Does anyone know if a lot of stolen goods are traded on eBay? I bet that only a tiny fraction of thieves get caught like these teenagers did.
When a string of Cary businesses was burglarized in October, local police immediately turned to Internet auction sites for signs of the stolen merchandise. The officers hit pay dirt when they spotted some distinctive ashtrays on eBay.The discovery was one piece of the investigation that led to the arrests this week of three Cary High School students in what police describe as a sophisticated burglary ring.
I guess the thing to do is avoid "like new" auctions that aren't actually new... though sellers could just steal stuff pre-sale from stores easily enough.
this was actually pretty big news around here. The thing is, the cops only turned to eBay because they suspected rich white kids. If they thought poor black kids were doing it, they never would have gone to ebay... they would have started touring the pawn shops. Sad but true.
I think a lot of police depts have figured out the ebay/stolen goods connection, providing some safety for ebay buyers.
About going to pawn shops -- my high school history teacher got a set of golf clubs stolen from him, and he found them at the pawn shop. And the thief used his real name and contact info at the pawn shop... oh lord.
Anyway, not surprised that something like this happened in Cary. I used to live near there, and yeah - quite a few of the rich white kids went in for criminal behavior (though usually only involving alcohol and drugs)... too much free time on their hands and an inflated sense of self...
Being a blossoming eBayer myself, I always give pause to those too-good-to-be-true auctions. Prada bags for $50? Not likely. Either it's a scam to unload fakes, or someone shoplifted enough to make a profit at that price.
Sad world, eBay lights up my life.
Kidding.
Not really.
I assume that if I buy stolen goods off eBay that I can't keep them, right? The law would require me to return them to their original owners, and the crook would reimburse me (ha).
Actually, it would be great if your stolen goods showed up on ebay b/c then you could find it, and the police should nab the crooks. My friend's friend had his college football ring stolen and got it back after finding it on ebay. The ring had his name, number, and position engraved in it, so pretty open-and-closed.
I sold something on ebay which I have purchased on ebay which someone previously brought but stole from the original ebuyer. so that money was transacted but still the goods were stolen and no-one new what the hell to make of it!!
Crazy hey?