Recovering stolen merchandise

[goyo2]

As some of you know, I got robbed last week. Well I made a list of everything that was taken and was about to send it to the police when I talked to a cop about it. They informed me that in order to recover any electronic merchandise, you need to have the serial number or have put an identifying mark on the item. Or, if there is a scratch on the item you can just say the model number and where the scratch is.

I think this kind of sucks because I hardly have any serial numbers for my stuff, so even if they find it, I won't get it back...

Now the moral delema, Certain electronics wear in predictable places, so I am thinking of making some "additions" to my list like a 36" HDTV sony Wega with VCR scratches on the top...yeah its wrong, but its better than the cops just selling it, which is what they end up doing and they keep the money. Comments, questions, ideas (like what kind of high end electronics scratch where?):naughty:

[Memo]

The cops totally try to **** you over when you get robbed. I got robbed last summer and I couldn't get any of my things back because the thief stole the boxes and manuals WITH from my closet as long as the merchandise. I had no way of claiming my stuff. Eventhough they found a guy with everything matching my stolen items, I was unable to clam it without a serial number.

[goyo2]

Yeah man, its a real shitty rule, do you think you would have gotten it back if you had manuals?

[coleslaw]

Every time I buy some kind of electronic equipment, I ALWAYS write down the serial number in at least one place and also give the numbers to my parents as well so if, heaven forbid, there was a fire in my apartment, the serial numbers would still be around. Pictures also help your case.

[Jeffbx]

Or take the lazy (but very effective approach) - just go around one day with your video or digicam & take pictures/video of all of your valuable stuff & the serial numbers. That gives you very clear evidence of not only the stuff you had, but also a rough idea of the condition. Especially useful for things like CD collections where you probably have not saved all of your receipts.


Of course, make sure to keep the images in a safe place outside of your house. Had a friend one time who made an extensive inventory of his posessions with snapshots of everything, serial numbers, lots of receipts, all bundled nicely in a big binder.

"That way", he says, "In case the house burns down I have a complete list to give to the insurance company."

"Hey, that's a great idea. Where do you keep it?"

"Oh, I have it locked in the drawer of my desk over in the den."

"Hmmm.... and if the house burns down, is that desk fireproof?"

Apparently that had never occurred to him....

[WhiskeyPapa]

Thanks for the reminder to record all my serial numbers. BTW, goyo2, how would what you're planning make you any better than the slime who took your stuff? Stealing is stealing, even if you con the cops into handing it over to you. Besides, it won't work.

[gear02]

I've been doing just that, making an inventory with serial numbers. However, what do you do with things that don't have serials, such as video games?

[Merlin]

Yeah, a home inventory would be very helpful when dealing with an insurance comapny in the event of theft or fire.

[WhiskeyPapa]

Originally posted by gear02
However, what do you do with things that don't have serials, such as video games?


Originally posted by goyo2
They informed me that in order to recover any electronic merchandise, you need to have the serial number or have put an identifying mark on the item.

There you go. Just scratch your initials into them. All you're doing is providing a way to positively identify the item if it is ever recovered.

[goyo2]

Originally posted by kb0wwp
Thanks for the reminder to record all my serial numbers. BTW, goyo2, how would what you're planning make you any better than the slime who took your stuff? Stealing is stealing, even if you con the cops into handing it over to you. Besides, it won't work.

Good discussion kb0wwp, ethical debates are much like argueing different religions or what kind of toppings you want on your pizza, everyone is sure that what they have is the best...I don't believe what I would be doing would be honest in any sense of the word, nor do I believe that "stealing is stealing," Sure, at the basic definition of stealing, it is taking property that does not belong to me. Are the reprecussions the same as what happened to me or others who have been robbed? I don't think so. If you were to ask me wether I would rather have the local PD get money from my stuff or some other guy who had been robbed, I'd choose the other citizen. I believe that the situation as it is encourages the police NOT to find the rightful owner...did you know that at least in my town the police do not record each serial number of each item that comes in? That's right, its too many man hours, but they do have time to auction each piece. The only time property is recovered is when someone keeps calling them. This is what I was told by the CSO who came to my house.

So is it wrong? Not in my book, i'm taking a risk in doing it and willing to pay the price if I'm caught...the poor guy/gal who lost the stuff wouldn't get it back either way and the only ones who would benefit would be the Police. Will it work? Who knows, it won't take much to find out. The thing is, I don't buy into a lot of conventional beliefs as to what is right and wrong, and I think that many horrible things are done in this world in the name of what is "right." ie: killing hundreds of people to find wepons of mass destruction that aren't there..."hey what's all this oil doing here?" I just don't let people set my morals for me, whether its a religion or just what society says in general. Remember, there was a time where it was considered immoral to allow people of color to enjoy the same rights as white people because they we're considered by society and even the church to not have souls. Not that my cause is nobel, but its just another instance where I will chose what I feel and this is right instead of what has been deemed right by laws and society. There's not a victim here.

[WhiskeyPapa]

Originally posted by goyo2
The thing is, I don't buy into a lot of conventional beliefs as to what is right and wrong [snip] I just don't let people set my morals for me, whether its a religion or just what society says in general.Apparently, you and your burglar have something in common. :heh:

[welfareloser]

look, the cops have his stuff. they know it. the rule is wrong.

do what you can to get as much of your stuff, or comparable items, back.

if someone has the serial # for their stuff they'll get it back immediately. it's the stuff that nobody can claim that is sitting around that you might be able to get back by guessing at scratches. there's NOTHING wrong with guessing at scratches to try to get some stuff back. the person that it really belonged to isn't getting it back, either.

[WhiskeyPapa]

But he's not talking about getting "comparable" items back. He's talking about adding premium items to his list. i.e. trying to get a 36" HDTV Sony Wega rather than his 19" Quasar.

[eSDee]

He had a Wega.

[Cubsfan]

Originally posted by welfareloser
look, the cops have his stuff. they know it. the rule is wrong.

The thing is, how do they KNOW that it's his stuff? Do you think there is a good reason for the rule? Perhaps there were a lot of people who got robbed and tried to use it as a chance to "upgrade" their stuff, like, say, get better TV's...

[WhiskeyPapa]

Originally posted by eSDeeLoco
He had a Wega. Ok. I understood by his post in this thread that he wanted to add a Wega to his list. I'll tone down my righteous indignation a few notches! :P

[welfareloser]

Originally posted by Cubsfan


The thing is, how do they KNOW that it's his stuff? Do you think there is a good reason for the rule? Perhaps there were a lot of people who got robbed and tried to use it as a chance to "upgrade" their stuff, like, say, get better TV's...

there's a good reason for the rule... but they've made it a "no tolerance" rule. they need to tolerate some uncertainty. they're just making life easy on themselves.

i've never been impressed with cops doing what they're supposed to do. not in any city i've lived in. you have to try to make things work out right any way you can, and if that means bending their stupid rules, do it.

[avlena]

Originally posted by eSDeeLoco
He had a Wega.

he did? i got the impression he was adding goodies to his list...



Now the moral delema, Certain electronics wear in predictable places, so I am thinking of making some "additions" to my list like a 36" HDTV sony Wega with VCR scratches on the top...yeah its wrong, but its better than the cops just selling it, which is what they end up doing and they keep the money. Comments, questions, ideas (like what kind of high end electronics scratch where?)


unless he said it earlier in a post i missed, he implies that he is adding things to the list in the hopes he can obtain some extra electronics he didn't own before, as a "consolation" prize for getting robbed.

[Cubsfan]

Originally posted by welfareloser


there's a good reason for the rule... but they've made it a "no tolerance" rule. they need to tolerate some uncertainty. they're just making life easy on themselves.

All I know is that I wouldn't be happy if I got robbed and someone else "identified" my TV, so then I wasn't able to get it back.

[eSDee]

I'm not sure of how big the TV was, but it was definitely a Wega. I lusted after it many times. I think he meant that he would put 36" instead of 32" or whatever it was he had.

[zenbooty]

Originally posted by welfareloser
i've never been impressed with cops doing what they're supposed to do. not in any city i've lived in. you have to try to make things work out right any way you can, and if that means bending their stupid rules, do it. Yes, but more often then not when a cop bends the stupid rule, a case winds up getting thrown out of court on a technicality. Cops are under a pretty strict bureucratic code of rules. And being a cop can get VERY political, so I can't really blame them for sticking to the book.

[goyo2]

Wow, I am impressed by all of the heated response this generated. Ethical debates are so interesting. I heard a story yesterday by this guy who didn't know about my situation, he just shared it, so I just took it in...

There was a Jewish family who fled Germany during WWII. They left behing all of their family treasures including some paintings and pieces of art that were worth lots, but could fit inside a small 2'x2'x4' box. After the war the family returned and obviously was upset that their treasures were gone. For sixty years they waited for these priceless works to surface, knowing that as long as they weren't sold to obscure collectors, they would appear as they had certain agencies on the look out. In the mid ninetys some of the pieces surfaced and the man who was trying to sell them was detained and forced to return the art. He was interrogated by the police, and questioned by the press. It turns out that he was a U.S. soldier who was able to smuggle them back to the states. It was found out that he led a very lonely hermit's life and had very bad health. He never worked steadily and never earned much above the poverty level. And even though he moved around a lot he apparently held on to the art, hoping that one day he could sell it and retire a rich man.

One journalist wrote that she wondered if the man's life would have been completely different if he had returned the art or never taken it in the first place. If maybe the guilt and shame of having stolen property and kept for so many years really distanced this man from society and caused the misery that enveloped his life. Its tough to say, when interviewed he just said, "If it weren't for my 36 inch hdtv wega, I might never get leid!"

;)

[welfareloser]

Originally posted by Cubsfan


All I know is that I wouldn't be happy if I got robbed and someone else "identified" my TV, so then I wasn't able to get it back.

you wouldn't be able to get it back anyway. that's the point. if someone else took it home from the cops, but you had the serial number, you'd get it back. no serial number, you don't get it back anyway, so what do you care if someone else got it instead of the cops auctioning it?

i don't know why this wasn't brought up before... goyo, did you have renter's insurance?!?!?! if so, no big deal. you're out your deductible. if not, you kinda get what you pay for.

[Markel]

Although I haven't implemented this, I once saw a suggestion that you engrave your valuables (obviously not talking about jewelry and such here) with an identifying number. It was suggested that you use your driver's license number. If your stolen items were recovered, it would quickly validate your claim to the items. No need to worry about saving serial numbers if you do this.

[goyo2]

Originally posted by welfareloser


i don't know why this wasn't brought up before... goyo, did you have renter's insurance?!?!?! if so, no big deal. you're out your deductible. if not, you kinda get what you pay for.


I tried and tried to get renters insurance, but since the house had a water damage report before I moved in it wan uninsurable for 3 years. The ironic thing is that the 3 years was going to be up in December! :angry: Thanks for the thought!