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Posted By: David Smith

Josh, I think Bruce is on the right track here.

I mean, the guy whose collection was stolen is in his late 80's. He freaking bought the Goudy packs as a kid and pulled the cards out!! So, he has been a life long collector and put these sets together over a long time. Having his collection stolen is having a part of his life stolen. It's not like some rich guy who goes to shows and buys on eBay and puts a set together in 6 months or a year. This was a LIFE times work. So, the punishment should be more extreme.

I don't know if you know of anybody who has had a lifetime's work taken away but I do.

When I was in college, I had a part-time job in a Mom and Pop toy store in a small, touristy town. The couple was elderly. The man didn't talk about it much but he had once owned a carnival scene with who knows how many pieces that he had hand carved over the years. The figures were all to the same scale and intricate, or so I have been told because I never saw the set.

The scene was already donated to a museum but had not been delivered because the gentleman had a few pieces left to carve. Well, one night there was a short in the old buildings electrical system and a fire started and, well, you can guess the rest. Everyone who knew the man said after the loss of his circus, he was not the same. There was a part of him that was gone.

So, again, I believe punishment should be more harsh considering the circumstances in this case of stolen ball cards.


David