I had a fellow come to my shop yesterday, bearing a Stihl MS-460 Magnum with a 36 inch bar. The saw appeared to be pristine, practically new! I asked him what he wanted for the saw, and he said $450. It seemed like a pretty good deal to me, so I agreed to return with $450 cash after I went to the bank.
Here is where it gets good:
I was not born yesterday, and I know when somebody is probably toting a stolen saw. As soon as I left, I called the Stihl dealer that sold the saw. His sticker was still on it, and I knew him personally. I asked him about the value of the saw, described it carefully, and then asked if he knew anybody that was missing it.
SURE ENOUGH! He believed that it had been stolen from Xxxxx Tree Service, and I asked him if there had been a police report made. He said there was, and that the thieves had already been rejected by a pawn shop. We agreed that he would call the police department that had taken the report, and I would stall the crooks on my lot until the cops drove onto the fenced lot and trapped them. It would have been a cool entrapment, and I had an easy 1/2 hour I could hold them waiting for the money.
A short while later, he called me back indicating that the police would not come, the detective with the report would not check on it until next week, and he did not have the serial number of the missing chainsaw. He had no advice as to what I should do with the thieves on my lot. Without the right serial number from the police report, we don't even know if the saw is really hot.
NOW I have quite a tricky situation. I have a saw of no small value which I would like to possess, but not at the expense of of my conscience. Furthermore, I would love to have the police arrest the miscreants that took someone's saw, but I have already failed to get that accomplished. If I purchase the saw, and it turns out to be a stolen saw, I will lose every penny I spent on it when the police repossess it. If I fail to purchase the saw, the rightful owner will never get it back; 'cause you know the next guy will just buy the saw at a great price, and never report to the police any serial numbers.
So... I went back to the thieves, told them that it was a stolen saw, and I renegotiated a new price of $250.00. Then I went to the bank and paid them off. When I went to the bank this time (not intending to stall anymore), I took the main thief with me, and left the other guy there with the car. When I returned, he was waiting outside the fence, presumably ready to run if the police showed up. I paid them off, and they left, after borrowing a gas can! It turns out that they ran out of gas in my parking lot, facing downhill, waiting for the money.
Since then, I have notified the local police department "pawnshop unit" that I am in possession of a chainsaw with serial #xxxxxxxx, and that I would encourage them to check police reports to see if it is stolen. I spoke to the detective at length, and there is no way for me to routinely check serial numbers prior to purchase for any used equipment.
I guess that I have done all that I could be expected to do under the circumstances. If I am real lucky, it will not come back identified as a stolen saw, and I will have made a great buy. If I am a little bit lucky, the rightful owner will reimburse me the 250 bucks when they get their saw back. If I am mostly unlucky, the rightful owner will recover their saw, and sneer at me as they walk out the door laughing about how it serves me right to buy a "hot" saw. If I am completely unlucky, the police will impound it indefinitely, and the rightful owner will never see it again, either.
Your comments are welcome, even if they express an adverse opinion of me.
Here is where it gets good:
I was not born yesterday, and I know when somebody is probably toting a stolen saw. As soon as I left, I called the Stihl dealer that sold the saw. His sticker was still on it, and I knew him personally. I asked him about the value of the saw, described it carefully, and then asked if he knew anybody that was missing it.
SURE ENOUGH! He believed that it had been stolen from Xxxxx Tree Service, and I asked him if there had been a police report made. He said there was, and that the thieves had already been rejected by a pawn shop. We agreed that he would call the police department that had taken the report, and I would stall the crooks on my lot until the cops drove onto the fenced lot and trapped them. It would have been a cool entrapment, and I had an easy 1/2 hour I could hold them waiting for the money.
A short while later, he called me back indicating that the police would not come, the detective with the report would not check on it until next week, and he did not have the serial number of the missing chainsaw. He had no advice as to what I should do with the thieves on my lot. Without the right serial number from the police report, we don't even know if the saw is really hot.
NOW I have quite a tricky situation. I have a saw of no small value which I would like to possess, but not at the expense of of my conscience. Furthermore, I would love to have the police arrest the miscreants that took someone's saw, but I have already failed to get that accomplished. If I purchase the saw, and it turns out to be a stolen saw, I will lose every penny I spent on it when the police repossess it. If I fail to purchase the saw, the rightful owner will never get it back; 'cause you know the next guy will just buy the saw at a great price, and never report to the police any serial numbers.
So... I went back to the thieves, told them that it was a stolen saw, and I renegotiated a new price of $250.00. Then I went to the bank and paid them off. When I went to the bank this time (not intending to stall anymore), I took the main thief with me, and left the other guy there with the car. When I returned, he was waiting outside the fence, presumably ready to run if the police showed up. I paid them off, and they left, after borrowing a gas can! It turns out that they ran out of gas in my parking lot, facing downhill, waiting for the money.
Since then, I have notified the local police department "pawnshop unit" that I am in possession of a chainsaw with serial #xxxxxxxx, and that I would encourage them to check police reports to see if it is stolen. I spoke to the detective at length, and there is no way for me to routinely check serial numbers prior to purchase for any used equipment.
I guess that I have done all that I could be expected to do under the circumstances. If I am real lucky, it will not come back identified as a stolen saw, and I will have made a great buy. If I am a little bit lucky, the rightful owner will reimburse me the 250 bucks when they get their saw back. If I am mostly unlucky, the rightful owner will recover their saw, and sneer at me as they walk out the door laughing about how it serves me right to buy a "hot" saw. If I am completely unlucky, the police will impound it indefinitely, and the rightful owner will never see it again, either.
Your comments are welcome, even if they express an adverse opinion of me.
