A New Low - Kid's Collection Stolen From Storage Unit

MooseDog · June 20, 2006 3:08AM

Hey Guys -

I know you hear a lot of these kinds of stories and a lot of them are scams, but I'm 99.9% sure this one is on the up and up. Got a lowball offer on one of my "Best Offer" items and after I replied with a gentle "you've got to be kidding" reply, the woman wrote me back and told me a story about how she had a storage unit that had been broken into and her son's collections were among the things taken. Apparently he was a big Will Clark fan and she was trying to buy a bunch of stuff on eBay to replace what was lost before she told him about the theft. She didn't know exactly what he had but he apparently collected everything - rocks, shells, coins, stamps. I'm sure we know the type

Anyway, I have spoken to the woman and like I said, I'm almost 100% positive this is legit. Her story struck a bit of a chord with me because I was a big Will the Thrill fan myself.

I sent her 105 Clark cards I had lying around free of charge. Don't sell them much anymore anyway. She was very thankful and said "I wish there were more people out there like you..."

My reply to her was this:

"...I think that MOST people are kind and generous and willing to help out. It's just the BAD ones that get all the publicity..."

So I thought I'd throw this story out to you guys and gals on the board, as most of you all seem like good people. If you have some Will Clark cards or other Will stuff lying around gathering dust and want to get this kid's collection jump started again, please PM me and I'll reply with the address.

RichG · June 20, 2006 3:21AM

Moose:
My feeling about people is exactly opposite. I firmly believe that most people are out to screw their neighbor (or at least will screw them if the chance came up and it meant a financial gain for them). With this said, I don't trust many people outside my immediate family. Heck, I don't even have neighbors.....I live behind the woods all secluded away from people. With this said, I get irritated when someone offers me a lowball offer and I'll generally let them know my feelings. I don't believe this lady for one second. I think she scammed you!
Rich

FavreFan1971 · June 20, 2006 3:28AM

I think Rich is the 2nd coming of the Unibomber.

Rich, you are wrong! Nuff said.

itzagoner · June 20, 2006 3:32AM

Suffice to say that it would be a MONUMENTAL waste of time to scam people for Will Clark baseball cards. These days, the person most fond of Will is probably Will himself....Send me a PM, i can't wait to send this person some cards. I'll even throw in a few Jeffrey Leonards to boot...One Flap Down!!! ITZ

scooter729 · June 20, 2006 3:32AM

<< Moose:
My feeling about people is exactly opposite. I firmly believe that most people are out to screw their neighbor (or at least will screw them if the chance came up and it meant a financial gain for them). With this said, I don't trust many people outside my immediate family. Heck, I don't even have neighbors.....I live behind the woods all secluded away from people. With this said, I get irritated when someone offers me a lowball offer and I'll generally let them know my feelings. I don't believe this lady for one second. I think she scammed you!
Rich >>

Is this a joke? Yeah, I'm sure scammers are making tons of cash off of all the Will Clark cards they're scamming from people. Their next targets will be to scam Kal Daniels and Matt Nokes rookies....

MooseDog, I applaud your efforts and would have 99.9% faith in the woman as well.

onefasttalon · June 20, 2006 3:49AM

Scam or no scam... I remember when I was much younger, and how much my cards meant to me. If someone
had stolen MY cards back then, I'd be crushed! Will Clark? ... ya, I have a sizeable lot of RC's I'd be happy to
send! Even if they're going to some idiot out there looking to pull off the next biggest scam, SO WHAT!?!
It won't cost me much, and I'll get to feel like I did a great thing!

Russ

RichG · June 20, 2006 4:05AM

Moose: It's not a joke. Heck, the lady already tried to low ball this guy.

Farve: Can you prove it? I hope I am wrong.....However, I don't think I am. The person that does my deliveries is a retired cop. He tells me that studies have been done that proved that 90% of the population would steal if given the opportunity IF they knew for certain they would not be caught. I knew the percentage was high, but I didn't realize it was that high.
The bottom line.....
Don't trust anyone outside your immediate family.
Rich

phreakydancin · June 20, 2006 4:42AM

This reminds me of a thread we had several months ago where a buyer had asked one of the members here point blank if he would "throw in some freebies" for his son. Sorry, but I don't buy it.

Remember that kleptomaniacs steal small items for the thrill of it, not because of any inherint value in what they are stealing. Similarly, scamming a few Will Clark cards would still garner a thrill to the scammer, even if it isn't ARod or Pujols or whoever.

jimq112 · June 20, 2006 4:43AM

I'm lucky enought to have a few hundred extra will clark cards too, if you want to pm me the address I'll get some out that way.

I guess the way I see it is if she's that bad off that she has to try to scam to get will clark stuff she needs them more than I need them sitting in a closet. If she really was stolen from, people giving her stuff to replace what was lost has to make her feel great. Been there myself, it's no fun. Mine was a $25K car stereo they cut out of a corvette with a sawzall.

jmbkb4 · June 20, 2006 4:49AM

<< Moose:
My feeling about people is exactly opposite. I firmly believe that most people are out to screw their neighbor (or at least will screw them if the chance came up and it meant a financial gain for them). With this said, I don't trust many people outside my immediate family. Heck, I don't even have neighbors.....I live behind the woods all secluded away from people. With this said, I get irritated when someone offers me a lowball offer and I'll generally let them know my feelings. I don't believe this lady for one second. I think she scammed you!
Rich >>

This will probably be enough to send Stone into one of his "vacations" from the site.

PhilG: It sounds like you almost certainly have Paranoid Personality Disorder vs. Schizoid Personality Disorder.

To the OP, you gave the cards away with the intention of doing the right thing. Regardless of the outcome, I have no doubt that it made your day to know you're helping out someone else.

blue227 · June 20, 2006 4:59AM

When i moved out of my parents' house, they decided to downsize their living accomodations to something smaller and put our house up for sale. In order to clean up the house to be more presentable for open houses, i put my card & comic collection into a storage locker for what i thought was safekeeping. A few weeks later, after i moved away, i get a call from my father telling me that someone broke into the storage locker and stole ALL of my cards and comics, including what was the raw equivalent of my #1 ATF Steve Garvey Master set with 25 cards autographed by the Garv while i trailed him around town when he was in Hawaii in the late 70's/early 80's to film the Superstars competition of WS teams vs. SB team. The theives left all the household items, books, furniture, etc. but managed to rip my heart out while i was 10,000 miles away. I was a poor student at the time who was accumulating debt for school with no means to buy back what was stolen. Years later, I managed to replace most of what was stolen and have even re-purchase a few of the stolen autographed cards on eBay 10+ years later. Even though my collection is bigger and much more valuable in $ terms than what i had accumulated as a kid, i'd trade it all in heartbeat if I could get back my childhood collection including the first and only Topps set i completed by purchasing 20 cent wax packs (1978). It was probably only in Ex-Mt condition at best (even though as a kid i thought of everyone of those 726 cards as a gem mint beauty) but it can never be replicated the same way a few packs at a time, week by week over the summer of '78.

Boopotts · June 20, 2006 5:11AM

<< Moose: It's not a joke. Heck, the lady already tried to low ball this guy.

Farve: Can you prove it? I hope I am wrong.....However, I don't think I am. The person that does my deliveries is a retired cop. He tells me that studies have been done that proved that 90% of the population would steal if given the opportunity IF they knew for certain they would not be caught. I knew the percentage was high, but I didn't realize it was that high.
The bottom line.....
Don't trust anyone outside your immediate family.
Rich >>

More stupidity. So let's see-- 90% of the population would steal EXCEPT for one's immediate family. Are we to assume, then, that only 10% of the population has an immediate family member?

And as far as 'studies' go, there are 'studies' that show 10% of the population is gay, 17.5% of all children are sexually abused at some point, and so on and so on. You can make a 'study' to prove just about anything. But let's say you're right, and this woman is a scammer. Who cares? In this case there are two scenerios.

1) She's telling the truth. You send her a bunch of cards you don't want, and will never miss, and he son is elated.
2) She's lying. You send her a bunch of cards you don't want, and will never miss, and she makes $1.25 reselling them on Ebay.

It's basically a freeroll, since you don't 'lose' in either case. This isn't like sending someone a stack of NM T206's-- for Christ's sake, it's WILL CLARK.

WeekendHacker · June 20, 2006 5:12AM

If this world had more MooseDogs, FarveFan1's, itzagoner's, onefasttalon's, jimq112's and less RichG's - this world would no doubt be a better place!!!! I commend you for taking action and helping someone out!!!

Who the hell cares if someone gets one over for some freakin will clark cards, it's the thought, gesture and acting on intuition that matters here. For cryin-out-loud, it's will clark, not Hank Aaron or Babe Ruth!!

WeekendHacker · June 20, 2006 5:14AM

Boopotts

Ditto.........what he said - we pretty much posted the same reply at the same time - High Five!!

ajw · June 20, 2006 5:20AM

RichG · June 20, 2006 5:24AM

Boo:
Who Cares? I sure do if I'm the one getting scammed. I don't care if it's for 25 cents or $2,500 as its all about the principle to me. I've been in retail for 12 years now, and i have caught plenty of grown adults stealing low end items during my time. The thing that really killed me is that most of the time these people had plenty of money in their pocket that they could have used to pay for the item.
Rich

itzagoner · June 20, 2006 5:25AM

UPDATE: Now seeking opportunities to donate my entire Kevin Mitchell collection, as well.

ajw · June 20, 2006 5:27AM

I'm about as big a Will Clark fan as you can find, and I'd be furious if somone stole my collection.

That being said, I'm happy to help out this collector, if MooseDog is convinced by her story, I'll put together a package of cards and send them off. It may take me a while (up to a few months) as my box of duplicates is currently in a different time zone, but I'll do what I can when I'm able.

In the meantime, I think someone should contact the A-Team, as whoever did this deserves to get his a** kicked.

RichG · June 20, 2006 5:41AM

weekendhacker:
I actually agree with you. However, from my perspective of people, you would have to get rid of more than me. I am the way I am in order to protect myself and my family. According to the retired cop as stated above,you would have to get rid of 90% of the population plus me. I simply don't trust people and the way I act and my actions in real life reflect that. Like I said earlier, I don't subscribe to the theory which states.... to treat people the way you want them to treat you, but instead I follow my rule/theory which is .... "I treat people the way they treat me".
Rich

yawie99 · June 20, 2006 6:19AM

I'm with RichG. I'd be willing to bet that the real new low is this woman fabricating the theft story to get some free cards.

itzagoner · June 20, 2006 6:30AM

Oy Vey!! Issues, issues............UP NEXT, CU members debate the difference between GOOD & EVIL
Good: I helped a little old lady across the street the other day, so she could get to the bank
Evil: Yes, but what if she was carrying a loaded revolver?
Sheesh!!!

pandrews · June 20, 2006 6:35AM

<< Oy Vey!! Issues, issues............UP NEXT, CU members debate the difference between GOOD & EVIL
Good: I helped a little old lady across the street the other day, so she could get to the bank
Evil: Yes, but what if she was carrying a loaded revolver?
Sheesh!!!

>>

yeah but we're talking about eBay here, and anonymous people behind computer screens.. not old ladies trying to cross the street..

i agree with RichG too.. i tend not to trust very many people..

edited to add - and where i come from, lots of old ladies carry revolvers..

bri2327 · June 20, 2006 6:37AM

MooseDog,

If you believed the lady its good enough for me. Like others said, you dont lose either way, and the benefit of helping out someone in need is far greater than the possible loss of some relatively worthless cards.

RichG, the world is what we make of it, nothing more, nothing less. If you go through life believing everyone is a cheat, being bitter and untrusting to a fault then you are only contributing to the problem. Every now and again treating someone to a kind gesture may just come back to you twofold. Karma is a funny thing.

MooseDog, feel free to PM me with any info, Id be glad to help out the lady/child.

RichG · June 20, 2006 6:50AM

bri:
I hear you, and I am nice to people. Actually, I'm very nice to the people who are nice to me. However, I sure in the heck will not be nice to some person who tried to lowball me!
Rich

itzagoner · June 20, 2006 7:03AM

<< bri:
I hear you, and I am nice to people. Actually, I'm very nice to the people who are nice to me. However, I sure in the heck will not be nice to some person who tried to lowball me!
Rich >>

Dear Esteemed Members of CU,
I'm about to make a startling admission. One day a guy walked in to my store with an outstanding collection and asked me how much I'd be willing to pay for it. So, I low-balled him! He took the offer! I still feel guilty to this day, especially when I'm paying my taxes, or my electric bill, or my rent, or my wife's bill from the hairdresser, or whatever.
Signed, Every Dealer

montanafan · June 20, 2006 7:32AM

my god i didn't realize it would be such a big deal.. how about if i just give the kid his will clark cards back?

storm888 · June 20, 2006 7:43AM

itza wrote:

"Dear Esteemed Members of CU,
I'm about to make a startling admission. One day a guy walked in to my store with an outstanding collection and asked me how much I'd be willing to pay for it. So, I low-balled him! He took the offer! I still feel guilty to this day, especially when I'm paying my taxes, or my electric bill, or my rent, or my wife's bill from the hairdresser, or whatever.
Signed, Every Dealer "...........................

The life-blood of the retail collection-resale business is the ability of the dealer to
buy items for substantially less money than he can resell them for. The collectible
retailer does not have a "traditional wholesaler" to order scarce collectibles from.

If I am retailing toasters for $20.00, I probably paid about $8.00 for them when
my wholesaler delivered 48 of them to me. If I paid any more than that, I would
not be able to make a profit; no profit for me, no toaster store for my community.

Fair and standard business dealings are not something that I personally feel guilty
about. Being the greater bearer of sophistication in a collectible transaction is not
a shameful act; it is simply the nature of the market.

I also do not get mad when somebody lowballs me. I just do not do the proposed
deal with them.

Toasters and MOST collectibles are NOT a "storehouse of value." When someone
buys either from a retailer, there should be no expectation that the value of the
items will increase. If someone wants to buy collectibles cheap and "guarantee"
themselves a profit on resale, they should open a store and sit there all day in
hopes that enough people will come into buy something and sell something to
enable them to pay the lease-rent and other expenses.

I cannot tell you how many times people have brought me collectibles to buy
and said, "I see you are selling your item for $10.00, can you buy mine for
$10.00?" No, I cannot. I can pay you less, and expect to keep the item on
the shelf for a while.

WalMart does not feel guilty when they sell a toaster that cost $1.90 to make and
deliver, for $19.73. The same "contrition not required" principles apply to all business
operators, including Collectible retailers. Do doctors and lawyers have to feel guilty for
charging HUGE fees to people who have not got a clue what they are paying for? Nope.

Have I ever hit "homeruns" and done well on items I purchased from people who
knew less than I did about those items? Sure. Have I ever paid too much and gotten
stuck with junk? Sure.

But, as a product of Catholic schools, I would be lying if I did not say that I DO understand
the "guilt" associated with having "bought stuff REALLY cheap from bewildered/desperate sellers."
When those feelings come upon me, I take a nap.

storm

FifthScaleRacer · June 20, 2006 7:46AM

Remember guys, you are trying to debate with RichG...the guy that lives in the woods very faraway from other people. LOL

FifthScaleRacer · June 20, 2006 7:49AM

Just what this "hobby" needs...more rationalization from "card dealers".

MooseDog · June 20, 2006 7:54AM

Wow, two pages so far. Interesting comments for sure. Me, I tend to trust people first. Like I said, I am almost positive this is not a scam. As many pointed out, we're talking Will Clark here, who, great player that he was, isn't very hot where cards are concerned. I mean she could have said, "Oh, by the way, he likes Albert Pujols too" (or Barry Bonds, or Alex Gordon for that matter).

Those that said they'd have something for the kid I'll get you the address when I get home late tonight. Don't have the info here at work.

itzagoner · June 20, 2006 7:58AM

Storm, Thanks SO much for being the voice of reason....Can't tell you how many times I paid fairly to someone almost as wise as I, and skanked away with my 5 or 10 percent mark-up. Whoo-hoo, what will I do with all my extra pennies? The thrill of the chase is realized on those rare occasions when you DO get to gobble up a great deal well below value. BTW, when someone throws a ridiculous low offer at me on an item, I don't call it LOW-BALLING. I call it GROUNDS FOR NEGOTIATION. Then the fun begins. ITZ

VintageJeff · June 20, 2006 7:58AM

You guys are great and i'll look for some extra clark cards but one question. What "kid" is currently collecting Will Clark cards????

montanafan · June 20, 2006 8:03AM

once i purchased a *very* nice joe montana autographed ring of honor refractor card off ebay for a couple hundred dollars. a few days go by and i get the dreaded "you're not getting this card" email from the seller.. only the reason was different: police detectives had just left his card store and taken the card, along with several others that this dealer had allegedly purchased off some creep.. i guess a whole batch of really premium autograph cards got stolen out of this guy's car, and he tracked them down himself when they hit ebay and that's what led the police to this guy's card shop. I was a little skeptical at first but then when i saw all the other cards pulled off ebay and got a prompt pay pal refund, i quit caring.... glad the guy got his cards back.. as i recall, the store owner who was listing the cards was working with the police to set up a sting to get the original seller back to the store so he could be arrested.. i lost track of the story after that point.. don't ask me why the heck a guy would keep a world-class autograph collection like that in his car.......

SoFLPhillyFan · June 20, 2006 8:07AM

What if she found a 1986 copy of Beckett and thinks the cards are worth real money?

Who cares.

I applaud those who are willing to trust and give away what is not very valuable to them, but perhaps is worth much to another.

Sometimes you just have to be kind hearted, leave it that and forget about negative possibilities.

If you would like to PM me I'll send a few also.

Keith

pandrews · June 20, 2006 8:12AM

<< Remember guys, you are trying to debate with RichG...the guy that lives in the woods very faraway from other people. LOL >>

whats wrong with that?..

montanafan · June 20, 2006 8:24AM

here, she can't have this

Stone193 · June 20, 2006 8:39AM

<< Wow, two pages so far. Interesting comments for sure. Me, I tend to trust people first. Like I said, I am almost positive this is not a scam. As many pointed out, we're talking Will Clark here, who, great player that he was, isn't very hot where cards are concerned. I mean she could have said, "Oh, by the way, he likes Albert Pujols too" (or Barry Bonds, or Alex Gordon for that matter).

Those that said they'd have something for the kid I'll get you the address when I get home late tonight. Don't have the info here at work. >>

Good for you Moose.

Scam or not - your heart is in the right place and the act of charity, empathy, kindness and generosity are done without regard for anything in return.

I believe in seeing the glass as half full - if I got wrapped up with what others do? I wouldn't be able to even get out of the bed each day.

TV reporting has skewed people's outlook of the world - I believe there are way more good people and acts of kindness than we are aware - tho I recommend one stays off the highway during rush hour!

mike

originalisbest · June 20, 2006 9:41AM

I remember well when the Will Clark Fleer RC was a hot item at $50. What year exactly did that all go to hell?

ajw · June 20, 2006 9:45AM

<< I remember well when the Will Clark Fleer RC was a hot item at $50. What year exactly did that all go to hell? >>

I'm pretty sure it topped out around $35 in 1989 or 1990 when Will was at his peak. The card was strong for a long time, but slowly declined, much like Will's career. As a big fan, I've long been disappointed that Will didn't age more gracefully. I wish he would have bought a gym membership, as it coulda made all the difference for him...

originalisbest · June 20, 2006 9:58AM

Too bad - I was working in a card shop circa 1990 and remember selling the Clark '87 Fleer for $50 (why that price is stuck in my head.) Canseco's Rated Rookie Donruss was probably the hottest card in the shop, at one time. Heady times in the BBC world!

RichG · June 20, 2006 10:00AM

5th scale and pandrews:
With regard to me living in the woods and away from people......I do exactly what I preach. I hate people who say one thing but do another.
Rich

pandrews · June 20, 2006 10:02AM

<< 5th scale and pandrews:
With regard to me living in the woods and away from people......I do exactly what I preach. I hate people who say one thing but do another.
Rich >>

i wasnt saying anything negative about it.. hell i grew up in the woods.. i'm all for it..

RichG · June 20, 2006 10:07AM

Pandrews.....I know it wasn't meant to be a negative comment. I simply replied back to let people know that I act the way I preach.
Rich

montanafan · June 20, 2006 10:40AM

The person that does my deliveries is a retired cop. He tells me that studies have been done that proved that 90% of the population would steal if given the opportunity IF they knew for certain they would not be caught.

well.. in all fairness, there is no better source than hearsay from a deliveryman telling you about studies he heard about a long time ago.. that's pretty conclusive evidence right there.

*rolls eyes

onlyanumber · June 20, 2006 10:44AM

Couple of points to think about. This world is all about karma. Moose, good karma will come your way. You are doing something that doesn't amount to much but a few pennies worth of cards and postage. You could be sending cards to a woman that is genuinely sincere and her son will be elated. If she is lying, bad karma will befall her.

As for anyone questioning how a kid could be a Will Clark fan, think about this, at one point all of us were six, seven years old. He could have met the Thrill one day outside the ballpark and Will signed something for him, making him a lifelong fan. Little moments like that are the reason why guys are fans of the Will Clarks, Jim Abbotts, and in my case, the John Ceruttis.

On a side note Moose, if you don't mind me asking, did her Ebay feedback back up her story? i.e. has she been on Ebay long enough to have acquired a bunch of items via auctions?

MooseDog · June 20, 2006 10:55AM

<< On a side note Moose, if you don't mind me asking, did her Ebay feedback back up her story? i.e. has she been on Ebay long enough to have acquired a bunch of items via auctions? >>

Good point, I didn't even think about that...just checked her ID, she just signed up in April and has been buying (mostly cheap) bulk lots of Hot Wheels, Star Wars, and Masters of the Universe stuff, a couple of Will autographs and a 1987 Donruss RC mounted on a plaque (remember when those plaques were all the rage?) - all of which she did mention the kid had collected.

itzagoner · June 20, 2006 11:02AM

Moose,
I'm convinced NOW.....Good thing she didn't try that silly "My Babe Ruth signed baseball landed in the neighbor's yard and now a big dog has it" story, though

Doubters: Hope you are convinced, too. Who else would buy such an assortment?

Southerncards · June 20, 2006 11:05AM

<< 
My feeling about people is exactly opposite. I firmly believe that most people are out to screw their neighbor - Rich >>

I try as often as I can but her husband is home all too often.

Please pm me the lady's name and address so she can scam me out of a few Will Clark cards.

Jim

itzagoner · June 20, 2006 11:07AM

<< 

<< 
My feeling about people is exactly opposite. I firmly believe that most people are out to screw their neighbor - Rich >>

I try as often as I can but her husband is home all too often.

Please pm me the lady's name and address so she can scam me out of a few Will Clark cards.

Jim >>

PERFECT!!!!!!!!!!

VintageJeff · June 20, 2006 11:08AM

<< Couple of points to think about. This world is all about karma. Moose, good karma will come your way. You are doing something that doesn't amount to much but a few pennies worth of cards and postage. You could be sending cards to a woman that is genuinely sincere and her son will be elated. If she is lying, bad karma will befall her.

As for anyone questioning how a kid could be a Will Clark fan, think about this, at one point all of us were six, seven years old. He could have met the Thrill one day outside the ballpark and Will signed something for him, making him a lifelong fan. Little moments like that are the reason why guys are fans of the Will Clarks, Jim Abbotts, and in my case, the John Ceruttis.

On a side note Moose, if you don't mind me asking, did her Ebay feedback back up her story? i.e. has she been on Ebay long enough to have acquired a bunch of items via auctions? >>

SO if the "kid" was 6 or 7 when Clark played that would make him how old now?

P.S. I believe the story, just saying.

Southerncards · June 20, 2006 11:11AM

<< 

SO if the "kid" was 6 or 7 when Clark played that would make him how old now?

>>

I was born 2 years after Mickey Mantle retired, but I still collect him. Mays was a horrible Met when I was 3 yet I dont turn his cards away. Clark could have been his big brother's or dad's favorite player.

A New Low - Kid's Collection Stolen From Storage Unit

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