An Oklahoma City collector is seeking answers after reporting thousands of dollars' worth of memorabilia was stolen from his storage unit.
Nick Weinbrenner received a call from Extra Space Storage on Tuesday, Sept. 9, to alert him someone might have tampered with his unit.
The lifelong collector arrived to an empty storage unit, finding only trash inside.
He estimates $50,000 to $60,000 worth of sports collectibles, including four valuable 3-foot-tall Kobe Bryant bobbleheads, were stolen from the facility. Additionally, Weinbrenner said the perpetrators took his wife's childhood Barbie collection, as well as his son's baby keepsakes, family heirlooms and china.
"Your stomach just kind of drops," Weinbrenner said. "You think, 'Oh, this is never going to happen to me,' type of thing. And then it (does) happen to you."
Security footage from the facility shows thieves burglarized the unit over the course of Sept. 7-9, according to Weinbrenner.
In a statement to cllct, a spokesperson for Extra Space Storage said the facility has updated some of its security systems after the incident.
“Safety and security are a top priority at Extra Space. This was an unusual break-in. Immediately following the break-in, we re-reviewed our security policy to this facility and our security systems, and we made updates to try to improve and make sure this doesn't happen again," the spokesperson said.
“We're working with local authorities on the investigation. We've turned over all of our surveillance footage and any evidence that we might have to the police, and we're going to support their investigation.”
Weinbrenner immediately took to social media, posting about the theft in hopes the community could help.
He received a message from Amazing Action Comics & Toys in Oklahoma City, saying the store believed it had just purchased some of Weinbrenner's collection. According to the store's owner, the sellers said they had won everything in a recent auction.
They also told the store owner they had plenty more for sale, with additional items stored in their hotel room. That statement raised red flags.
"The light bulb went off," Weinbrenner said of the store owner. "This stuff has to be stolen. There's no way people living in a hotel would have these type of items, right?"
The owner alerted local police, who went and searched the hotel. There, they found many of Weinbrenner's items, along with a woman whom they detained and charged with burglary in the second degree.
Weinbrenner has been relying on fellow collectors via social media to help him in his efforts to recover the items. It even led to two additional shops calling him about a man trying to sell his items.
He also believes the same man is attempting to sell his items on eBay.
Weinbrenner was alerted by fellow collectors to his most-prized collectible, a three-foot-tall 5/50 Bryant bobblehead, listed for $15,000. In the background of the photo is another one of Weinbrenner's Bryant bobbleheads.
Bidding ended within hours of the initial post Sept. 14, without any bids on the item. The seller had created the account within the previous 24 hours, and the location was Oklahoma City.
Weinbrenner sent all this information to eBay, including screenshots, but eBay replied the listing was not in violation of company policy.
"It's just frustrating," Weinbrenner said. "The whole thing's been frustrating."
When cllct contacted eBay about Weinbrenner's story, we received the following statement:
"eBay has zero tolerance for criminal activity on our platform and has been a leader in the battle to curtail theft of any kind. We work diligently to keep our site safe and prevent prohibited listings through seller compliance audits, block filter algorithms for unsafe listings, and AI-supported monitoring by our team of in-house specialists.
"Additionally, through our Partnering with Retailers Offensively Against Crime and Theft (PROACT) program, we regularly collaborate with retailers and law enforcement to support criminal prosecutions against those who try to use our platform to sell stolen goods. Trust is the foundation of our marketplace, and we remain deeply committed to driving safety and transparency across the eBay platform in line with our Stolen Property Policy.”
Matt Liberman is a reporter and video producer for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.