Stolen books...What to expect? 0

[VintageComics]

So if I buy a book on eBay from an established dealer and it turns out to be stolen, I'm on the hook?

 

Happened to me. Bought a book on eBay that was stolen from a well known dealer. In the end I returned the book to the dealer and I'm out over $2K. Up to me to recoup it from the seller.

[VintageComics]

Don't want to give the name of the bad check guy until I give the ebay dealer a chance to settle with me. I want to stress I don't want to embarrass or sound like I'm accusing them of any wrong doing. The bad check guy provided his drivers license with his real name, three credit cards with the same name. I took down his license plate number off his car. He had an amazing knowledge of everything comic related. Haggled price with me for 45 minutes. Only picked out 10,12, and 15cent books. No Disney or funny animal. Went through about 8,000 books to pick out what he wanted. 4 long boxed and 2 short packed tight. Seemed at the time that if he was writing a bad check he would have taken everything and not haggled price just to get in and out quickly. He was there over two hours.

 

Cop that took my report said he had many warrants for the same thing from New York to Florida and all the way to Colorado and Texas. Professional criminal. They also told me he has a violent record and I was lucky I didn't try to back out of the deal.

 

He didn't care about using his real name. He even posted on craigslist selling stolen items using his real name and phone number. Maybe that's how he got busted don't know but he is in jail now with $100,000.00 bail. I think they told me there are 14 other jurisdictions waiting to get to him if he ever gets out. Hope you understand my reasons for keeping names quiet for now.

 

 

Sounds like the guy who stole comics4less books this past summer.

[VintageComics]

Roy thats funny

 

I don't get the joke. From what I heard the guy that stole Pete's books had a warrant in multiple states and was caught and put into jail.

[thehumantorch]

Roy thats funny

 

I don't get the joke. From what I heard the guy that stole Pete's books had a warrant in multiple states and was caught and put into jail.

 

I think this should all serve as a warning to us all.

 

There are guys out there who will prey on people and it can be dangerous to deal with strangers, especially through the anonymity of the internet. And even if you only buy from established dealers you trust there's no guarantee that the book you buy isn't stolen.

[woowoo]

Roy thats funny

 

I don't get the joke. From what I heard the guy that stole Pete's books had a warrant in multiple states and was caught and put into jail.

 

Took reading your post the wrong way while i was on the phone. Sorry not funny.

[shadroch]

So if I buy a book on eBay from an established dealer and it turns out to be stolen, I'm on the hook?

 

Happened to me. Bought a book on eBay that was stolen from a well known dealer. In the end I returned the book to the dealer and I'm out over $2K. Up to me to recoup it from the seller.

 

That's entirely different.

You bought it from the thief. In my hypothetical, why should the seller get to keep my money?

[shadroch]

Why would it be any different than someone buying Kirby art?

[herc2000]

I had some comics stolen back in the 90's when we had double glazing put in by one of the workmen. I went to the police and they just laughed it off, comic books? Was their attitude back then.

 

So the items the dealer sold, why does he not give you the money he got for them? As it's just the same as giving you back the unsold items?

[Calidream'n]

Why would it be any different than someone buying Kirby art?

[Westy Steve]

I had some comics stolen back in the 90's when we had double glazing put in by one of the workmen. I went to the police and they just laughed it off, comic books? Was their attitude back then.

 

So the items the dealer sold, why does he not give you the money he got for them? As it's just the same as giving you back the unsold items?

 

What if these were cars? If Peter Parker stole your car, and then sold it to Tony Stark. Then Tony Stark resold it to Bruce Banner, you should expect to recover the car from Bruce Banner. And then Bruce Banner needs to go back to Tony Stark and complain to/sue him about selling him a stolen car. Then Tony Stark can complain/sue Peter Parker.

 

You're just supposed to get your stuff back and no money. The money is everyone else's problem.

Edited November 23, 2016 by Westy Steve

[CBT]

So if I buy a book on eBay from an established dealer and it turns out to be stolen, I'm on the hook?

 

Happened to me. Bought a book on eBay that was stolen from a well known dealer. In the end I returned the book to the dealer and I'm out over $2K. Up to me to recoup it from the seller.

 

That's entirely different.

You bought it from the thief. In my hypothetical, why should the seller get to keep my money?

 

The seller shouldnt, and can't, but it's on you to sort it out. If you possess stolen property and refuse to turn it over, you would be arrested. The police will take the stolen property away from you, period.

 

You would then of course pursue getting your money back, as the guy who sold it to you equally is not allowed to sell stolen property. But that is YOUR issue to resolve, no the original owner, or the police's act of taking stolen property away from you.

[CBT]

How is this even a debate

As soon as you are informed that something you possess is stolen property, your options are:

 

Turn it over, or go to jail.

 

 

 

The same goes for the person selling it, if you prove they sold something stolen, their options immediately become:

 

Return the money, or go to jail.

 

 

 

But they are separate issues, the owner of the stolen property gets it back PERIOD. The rest of the transactions in the chain are the responsibility of the people involved in said transactions.

 

There is no option, or negotiating, for anyone involved. It's unwind the transaction or go to jail. Now, in all cases PROOF is needed, but that's straight forward in this case.

 

Lawyers and Police CAN be needed to enforce, but the result is not debatable.

 

 

[Meeklo]

Problem is most of the time the police will not get involved. They are not going to force those transactions to be unwound. (Unless the books are really expensive!)

 

Most of the transactions probably happened in good faith without anyone knowing or even having a clue that the comics were stolen.

 

More than likely you're going to have a scenario where a person refuses to give the books back unless they get their money back. And with no one actually enforcing it, that will be the way it stands. No one wants to be the victim, out of the books and the money.

 

The real end to it should be to recoup the money from the person who scammed from the beginning. Therefore the scammer becomes the only victim, as it should be. Then it doesn't matter about the people in the middle and their transactions. Again, this requires the police to do something and maybe a lawyer to help recover that money in court.

[CatskillMike]

The person at the end of the stolen book chain is left holding the bag. He must return the stolen items, by law. As said earlier, it is up to him to get his money back.

 

It doesn't matter HOW you acquired stolen property; you must give it back.

[ThreeSeas]

Twenty years ago, one of my neighbors stole a couple of my dads guns and sold them to a pawn shop. After we found them, and went to the shop with the police, my dad had to pay the shop what they had paid the thief, to get them back, even though they were my dads property. I am not sure how it is in the rest of the country, but here in Michigan that is how the police told us it works. If my dad did not pay the shop, then he would not have gotten his property back. This did not feel right to me.

 

On a side note, the thief that stole the guns was arrested for it on a Friday night just a few days after we recovered the guns. The judge had already went home for the weekend so the cops released the thief and told him to come back on Monday and the proper paperwork could be done. Well, after he got home he called me and was crying and said he did not want to go to jail, I told him it was out of my hands. Then of course he left the state and has never come back ever since. I'll still never understand why they released him after he told the cops yes he did take them and sell them for cig and booze money. So to this day he has a warrant out for his arrest.

Edited November 23, 2016 by ThreeSeas

[kav]

Twenty years ago, one of my neighbors stole a couple of my dads guns and sold them to a pawn shop. After we found them, and went to the shop with the police, my dad had to pay the shop what they had paid the thief, to get them back, even though they were my dads property. I am not sure how it is in the rest of the country, but here in Michigan that is how the police told us it works. If my dad did not pay the shop, then he would not have gotten his property back. This did not feel right to me.

 

On a side note, the thief that stole the guns was arrested for it on a Friday night just a few days after we recovered the guns. The judge had already went home for the weekend so the cops released the thief and told him to come back on Monday and the proper paperwork could be done. Well, after he got home he called me and was crying and said he did not want to go to jail, I told him it was out of my hands. Then of course he left the state and has never come back ever since. I'll still never understand why they released him after he told the cops yes he did take them and sell them for cig and booze money. So to this day he has a warrant out for his arrest.

I wanna say these were new or uninformed cops. That cannot be the law.

[shadroch]

I'm still having a problem with the dealer buying stolen property, selling it to an unwitting victim and the victim being the one held responsible.

When you buy something off eBay, doesn't the sellers agreement state that the seller is the legal owner and has the right to sell the property? Every other consignment house, auction house, pawn shop or precious metal shop I deal with has that in the agreement

Edited November 23, 2016 by shadroch

[kav]

I'm still having a problem with the dealer buying stolen property, selling it to an unwitting victim and the victim being the one held responsible.

When you buy something off eBay, doesn't the sellers agreement state that the seller is the legal owner and has the right to sell the property? Every other consignment house, auction house, pawn shop or precious metal shop I deal with has that in the agreement

I'm not sure what you are arguing for. That if you buy a book in good faith then later discover it was stolen, you get to keep it? Because that would open the floodgates to wash all stolen property. Someone could steal the Mona Lisa, sell it, buyer claims he didn't know it was stolen and voila now he's the owner of the Mona Lisa.

[shadroch]

You mean somebody could buy the art to X-Men 1, claim they didn't know it was stolen and keep it? Yep, that's what I mean.

If a seller sells something that turns out to be stolen, the onus should be on him, not the buyer.

[CBT]

I'm still having a problem with the dealer buying stolen property, selling it to an unwitting victim and the victim being the one held responsible.

When you buy something off eBay, doesn't the sellers agreement state that the seller is the legal owner and has the right to sell the property? Every other consignment house, auction house, pawn shop or precious metal shop I deal with has that in the agreement

 

Those agreement don't supercede the Legal System, they just supervise your transaction with them.

 

You arent being "held responsible". It is ILLEGAL to own stolen property, regardless of how you acquired it. Doesnt matter if you bought it in a LEGAL fashion, as it wasn't the sellers property to sell.

 

The person who sold it to you MUST give you your money back. They have no choice, but it's between you and them. The person who got robbed as no obligation to be involved with other parties.

 

In your example:

" the dealer buying stolen property, selling it to an unwitting victim and the victim being the one held responsible."

 

The dealer is also an "unwitting victim". If they knew it was stolen when they bought it, then they are going to be charged.