How much stuff on ebay is nicked ?

[John Lever]

Just wonder there seems to be so many jackets that are valuable but the seller has no idea what the jacket really is or what it's worth. Often these things are new and unworn.
Could these items be stolen goods ?

 

[Atticus]

Just wonder there seems to be so many jackets that are valuable but the seller has no idea what the jacket really is or what it's worth. Often these things are new and unworn.
Could these items be stolen goods ?

Its part of our normal protocol to routinely scan e-bay for items reported stolen in our jurisdiction. We often get hits. Very often, in fact. Pawn shops, e-bay and Craigslist are frequently used by criminals to fence stolen goods.

AF

 

[John Lever]

Just wonder there seems to be so many jackets that are valuable but the seller has no idea what the jacket really is or what it's worth. Often these things are new and unworn.
Could these items be stolen goods ?

Its part of our normal protocol to routinely scan e-bay for items reported stolen in our jurisdiction. We often get hits. Very often, in fact. Pawn shops, e-bay and Craigslist are frequently used by criminals to fence stolen goods.

AF

It's rather a moral mine field for a buyer. What to do when you see a great item that the seller has no idea of it's origin or worth, keep silent and go for the bargain ?

 

[ButteMT61]

It's not my job to tell a seller what his/her item is worth.
It's not my job to figure out where it came from.
Ebay gets lots of my (our) money to do such things - I sleep OK.

 

[Atticus]

It's rather a moral mine field for a buyer. What to do when you see a great item that the seller has no idea of it's origin or worth, keep silent and go for the bargain ?

Two separate issues. I don't think you are under any duty to educate a seller about the value of his product. But if you have reason to know that his product is stolen...then don't buy it. First, if it stolen and you possess it knowing...or having reason to know...that it is stolen, a jury could find you guilty of possessing stolen goods. In most jurisdictions, this is the same level of crime as the actual larceny. In other words, if the larceny was a felony larceny then so is the possession. Second, in many jurisdictions the old Common Law rule still applies, that is, a thief never gains title and therefore can never pass title. If you buy goods from a thief who stole them...or from an innocent person who got them from the thief...or from the person who got them from that innocent person...you will still never own those goods. As long as you have them, you will only possess them in constructive trust for the true owner. Yes, the UCC has changed that rule to some degree with respect to the holders in due course of negotiable instruments, but generally not with goods.

AF

 

[Rutger]

Up until now the thought never crossed my mind, but I assume that ebay is indeed an excellent laundering machine for stolen goods.
I mean, you don't even have to have a network were you have to sell stolen goods, just dump'em on ebay.

 

[Atticus]

1. Drug Users

2. Drug Dealers

3. Pawn Shops, Craigslist, E-bay and other such "fences"…criminal or innocent.

These are the three parts of an evil trifecta. Drug users steal from innocent victims and sell the stolen properly on e-bay, on Craigslist or to pawnshops. They then use the money they get for the stolen goods to buy drugs from their drug dealers. Remove any one of those three parts and the entire problem begins to crumble.

AF

 

[ButteMT61]

I wonder if a messed up drug user could keep a long term eBay account going with 100% feedback? My guess is no. I mainly only deal with someone (for times over $100) that has long, proven feedback and answers questions in a way I feel confident in.
I might miss some good deals, and I might have after 13 years bought some item that "fell off the truck", but I'd never know it.

 

[Atticus]

I wonder if a messed up drug user could keep a long term eBay account going with 100% feedback? My guess is no...

The problem isn't created by one crackhead selling hundreds of items. It is created by hundreds of crackheads selling a few items each. If you stick with sellers with good, long feedback records, you have at least an arguable reason to believe that you're not buying from a thief. But you still don't get defensible ownership in stolen goods you buy, even if you innocently buy them reputable sellers with good feedback scores.

You know, the element knowledge is normally proved by the circumstances of the transaction. If you have reason to know, you have constructive knowledge…and constructive knowledge meets the element as well as does actual knowledge.

I’ve often worried when I’ve purchased an item of clothing clearly marked with such language as, “PROPERTY OF THE US GOVERNMENT”. I can’t help thinking of the argument my attorney would try to make. “Yes, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. My client sits before you proclaiming his innocence. Yes, he purchased this jacket from the anonymous internet. Yes, he was using a pseudonym when he dealt with the seller. Yes, the seller was using a pseudonym, too. And, yes, the jacket was clearly marked “PROPERY OF THE US GOVERNMENT”. But my client is here to tell you that there were no circumstance about this transaction that would have tipped off a reasonable person that the jacket could have been stolen!!!"

AF

 

[buzzthetower]

I'm a bit more scared by the thought of jackets that were worn by pilots and airmen who flew and were involved with atomic testing. The levels of bad stuff they were exposed to could be called astonishing. And how would anyone know that a jacket was involved in the testing? I've heard that something like 200,000 U.S. military people were involved in the first ten years of tests, and many more civilians. There were good numbers of pilots who would fly through clouds with measuring devices on their aircraft right after the initial blast, up to a few hours after, flying back and forth through the cloud to see what the levels were. The new book on Area 51 goes over this in detail. Both Nevada and the Pacific Proving Grounds were pock-marked with many hundreds of tests. Can you believe that over 2,000 tests have been done world-wide? That sounds like a major conflict.

We could get a jacket today, and it would still have a hot reading on it, but if you didn't check, how would you know? Obviously only a small portion of originals would have this problem, but just like stolen jackets, it's really hard to know until tests are done.

Hoping we're not glowing,
J

 

[ButteMT61]

Easy: :lol:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VICTOREEN-490-N ... 3ccacb6b23

 

[ButteMT61]

You know, the element knowledge is normally proved by the circumstances of the transaction. If you have reason to know, you have constructive knowledge…and constructive knowledge meets the element as well as does actual knowledge...

AF

Short of the seller saying it's stolen in the auction or telling you in an ebay message, how could anyone be convicted of buying (knowingly) stolen goods? Not that I don't think our country is going in that direction...

I won't buy if the goods look suspicious. That's the best I can do.

 

[Atticus]

You know, the element knowledge is normally proved by the circumstances of the transaction. If you have reason to know, you have constructive knowledge…and constructive knowledge meets the element as well as does actual knowledge...

AF

Short of the seller saying it's stolen in the auction or telling you in an ebay message, how could anyone be convicted of buying (knowingly) stolen goods? Not that I don't think our country is going in that direction...

Because "knowing" doesn't have to be actual knowledge. In fact, it almost never is. It can be, and usually is, constructive knowledge. I may be part of the problem, but I convict people of possession of stolen goods all the time.

AF

 

[ButteMT61]

I'm a bit more scared by the thought of jackets that were worn by pilots and airmen who flew and were involved with atomic testing. The levels of bad stuff they were exposed to could be called astonishing. And how would anyone know that a jacket was involved in the testing? I've heard that something like 200,000 U.S. military people were involved in the first ten years...

Hoping we're not glowing,
J

Now this is timely!

http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/ ... e-to-drink

 

[ButteMT61]

Also, big busts in LA tonight. Pawn shops selling tons of gang -provided stolen goods.
I'm cool with that crap. Bangers are a virus.

 

[FlyingYankee]

Be careful with anything brought back from the war. Some of us got very sick from going through blown up Russian tanks in Iraq.Also the open burning pits in Iraq and toxic dust have made quite a few sick. I disposed of my old uniform items.

 

[John Lever]

A few years ago some army surplus shops sold gear back from Iraq. It was contaminated and had to be destroyed.

 

[FlyingYankee]

Quite sure my lungs will never be the same. In Balad all the human waste was burned in a huge open pit that glowed 24/7

 

[Jason]

Now this is timely!

http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/ ... e-to-drink

Thanks for digging up that gem!

 

[John Lever]

During his time in the British Army my father in law was exposed to radiation to see what would happen..at the time they were told there was little risk of long term effects.