GPS Stolen, think I found it on Ebay...

[melarky]

I had one of those portable GPS units (portable in the way that you could move them to any car and plug them into the cigarette lighter).  I noticed a few days ago that it was missing from my car.

I pretty much had no hopes of it ever showing up again, and at first didn't even bother to file a police report, but then I figured I would check ebay and see if I could find it.  I'm pretty sure I found it:

Ebay Item Link

He lives about 15 miles from me, and as you can see he states in his description that he "found" the item.  He also had 2 other items he was selling around the same time that he conveniently "found".  Lucky guy keeps finding stuff to sell

So anways, by the time I found that, the auction was over and someone had  already won it.  I contacted the seller (asked him where he "found" it) and the buyer (told him the situation and asked if he could see if there were any identifying marks or addresses left in the address book that would prove it was mine).  The buyer wrote back really quick and told me he had not gotten the item yet, and the seller had not responded to his e-mails, the seller finally wrote me back like an hour ago that said:

i found it outside of maverick by maceys in logan but it's already sold sorrry.

I just wrote him back the following:

That sounds pretty fishy, you had 2 other items for sale that you also just found. I filed a police report yesterday, and showed them the auction that you had up. I also contacted the buyer, and he said that you hadn't sent it yet and that you weren't replying to his e-mails.

I think you need to do what's right here before any more authorities get involved and you make a big mess for yourself. You've left a paper trail on ebay (your history shows the items you sold that you say you found, if I'm not the only one that filed a stolen item police report, it shouldn't be long before they connect the dots).

If you still have the item (since the buyer says you haven't sent it yet), you have a chance to make this right, and I'll back off. If you don't have the item anymore, you can re-imburse me, and I'll drop it.

I did in fact file a police report yesterday (after contacting ebay, they basically told me that they wouldn't help me unless I did).  The officer who took the report has already handed it off to a detective, but I'm pretty sure a $300 GPS is pretty low on their priority list, but it just bugs me that this guy is so close, and obviously the theif.

Any suggestions on what more I could do?  I almost don't care if I get the GPS back, but would rather this guy get busted (but it would be nice to have the GPS back ).  Would appreciate any opinions or advice.

[Dartful Dodger]

If the guy who bought your item isn't willing to help you out, you can tell the seller who left him a negative response if he still has the guy's name and address.

[fredster]

Well, you did the best you could.  And you did the right thing.

How do you think it was stolen? Out of your locked car?

[melarky]

No, I don't think the car was locked, my wife drives that car mostly, and I'm betting she went to wal-mart (or some other store) and someone was probably going car to car looking for stuff (since he sold 2 other items that he said he "found", he probably does it all the time).

We live in a pretty small town in Utah, I don't usually worry about locking the car door to tell the truth, so even if I was driving the car at the time, I probably wouldn't have locked the doors (I don't have power locks or anything like that on the car, so they usually remain unlocked).

I wonder if the guy will respond to my last e-mail.  I hope the detective will at least contact him and ask him about it, would hate for it to just be ignored.

[ChadTower]

From the other side, that sounds like what would come from a potential scammer.  So I doubt you'll get much luck either way if either party even cares.

It's probably stolen, odds are low that it's actually yours, but it's possible I suppose.

[Dartful Dodger]

From the other side, that sounds like what would come from a potential scammer.  So I doubt you'll get much luck either way if either party even cares.

The buyer cares.  That's why he responded.  He now knows he can lose his money and item. 



As for the seller.  No buyers have left feed back for him, and he only has a handful of sellers leaving feed back, so I'm guessing he's new to fencing things on eBay. 

On the plus side, your inquiring emails have taught him a valuable career lesson.

He needs to sit on a hot item a few months, before trying to sell it on eBay.

[RayB]

How about contacting the GPS service and tracking the exact location of the device! (oh i guess it needs to be turned on?) ;-)

[clanggedin]

I live in a town of 5000 in Utah and I lock my car doors every night. I even lock my house doors when I leave because it doesn't matter where you live anymore, even in a small town (in Utah) your not immune from theft anymore.

[melarky]

I live in a town of 5000 in Utah and I lock my car doors every night. I even lock my house doors when I leave because it doesn't matter where you live anymore, even in a small town (in Utah) your not immune from theft anymore.

I learned that the hard way 

[SithMaster]

be a vigilante.

[AlanS17]

Do you have any serial number or other identifying marks for this device? Otherwise you can't prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

[ChadTower]

That's why he asked about specific data within the unit.

[mpm32]

Get a couple of friends and go knock on his door.  Maybe his mom will be home and you can tell her the situation.  Bring a video camera to tape the whole encounter (for legal purposes).  You'll scare the crap out of him and you might get your unit back.

What a dope saying he "found" it in the auction.  Yeah sure, it fell off a truck.

[ChadTower]

Or he'll get stabbed on the front porch.  Bad idea to walk into a situation you know nothing about and instigate an incident.

[crashwg]

Make sure you bring a camera if you confront the guy at any point.













It'll be like that episode of Cheaters when the host got stabbed on the boat! 

[gnateye]

just to be the devils advocate here, so far all you have is here-say, not real evidence. it is really a strange coincidence that this guy listed the same thing you had stolen and stated he found it, but sadly in the land of the free, that doesnt really PROVE anything. did you register the product or have the serial number or paperwork of any kind? that is goin to be the only way that you can prove without a reasonable doubt that it is yours.

imagine how bad this could turn if you took the (in my opinion) poor advice to go to this guys house or to confront him with some vigilante action only to discover that it isnt yours, or yours turns up somewhere else or the police find it or, or, or. there are far to many variables in this for you to take matters into your own hands. you have done the right thing, you have gotten the police involved, now let them do their job. i guarentee that they would not be happy if they were investigating this guy, were close to nabbing him and then you storm in and start something that ends up switching the roles and this guy can get you arrested or sue you or some other really bad thing. this kind of lameness happens a lot. there are people who use the loopholes in the law to their advantage, dont let that happen to you.

now that you've involved the police, go back to ebay, call your insurance company about replacing it. all the LEGAL routes open to you, and by all means be helpful to the police and call regularly to check on your case, but dont sink to the level of the perp.

just my advice, i know how frustrating these situations can be and i would hate to see it become a double loss for you.

just my 2 cents, if it is the guy then i hope he pays the price for his crookery, if not its better to have a clear conscience.

[mpm32]

I agree, my reply was tongue in cheek (mostly) 

[shardian]

Unless you have the product registered, have the instruction booklet with the serial number written down, or some pictures of the actual item with visible serial number, you are SOL. I'm pretty sure you have to give that info anyways when you file the police report though.

[sphetr2]

Situational evidence means (or SHOULD mean) nothing.

[melarky]

Just a little update, I heard back from the buyer, he said he got it yesterday in the mail (he was really suprised because the seller was not responding to his e-mails and sent no notification that the item had shipped).

He said that there were still Idaho addresses programmed in (my brother-in-law borrowed it the last time it was used to visit relatives in Idaho).  I am trying to verify that they are his addresses, but if they are, that should be proof enough that it is mine right?

The guy spent the time to erase the Utah addresses I had programmed in, but not the Idaho addresses, seems weird.

I will not be going to the guys house (can't even if I wanted to, I don't have his address or name even, just the ebay username).  Once the buyer confirms the addresses (and if they are mine) I'll give that info to the police and that should be enough for them to go question the seller.

It would be really great if this ended up working out, but I still have my doubts.  I would be happy to send the buyer the rest of the GPS parts (paperwork, CD with docs, and a wall plug) if he can help me catch this guy.

[SithMaster]

sounds strange.  why spend the time erasing one and not the other.  he might be really stupid or it can be an elaborate plan or rouse.

your saying you would let the buyer keep it?  i would want it back unless you get a cash settlement from the seller.

[ChadTower]

I am trying to verify that they are his addresses, but if they are, that should be proof enough that it is mine right?

Absolutely not.  It would be supporting evidence for something that is stronger, though.  A court would not consider that in and of itself a convincing body of evidence.

[SithMaster]

Why not?  I mean if the addresses are all places the buyer has not been to but the owner (rightful) has then wouldnt it be enough?  you would have to prove youve been there though.

maybe save the ebay listing.  him saying he found it is like saying he is selling something he could have stolen.

melarky maybe see if you can get video tape from the parking lot.  not sure if they havent overwritten it but maybe worth a shot.

[ChadTower]

Why not?  I mean if the addresses are all places the buyer has not been to but the owner (rightful) has then wouldnt it be enough?  you would have to prove youve been there though.

It would have to be more than that, like one of the addresses being his Brother's house.  Something specific to his identity. 

[melarky]

yeah, my brother-in-law had his parents, sister, and bothers address programmed in for sure, but there may have been others in there too.  I haven't heard back from the buyer, we're going back and forth through the ebay mail system (I've given my e-mail and phone number to him, but he always just responds through ebay) and now ebay won't let me send anything else to him (because we haven't actually done business, it says I need to take it off their site...)

Hope he writes me back or calls me.

[Dartful Dodger]

His brother's addresses are in my GPS too.

[ChadTower]

His brother's addresses are in my GPS too.

His sisters' are in mine.

[melarky]

Another update, I just got an e-mail from the buyer:

After looking at the info on the GPS, it would appear the unit is the one you lost. I sent a note to e-Bay with the facts. I don't know where to go from here, Ideas?

So I called the detective who is working my case, and then caught him up on the rest of the ebay stuff (he had only previously talked to the officer who took my report, so he didn't have a bunch of the other details like the other 2 items the person sold that he also "found" etc...)

The detective said he had already contacted ebay for the contact info for both the seller and the buyer and to just let him contact them from now on (find with me, I'm sure they will be more willing to cooperate with him than me).

The detective said when he got the info on the seller, he would go to his house and ask him all about it, and he would also cross check to see if there were any other reports of stolen items from peoples cars that matched the descriptions of the other items he sold.

He said he was guessing that the seller was probably a juvenile that was using a parents account without permission to sell the stolen items because the ebay account was 3 years old and had no prior stuff like this (sounds feasible to me).

I can't beleive this may actually turn out ok, I really figured I would never get "justice" on this (not because I don't beleive in our system, but because it's for a GPS worth $300 and there are far more important things to worry about this holiday season).  Still crossing my fingers!

[screaming]

what would "justice" be, in this case?

[Dartful Dodger]

I'm not sure it's a kid.  By the sound of the negitive responses, I think he's just a d!ck who needed some cash for the holidays.

Either way, melarky isn't someone you want to mess with.

[AlanS17]

That's just awesome. Good luck with all of that. At the very least, you have solid grounds for a civil case.

How much did it sell for on Ebay, what was the original retail value when it was a brand new model, and what did you pay for it? You mentioned $300, but what does that mean? You could teach this guy a lesson and get a much nicer GPS all at the same time.

[shardian]

Just curious, but how did you get ahold of the buyer? I just tried to get ahold of a buyer today. The seller is selling a board as-is, even though it is the same one I returned to the guy as dead! Anways, ebay blocked my message to him.
I would like to warn him if at all possible.

[Texasmame]

I had one of those portable GPS units (portable in the way that you could move them to any car and plug them into the cigarette lighter).  I noticed a few days ago that it was missing from my car.

I pretty much had no hopes of it ever showing up again, and at first didn't even bother to file a police report, but then I figured I would check ebay and see if I could find it.  I'm pretty sure I found it:

Ebay Item Link

He lives about 15 miles from me, and as you can see he states in his description that he "found" the item.  He also had 2 other items he was selling around the same time that he conveniently "found".  Lucky guy keeps finding stuff to sell

So anways, by the time I found that, the auction was over and someone had  already won it.  I contacted the seller (asked him where he "found" it) and the buyer (told him the situation and asked if he could see if there were any identifying marks or addresses left in the address book that would prove it was mine).  The buyer wrote back really quick and told me he had not gotten the item yet, and the seller had not responded to his e-mails, the seller finally wrote me back like an hour ago that said:

i found it outside of maverick by maceys in logan but it's already sold sorrry.

I just wrote him back the following:

That sounds pretty fishy, you had 2 other items for sale that you also just found. I filed a police report yesterday, and showed them the auction that you had up. I also contacted the buyer, and he said that you hadn't sent it yet and that you weren't replying to his e-mails.

I think you need to do what's right here before any more authorities get involved and you make a big mess for yourself. You've left a paper trail on ebay (your history shows the items you sold that you say you found, if I'm not the only one that filed a stolen item police report, it shouldn't be long before they connect the dots).

If you still have the item (since the buyer says you haven't sent it yet), you have a chance to make this right, and I'll back off. If you don't have the item anymore, you can re-imburse me, and I'll drop it.

I did in fact file a police report yesterday (after contacting ebay, they basically told me that they wouldn't help me unless I did).  The officer who took the report has already handed it off to a detective, but I'm pretty sure a $300 GPS is pretty low on their priority list, but it just bugs me that this guy is so close, and obviously the theif.

Any suggestions on what more I could do?  I almost don't care if I get the GPS back, but would rather this guy get busted (but it would be nice to have the GPS back ).  Would appreciate any opinions or advice.

"Found" the item.  What a mother ---smurf---.

Be sure that you actually filed a formal report with police.  Easiest way to do this is to go to the PD and get a copy of it yourself.  May cost a few bucks, tho.

Screw this guy to the fullest.

G'luck!

[More Cowbell]

If I apologize and give you the money that I received from the auction, will you drop all this? 

[missioncontrol]

If I apologize and give you the money that I received from the auction, will you drop all this? 

 

 

nice reference

+fu to you...

[melarky]

what would "justice" be, in this case?

The guy getting caught would be justice to me.  I almost don't care about the GPS (it would be nice to have back, but I would much rather see the guy who stole it get busted and either re-imburse me or be fined or whatever happens with small time theives...)

[melarky]

That's just awesome. Good luck with all of that. At the very least, you have solid grounds for a civil case.

How much did it sell for on Ebay, what was the original retail value when it was a brand new model, and what did you pay for it? You mentioned $300, but what does that mean? You could teach this guy a lesson and get a much nicer GPS all at the same time.

I bought it for $250, but they usually seem to sell for around $300 (I got a good deal, Amazon had them refurbished for cheap).  I haven't had it long, less than a year.  I reported it's worth as $250 on the police report though.

[melarky]

Just curious, but how did you get ahold of the buyer? I just tried to get ahold of a buyer today. The seller is selling a board as-is, even though it is the same one I returned to the guy as dead! Anways, ebay blocked my message to him.
I would like to warn him if at all possible.

I just clicked on the winning bidders username from the top part of the screen (where is says "Winning Bidder: Username").

That loaded up a page with info on that user, and on the top left area, there is a link that said "Contact Member".  I just clicked that and sent him a message through ebays message system.

You probably have to logged into your ebay account to do that.

[melarky]

I had one of those portable GPS units (portable in the way that you could move them to any car and plug them into the cigarette lighter).  I noticed a few days ago that it was missing from my car.

I pretty much had no hopes of it ever showing up again, and at first didn't even bother to file a police report, but then I figured I would check ebay and see if I could find it.  I'm pretty sure I found it:

Ebay Item Link

He lives about 15 miles from me, and as you can see he states in his description that he "found" the item.  He also had 2 other items he was selling around the same time that he conveniently "found".  Lucky guy keeps finding stuff to sell

So anways, by the time I found that, the auction was over and someone had  already won it.  I contacted the seller (asked him where he "found" it) and the buyer (told him the situation and asked if he could see if there were any identifying marks or addresses left in the address book that would prove it was mine).  The buyer wrote back really quick and told me he had not gotten the item yet, and the seller had not responded to his e-mails, the seller finally wrote me back like an hour ago that said:

i found it outside of maverick by maceys in logan but it's already sold sorrry.

I just wrote him back the following:

That sounds pretty fishy, you had 2 other items for sale that you also just found. I filed a police report yesterday, and showed them the auction that you had up. I also contacted the buyer, and he said that you hadn't sent it yet and that you weren't replying to his e-mails.

I think you need to do what's right here before any more authorities get involved and you make a big mess for yourself. You've left a paper trail on ebay (your history shows the items you sold that you say you found, if I'm not the only one that filed a stolen item police report, it shouldn't be long before they connect the dots).

If you still have the item (since the buyer says you haven't sent it yet), you have a chance to make this right, and I'll back off. If you don't have the item anymore, you can re-imburse me, and I'll drop it.

I did in fact file a police report yesterday (after contacting ebay, they basically told me that they wouldn't help me unless I did).  The officer who took the report has already handed it off to a detective, but I'm pretty sure a $300 GPS is pretty low on their priority list, but it just bugs me that this guy is so close, and obviously the theif.

Any suggestions on what more I could do?  I almost don't care if I get the GPS back, but would rather this guy get busted (but it would be nice to have the GPS back ).  Would appreciate any opinions or advice.

"Found" the item.  What a mother ---smurf---.

Be sure that you actually filed a formal report with police.  Easiest way to do this is to go to the PD and get a copy of it yourself.  May cost a few bucks, tho.

Screw this guy to the fullest.

G'luck!

Yeah, I got a copy of their "Voluntary Statement Form" yesterday, the detective said that he needed me to fill it out and hand it back into him (along with all of the e-mails I've been sending and receiving) because that would be the first thing the prosecuters would ask for.  It didn't cost anything for me, they actually had a copy available to download from their web page.

[More Cowbell]

If it's a kid, he has to absolutely be crapping his pants right now. Your email would have scared me to no end had I stolen it.