Midwest has been caught down in Texas trying to resell the cards he stole.. Stole a couple of hundred thousand worth of Magic singsle and several thousand dollars worth of Pokemon as well
Showing posts with label crime. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crime. Show all posts
Monday, November 1, 2021
Monday, July 30, 2018
If Stuff Is Stolen From You, What To Do
Had a customer report a theft of some of their gaming supplies over the weekend. Thanks to them doing the correct things and alert staff at the store, we were able to recover the items and turn the thief over to the police. Here are steps you should take if items are stolen from you:
1. Make a list of what was stolen. Be as detailed as you can, not only for police purposes but in case you want to file an insurance claim. Saying that you had a binder of Magic cards stolen is much less helpful than saying "I had a black Ultra Pro binder with these specific cards in it and they were on these pages." We recovered a stolen collection a couple of years ago because the victim described a particular box in which part of the collection was stored and the thief came in with the cards in that box. Incidentally, if you have very valuable items, such as Moxes, photographs for insurance purposes are a good idea and can also help identify your stolen property.
2. Call the police. 911 is probably not necessary unless the theft is happening now but the police cannot act to recover your property unless they know about it. Do it as soon as you realize the theft took place. Thieves generally want to get rid of their stolen items as quickly as possible so speed on your part is essential.
3. Call stores in the immediate area. Unless the items are Magic or some other type of card AND the thief knows their value, they will want to get rid of your property, since they want money for them fast. Trying to sell stuff online can take 2-3 days or better . In most cases a thief wants cash now. We had a couple of cases where the thieves parsed out a collection and sold it to several stores in St. Louis but most thieves are opportunists and not willing to go to that much effort. If your items are stolen while you are playing at a store, don't blame the store. We don't like thieves any more than you do and will be quite happy to see them arrested.
Take these steps and you will have a much better chance of getting back your stolen property.
1. Make a list of what was stolen. Be as detailed as you can, not only for police purposes but in case you want to file an insurance claim. Saying that you had a binder of Magic cards stolen is much less helpful than saying "I had a black Ultra Pro binder with these specific cards in it and they were on these pages." We recovered a stolen collection a couple of years ago because the victim described a particular box in which part of the collection was stored and the thief came in with the cards in that box. Incidentally, if you have very valuable items, such as Moxes, photographs for insurance purposes are a good idea and can also help identify your stolen property.
2. Call the police. 911 is probably not necessary unless the theft is happening now but the police cannot act to recover your property unless they know about it. Do it as soon as you realize the theft took place. Thieves generally want to get rid of their stolen items as quickly as possible so speed on your part is essential.
3. Call stores in the immediate area. Unless the items are Magic or some other type of card AND the thief knows their value, they will want to get rid of your property, since they want money for them fast. Trying to sell stuff online can take 2-3 days or better . In most cases a thief wants cash now. We had a couple of cases where the thieves parsed out a collection and sold it to several stores in St. Louis but most thieves are opportunists and not willing to go to that much effort. If your items are stolen while you are playing at a store, don't blame the store. We don't like thieves any more than you do and will be quite happy to see them arrested.
Take these steps and you will have a much better chance of getting back your stolen property.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Counterfeit Magic Cards
Quite a bit of concern about counterfeit Magic cards over the past few weeks. It looks as if a set of 55 higher value cards, including Thoughtseize, Tundra and Sword of Fire and Ice has been printed in thousand card lots by at least one Chinese printer and resold, ostensibly as proxies, to online retailers, including the now shuttered Starcityshop.com, which copied the Star City Games logo in an attempt to make people think they were dealing with Star City Games. Unfortunately, Chinese copyright law is both laxer and much more loosely enforced than is US copyright law, as evidenced by the ease with which you can buy a "Coach" purse or "iPad" in mainland China.
In the past, a buyer could relatively easily determine whether a card was counterfeit or not, simply through the bend test. However, these counterfeits are using the same, or very similar, paper stock on which to print their cards.
It appears the only ways to distinguish the counterfeits form the originals are through very slight spacing changes, discrepancies in font and a different copyright symbol a the bottom of the card. Also, as the Star City Games article points out, only 4 of the Unglued lands were counterfeited, so if someone has a quantity of Unglued Mountains, Swamps, Islands and Plains for sale but no Forests, take care when purchasing them
In the past, a buyer could relatively easily determine whether a card was counterfeit or not, simply through the bend test. However, these counterfeits are using the same, or very similar, paper stock on which to print their cards.
It appears the only ways to distinguish the counterfeits form the originals are through very slight spacing changes, discrepancies in font and a different copyright symbol a the bottom of the card. Also, as the Star City Games article points out, only 4 of the Unglued lands were counterfeited, so if someone has a quantity of Unglued Mountains, Swamps, Islands and Plains for sale but no Forests, take care when purchasing them
Friday, December 14, 2012
Shoplifter Demographics
Since we turned over info about a couple of shoplifters to the police and got word today they had been identified and picked up, I took a look at the demographics of the identified shoplifters we have dealt with over the years.
Looking at four identifiable characteristics: age, sex, and race, they are all male and young, college and high-school aged. No elementary school kids as far as we know. The differentiation comes in terms of race. We have had roughly an equal number of black and white shoplifters, however, what they steal differs markedly.
Black shoplifters tend to steal more generally. We have lost Yu Gi Oh cards, movies, video games, RPG books and snacks to them. White shoplifters are more focused. Almost exclusively, they focus on CCGs, especially Yu Gi Oh and Naruto, back when it was more popular here. Magic gets stolen some too, but not as obviously, or as often, as the Naruto and Yu Gi Oh.
Looking at four identifiable characteristics: age, sex, and race, they are all male and young, college and high-school aged. No elementary school kids as far as we know. The differentiation comes in terms of race. We have had roughly an equal number of black and white shoplifters, however, what they steal differs markedly.
Black shoplifters tend to steal more generally. We have lost Yu Gi Oh cards, movies, video games, RPG books and snacks to them. White shoplifters are more focused. Almost exclusively, they focus on CCGs, especially Yu Gi Oh and Naruto, back when it was more popular here. Magic gets stolen some too, but not as obviously, or as often, as the Naruto and Yu Gi Oh.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Lotus Guardian Update
Spoke to the guys from The Lotus Guardian about their robbery and got an update. Officially it is still unsolved and the police have had no luck in identifying the criminals. Unofficially, the owners believe they know who was responsible but have no proof to back up their belief. they did report those suspects to the police but the police found nothing when they questioned them and searched the apartment.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Lotus Guardian Robbed
The Lotus Guardian, a store in Owensboro Ky that deals extensively in Magic singles, had a break in last night and has put up a $5000 reward for the head of the person who did it. No one injured in the robbery it appears. Given the size of the reward offered, I'd bet 1) whoever did it was quite familiar with the store and 2) significantly more than $5000 in merchandise was stolen.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Shoplifer Redeax
For those interested, we caught another shoplifter last Tuesday. This gentleman was very pleasant, came in asked a number of questions about Star Wars items we had that he though about getting as a present for his kid. He also said he had dislocated his shoulder, as a reason why he walked somewhat awkwardly. He left without buying anything, saying he was going to come back with some video games to trade.
About 15 minutes later, I received a call from Book World, saying that a man matching his description had tried to sell a couple of Dark Heresy RPG supplements. I check the shelf and, sure enough, two of the four sued ones were missing. Book World hadn't bought them, since the shoplifter asked $75 for the pair. Figuring he would try the other used bookstore, I called Book Worm and warned them he might visit them. Sure enough, he showed up about 15 minutes later. I got a call from Book Worm and called 911 right away. The Carbondale Police showed up at BW while I was on the phone letting them know I had called. The shoplifter had left BW already, but police picked him up a few minutes later, still with the books.
About 15 minutes later, I received a call from Book World, saying that a man matching his description had tried to sell a couple of Dark Heresy RPG supplements. I check the shelf and, sure enough, two of the four sued ones were missing. Book World hadn't bought them, since the shoplifter asked $75 for the pair. Figuring he would try the other used bookstore, I called Book Worm and warned them he might visit them. Sure enough, he showed up about 15 minutes later. I got a call from Book Worm and called 911 right away. The Carbondale Police showed up at BW while I was on the phone letting them know I had called. The shoplifter had left BW already, but police picked him up a few minutes later, still with the books.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Shoplifters
Well, hopefully we caught the couple that shoplifted the Dungeons & Dragons Gift set a couple of weeks ago. They were in here on Saturday, just before 6 p.m., selling some used DVDs. The guy kept asking about chess sets, then asked if I would stay open a few more miniatures while they went over to the shoe store to get a friend to look at the set. Needless to say, the gift set went with them, though I didn't notice it was gone until we got a call from Book World Monday that the same couple had been down there half an hour later selling a D&D gift set still in the shrink wrap. The clerk though it was strange since they had been in before selling stuff but this was the best quality item they'd ever brought in.
After he bought it, he noticed they had walked out with a season one Star Trek DVD set, which I assume they tried to sell someplace else. The police think they have identified them so we'll see what happens next.
After he bought it, he noticed they had walked out with a season one Star Trek DVD set, which I assume they tried to sell someplace else. The police think they have identified them so we'll see what happens next.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Break In
I got a call at home about 7 a.m. on May 1 from the Carbondale Police Department, letting me know that someone had forced in the door of the store. Arriving I found two police cars there, along with two officers. They entered the store with guns drawn and searched it to see if anyone was still there before letting me enter.
Someone had heaved a 25 pound (more or less) concrete block through the bottom of the front door, crawled through and done it again to the bottom of the inside door. I found the blok lying a good dozen feet inside the store, in front of the store TV. Bits of broken glass covered the carpet in the vestibule and for a good six to twelve feet inside the store. Whomever crawled through the inside door failed their reflex save as the police found blood on the glass and took a sample to send to the state forensics lab.
The thieves weren't very good at their job. Near as we can tell, the only things stolen were a Magic Sliver Deck, another doezne Magic decks and about a dozen Magic booster packs. All told, about $200. I guess they were animal lovers as they bypassed a collection can on the counter for the Humane Society with about $20 in it. They also aren't very good Magic thieves as none of the singles were touched, nor was the $100 From the Vault on the shelf near the Sliver deck. Joel half jokingly suggested, and I rather agree, though there's no way to know for sure, that the thieves sale the "Games" sign, thought video games would be easy to pawn or sell, got inside, looked around and said "What is all this stuff? Where are the games?". They had some friends who had talked about Magic, saw the name on some of the packages and grabbed them so the break-in wouldn't be a total waste of their time.
Tried calling the insurance agency but they don't work weekends . Called Glass Doctor to see about getting new glass for the doors, they wouldn't be able to get anything until Monday. Called Universal Glass. They came right over and we had the glass replaced by a bit after noon.
Near as we can tell, the break-in took place sometime between 3 a.m and 6:30 am, when SIUC Police spotted the broken door. Friday Night Magic wrapped up about 11 p.m. and there were heavy rainstorms off an on until about 3 a.m. but no water inside the vestibule, which should have been wet, given the amount of rain that night.
Someone had heaved a 25 pound (more or less) concrete block through the bottom of the front door, crawled through and done it again to the bottom of the inside door. I found the blok lying a good dozen feet inside the store, in front of the store TV. Bits of broken glass covered the carpet in the vestibule and for a good six to twelve feet inside the store. Whomever crawled through the inside door failed their reflex save as the police found blood on the glass and took a sample to send to the state forensics lab.
The thieves weren't very good at their job. Near as we can tell, the only things stolen were a Magic Sliver Deck, another doezne Magic decks and about a dozen Magic booster packs. All told, about $200. I guess they were animal lovers as they bypassed a collection can on the counter for the Humane Society with about $20 in it. They also aren't very good Magic thieves as none of the singles were touched, nor was the $100 From the Vault on the shelf near the Sliver deck. Joel half jokingly suggested, and I rather agree, though there's no way to know for sure, that the thieves sale the "Games" sign, thought video games would be easy to pawn or sell, got inside, looked around and said "What is all this stuff? Where are the games?". They had some friends who had talked about Magic, saw the name on some of the packages and grabbed them so the break-in wouldn't be a total waste of their time.
Tried calling the insurance agency but they don't work weekends . Called Glass Doctor to see about getting new glass for the doors, they wouldn't be able to get anything until Monday. Called Universal Glass. They came right over and we had the glass replaced by a bit after noon.
Near as we can tell, the break-in took place sometime between 3 a.m and 6:30 am, when SIUC Police spotted the broken door. Friday Night Magic wrapped up about 11 p.m. and there were heavy rainstorms off an on until about 3 a.m. but no water inside the vestibule, which should have been wet, given the amount of rain that night.
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