Woodcraft

[Don L Johnson]

I thought this would get the maximum exposure, so hope this isn't out of line. I have a friend that owns a Woodcraft store in the Austin, Texas area and he said that a few nights ago someone broke into the Austin, TX store and made away with several Jet mini lathes, Kapex's (sp?), drill presses, and several other items. I thought that things of that magnitude causes our prices to go up, so am asking everyone to keep their eyes open for sales of new items that will probably seem too good to be true. Thanks

[ROY DICK]

Can you get them to post serial #'s?
Maybe on craigs list.

Roy

[Tony Bilello]

Look at local Craigslist and also post this info on there. At least that will slow down their market.
I'm sure the police are checking the obvious - Pawn Shops.
Well, heck, I might as well turn this into a mini-rant. I personally do not buy anything from pawn shops. A good amount of their merchandise is stolen property. If you buy anything from pawn shops even the legit stuff, you are still supporting thieves and their prime market, plain and simple.

[Jeff Willard]

A good amount of their merchandise is stolen property. If you buy anything from pawn shops even the legit stuff, you are still supporting thieves and their prime market, plain and simple.

'Zackly.

[Don L Johnson]

He said typically serial numbers are unknown; i.e., the packing docs do not indicate serial numbers. One has to open the box, which is typically the buyer, to see the specific serial number. Obviously, w/o serial numbers, they are hard to track.

[Mike Henderson]

It would seem that pawn shops would not want to deal with any stolen merchandise. Pawn shops are checked for stolen merchandise and if anything is found, the merchandise is seized and the pawn shop loses whatever they lent on the item. Many pawn shops have close ties with the police departments in their area and receive notifications of stolen merchandise. Honest pawn shops don't want stolen merchandise.

Also, pawn shops really don't "buy" merchandise. Their business is in lending money and getting the interest (very high interest) on the loan. In order to sell an item, they have to wait for the borrower to default (which means they have to store the item), then they have to try to sell it at a profit over the loan.

It used to be that some people "shopped" pawn shops, but they are generally looking for a real bargain so the items didn't sell for a lot. Some pawn shops use eBay now and get a bit better prices for the items they have to sell.

There are dishonest pawn shops but those are generally called "fences" and they eventually get caught dealing in stolen merchandise and prosecuted. It's pretty easy to set up a sting operation if one is suspected of fencing.

A police officer friend of mine recommends that people put their driver's license number on their tools because the cops can check a driver's license number quickly. He tells of calling people and asking them if they recently had some items stolen because they had put their driver's license number on the tools recovered (and the people hadn't even reported the theft). Also, he says that when they stop someone with a bunch of tools, they simply ask the person how a tool is used, or what it's used for.

Mike

[Mort Stevens]

I personally do not buy anything from pawn shops. A good amount of their merchandise is stolen property. If you buy anything from pawn shops even the legit stuff, you are still supporting thieves and their prime market, plain and simple.

My bother the cop tells me that Ebay and Craigslists are the new pawn shops - and the thieves leave no trace; public internet access (coffee shop), untracable phone number (prepaid phone from walmart), a meeting in the driveway of a vacant house or parking lot, cash exchanges hands and poof they're gone! My bother says this happens more often than you would realize and he estimated that 25-35% of the stuff offered for sale through these sites is stolen merchandise. It might be a big time racket, or some kid swiping stuff off the shelves and selling it, but it certainly does happen. I never buy from Ebay or Craigslists and only deal with the stores in my local area... it makes me feel better knowing that I'm supporting the local economy instead of criminals.

[Mike Cruz]

With all the deals I have gotten on CL, I have had to actually go to someone's house or place of business. All have seemed way too legit to be pawning off stolen stuff. I have only two deals transpire in a parking lot. One was because it was a midway point between both of us. And the other because it was my choice to do so, not the seller suggesting it. The latter of the two was the 60 gallon compressor that I got for $40. First of all, in the condition it was in and with the weight of it, there was no way anyone "ran" off with it. Secondly, he told me how he "aquired" it and from where. Had I followed up on it, I think it would have panned out. In the former example, it was a Stihl Farm Boss for $250. Lightly used. Not a real bargain, but saved me just over a $100 off new. Had it been stolen and being dumped off, it would have been for sale for $100...IMO. And this guy seemed like a hard working guy that met me in his company truck.

I could be wrong about these two, but I am quite confident about all the others.

[Eric DeSilva]

I'll be a contrarian here too. I've always heard pawn shops are pretty legit to deal with in the sense that the consequences of possessing stolen property are dire enough that they tend to err on the side of caution. I suspect any place that is found to have stolen goods more than once is going to have police officers looking through everything they have on a regular basis. That can't be good business.

On the other hand, I don't think I've ever actually dealt with a pawn shop, so YMMV.

I'm also pretty comfortable with CL, less so with e*Bay--I used to use e*Bay years ago, but now it seems a bit too scam-prone. Craigslist, on the other hand, is face-to-face. I've bought a number of pieces of woodworking equipment off craigslist, and I've met the seller every time. Every time, I've picked it up from their house and talked to them sufficiently to know that they actually have used the stuff. I doubt the 50ish professor who sold me the 480 lb. mortiser did a B&E on a cabinet shop and ran off with that thing on his back...

That said, I've often seen smaller items that look like they may have walked off jobsites. I'd guess you could probably eliminate 99% of stolen goods if you just insisted on buying only things with original manuals and storage cases.

[Colin Giersberg]

A lady on a photography forum lost several items, among which were a large zoom lens, tripods, and several other items. Total value was over $4000.00. An alert member checked Craig's List and found her gear, and reported it to her. She checked it out and sure enough, it was hers. She contacted the police, and was told that they could not do anything because there wasn't enough evidence. She forwarded the serial numbers to them, told them where to look on the lenses, and the police ended up arresting two guys for theft of property. It took a lot of effort on her part before the police did anything. All the would be criminals wanted for the camera gear were gift cards, which served as the tipoff on her gear. So in hindsight, it looks like Craig's List may not check what is being sold like they should.
For what it is worth, I have never bought anything from CL, or e-bay, so I have no background on how well they check out merchandise for sale. If I am wrong on what I said about CL and e-bay's ability to deal with stolen merchandise, then it is because I am not aware of their policies.

Regards, Colin

[Marty Paulus]

I have to admit I am a CL junkie. IF I don't look through the tool listing daily I have withdrawls. lol I can usually spot a shady deal. I shy away from a lot of hand tools. They are too easy to steal and sell on CL and I just don't want to support that market. The DP and fence for my TS were both bought off CL. One was at a guys house in a subdivision. Doubt that was a hot DP. The fence for my TS was also at the guys house but in his work shop where he conducts his business. I doubt highly that someone would just steal the fence off a TS just to CL it. If you frequent the lists you can tell the deal from the steals so to speak. There is a lot to be said for common sense. IF the lister has a lot of stuff cheap and says 'I just don't use it anymore' there should be some warning lights going off. However I am curious as to the listing with the female names listed and the description that she is getting rid of her ex's stuff. May have to go check one of them out one day. You know the old story of the soon to be ex wife who sells the 'insert expensive car name here' for $50 just to get back at her husband.

[Mike Cruz]

So, Marty, are you gonna go check out one of those ex-wives, or what they are selling?

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I too am a CL and ebay junkie. I also frequent Pawn Shops. For us non-millionaires, it's the way to go.

I'm SURE ALL items are stolen.... Get real. Yeah, there are 1 or 2 times a thief is stupid enough to post a tool the day after he stole it, but I would say that it is not the norm. Yes, I read about those in the papers. If the guy selling a pro model Stihl shows up in Joe's Landscaping van. I'm sure it's pretty legit. If YOU are ignorant enough to buy a Stihl saw from a guy who does not know how to start it, BUYER beware.

[Dave Sweeney]

Bump back to the top. It might be nice if this thread was a sticky for a few weeks at least.