Posting collections pictures online question

[Hawaiian BamBam]

Hey guys, this got me thinking. On another site im a member on. when asked who has the best collection of autographs/cards. a lot of members posted that this one particular member has an awesome collection.(apparently this one member has an AMAZING collection of autographs and is well known in our hobby or at least on those boards) so someone else posted."id love to see your collection!, post scans!" that member then posted "i dont post my collection online due to safety reasons. what does that mean? is it safe to post pics of your collection online? what would be the harm? i thought most people didnt mind "showing off their collections" as there are threads just to "'show off" recent pickups and collections, etc. just curious as to why some people think it is a safety thing to post their collections online. your thoughts?

 

[Rhubarb_Runner]

The more valuable your collection, the more tempting it is to thieves.

http://www.harmari.com/2011/03/how-to-find-the-location-where-a-picture-was-taken/

 

[David K.]

You can find out a lot of things now days on the internet. His city and state.....where he lives...so I can see why he would not post his collection. Best regards, David

 

[Beachbum]

The more valuable your collection, the more tempting it is to thieves.

http://www.harmari.com/2011/03/how-to-find-the-location-where-a-picture-was-taken/

WOW...this amazed me! (a little scary too)

 

[Hawaiian BamBam]

that is scary! the good thing for me, is at least im selling off my collection, so soon i wont have anything left! but i can see now, why some people who have valuable collections dont do that!

 

[Beachbum]

that is scary! the good thing for me, is at least im selling off my collection, so soon i wont have anything left! but i can see now, why some people who have valuable collections dont do that!

Nothing left but cash.

 

[Hawaiian BamBam]

LOL, I wish!, all of that money is going to my credit card bills. i want to get those paid off once and for all.

 

[Beachbum]

LOL, I wish!, all of that money is going to my credit card bills. i want to get those paid off once and for all.


i was thinking, even scarier, is that all a potential thief has to do is make a small trade with someone and then they have that persons name and address. this hobby has totally changed, thats why im getting out and paying off my bills!

This is true to an extent but you would have to be a fairly bored and independently wealthy thief because most of us traders are scattered all over the U.S., it would take quite some time, money, and planning to even go to an unfamiliar town to steal baseball cards.

 

[Jeffo65]

A number of years ago, we had our house broken into and many of my autographed items were taken. This was about 2 weeks after I set up a site page showcasing my autograph collection. Are the two connected, who knows.

I no longer post my collections and very seldom do I talk about it on the web.

.

 

[Beachbum]

Jeffo-
I like the Burns quote in your sig...I just met him a couple days ago, got a few autographs, he's a nice guy.

 

[Hawaiian BamBam]

Jeff,
Sorry to hear that, that really sucks. I never gave it much thought before, but now i know why some members never talk about their collections or show pics of collections online.

 

[mrmopar]

Years ago, actually after a weird transaction here as a matter of fact, i began using my work address to have cards shipped. Someone smart with a little basic info could add everything up and find me, but the logistics to actually breaking in and stealing my collection might be harder than it seems. They would need lots of people or lots of time to load everything up as finding the "good stuff" would take just as much time if they didn't just take everything. This activity, assuming my house is empty that long, would certainly garner attention in my dead end (one way in, one way out) neighborhood, plus i live at the top of a hill in a cul-de-sac, even tougher to fly under the radar. i guess brute force would get the job done too, but at that point, take it if you need it that bad.

I am a cautious person by nature though, so i also take basic precautions and employ a certain level of security to help safeguard my family and home. You can never be too careful though and giving up information that is not necessary is not a good habit to be in.

 

[Hawaiian BamBam]

scary stuff. many years ago (over 15years ago) at a card show i overheard a guy talking to a dealer about his collection, i think it was 1953 topps or 1952 topps or something like that , that he was trying to put together a set. he said he bought one of those huge heavy iron safes, that if i remember him saying stands like 7 feet tall by 3-4 feet wide. he said that he has it upstairs in his house. when the dealer asked him how he got it up stairs he said he hired a company with some type of special lift to, lift it upstairs! when i heard that story, i remember saying, now THAT is one way to make sure no one "walks" away with your collection!

 

[valediction]

scary stuff. many years ago (over 15years ago) at a card show i overheard a guy talking to a dealer about his collection, i think it was 1953 topps or 1952 topps or something like that , that he was trying to put together a set. he said he bought one of those huge heavy iron safes, that if i remember him saying stands like 7 feet tall by 3-4 feet wide. he said that he has it upstairs in his house. when the dealer asked him how he got it up stairs he said he hired a company with some type of special lift to, lift it upstairs! when i heard that story, i remember saying, now THAT is one way to make sure no one "walks" away with your collection!

Only in theory. The safe company that delivered installed it knows exactly where it is and likely has the wherewithal to open it. The neighbors and strangers in the area all likely notice a delivery of something like that. Bragging about your collection is the first step to losing it, especially if you have a family to consider. Someone breaks in and has a gun to your spouse or child's head, that safe is getting opened and those cards are being hand delivered to Mr. Gunman. Is it an extra step that can help, yes indeed, but the best way to keep the risks low is to keep a low profile, don't tell everyone you know that you've been collecting for 40 years and when the inevitable question of "what is your most valuable card?" comes up, keep your mouth shut.

 

[Beachbum]

I am a cautious person by nature though, so i also take basic precautions and employ a certain level of security to help safeguard my family and home. You can never be too careful though and giving up information that is not necessary is not a good habit to be in.

Totally agreed, makes me think of the guys (won't mention any handles or names) that tell everyone..."for those of you I'm working on a trade with, I still want to trade with you, I'll be gone for a week, but I'll finish our trades when I get back" How stupid is that? People do it on Facebook and Twitter too.

I'm a stay at home dad so I'm ALWAYYYYYYS home and we stand our ground in Florida, got some decent protection going on down here.

 

[DaClyde]

I avoid all this drama by having a collection no one else would want.

 

[budd2222]

Totally agreed, makes me think of the guys (won't mention any handles or names) that tell everyone..."for those of you I'm working on a trade with, I still want to trade with you, I'll be gone for a week, but I'll finish our trades when I get back" How stupid is that? People do it on Facebook and Twitter too.

I'm a stay at home dad so I'm ALWAYYYYYYS home and we stand our ground in Florida, got some decent protection going on down here.

After reading your post. I am so happy that I live so far away from you and your kind.

 

[Beachbum]

After reading your post. I am so happy that I live so far away from you and your kind.

If by "my kind" you mean a law-abiding, loving father and husband that is willing to do anything to protect his family, then yes I am just as glad to be the opposite of you as you are of me.

 

[Hawaiian BamBam]

Since I am selling off my entire collection (as it seems i am having a mid life crisis and dont want to collect anymore) my wife came up with a great idea. we decided to get a storage unit to put some of our crap in (camping gear,holiday decoration,s, etc) she said since i am selling my collection card by card on ebay, why not go to home depot by some shelves and put them in the storage unit. so i bought some shelves and put my boxes of cards in the storage unit. then what ill do since i ship once a week on ebay, is ill go to the storage unit, pull all my cards that i sold them ship them. so far it seems to work pretty good and has cleared up alot of space in my house and now all my cards are all in one place locked in my storage unit across town.

 

[dadandsoncards]

Originally Posted by budd2222
After reading your post. I am so happy that I live so far away from you and your kind.


Wow, what did you mean by that? Beachbum, I'm with you, I am a law abiding, tax paying, family loving, church going, gun toting, card collector, and very proud of it. I'm with Beachbum, glad you are the opposite of me.