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Found my stolen bass - How do I get it back

#21
HogieWan said:
I think that's what will end up happening
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Just replied to your pm.

If you cant prove definitively that it is yours by the serial number or other means the pawn shops will try to work with you. That has been my working experience with them. The pawn brokers hear alot of crap and they can discern the truth most of the time...its always good business for them b/c your word will travel far and wide.
 
#23
HogieWan said:
I was just told by the police department that they do not have any records going back that far

?!?!?!?
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:eyebrow:...Makes no sense.

They either have a report or they do not...sounds like maybe they didnt really do one. I say that without knowing all of the circumstances at that time.

But not having records that go back that far...Im unsure about that. The only thing I can think of is that: the report was a paper report only. Files with no leads and other circumstances can be "purged" after XX amount of years. Maybe your case was like that, sounds like it. Especially if there was no serial number provided.

However if it was a computer generated report it should / would still be there.

Its looking more like you need to hit up the pawn shop and work a deal if you want it back. Just my opinion.

There maybe a legitimate reason they "DONT HAVE " the report or records. I cant answer that from here.
 
#24
Pawn shop says he'll only come down to $250 from the $350 sticker for me because "people are looking at it"

I'm not sure if it's worth $250 whether it was mine or not!!!!


I'm guessing the reports were purged, but the girl from records told me there was one place she could still look that may have them. I know they did a report, or at least they let me fill out a detailed record of what I had and what happened. however, they said that they would not call the shop and ask them to hold it while they continued to search for the record.
 
#25
If he knows that you're working through the police becuase you say the item was stolen, it doesn't seem like it would be very bright to sell it to anyone else. Maybe you get a witness and personally confirm that you've been talking to the pawnshop guy.

Pawnshops can be fun places to deal with, depending on who's running it. Several years ago i found a very early G&L L2000E bass at a pawnshop while I was out of town. The pawnshop manager who sold it to me contacted me about a month later IIRC and told me I had to bring the bass back. He wouldn't tell me why AND the cost of getting it back to him was going to be on me.

LOL

The idea of me driving 100 miles each way to return an item through no fault of my own at my expense didn't fly with me and I politely let him know that. The last I heard from him was that he knew police in my area and he'd have them come to my house if necessary. I told him he already had my address (I live near the main police station) so please do. Never heard from him again.
:hmm:

For whatever reason, it appeared he screwed up by selling the bass. Maybe by prematurely offering it for sale. If he had simply given me proof of that and made the return of the item cost me nothing, I would've gone to Fedex or UPS and shipped the basss back to him. Instead he decided to take the penile approach and failed miserably.
:D
 
#26
HogieWan said:
Does anyone know what a pawn shop's policy would be or the laws surrounding stolen items? How much proof would I need to demand my bass?
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I work at a Pawn Shop and by law (at least in Cali) you need a Police report with the itemized information of what was stolen. You either need the serial number of the bass, or some mark to prove that it is definitely yours.

I wish you luck, Man. I can't count the number of times that I've had to bite my lip since I've started working in one of those places...there is no lower breed than a friggin' thief! :rollno:
 
#29
These are great for branding your gear with whatever identifying information you choose. Even if the thief dismantles the item to search for and obliterate any identifying markings, he won't see the writing without proper illumination.
 
#30
If you have any instruments that would be considered vintage they need to be appraised.You need to check with your insurance company as most have different policies regarding instruments.

Say you have a 1966 Jazz bass worth $6,000.Without appraisal and your insurance being properly set up for vintage,your insurance company is going to buy you a new bass.

A new Jazz is around $1,000 if remember correctly.So,you take a $5000 dollar bite and end up with most likely inferior instrument.

I know there is a sticky covering this but I also know alot of people dont read them.And like one of the previous posters said:SERIAL NUMBERS! Get them all,even if you dont own vintage!
L
 
#31
I used to play in a classic rock band in the early 2000's very regularly around the Dallas / Ft. Worth area. Our drummer kept the majority of our gear in his van for ease of transportation. Well... one night we all show up to the gig and open the van to begin unloading... low and behold *it's empty*. All our PA gear, my two SWR cabs and head, guitar players amps, and the drums, GONE. After our initial rage and ranting, we had a quick laugh as to how it was possible the drummer drove to the gig without ever realizing our gear was gone....

Fast forward 1 week... We get a call from the club that we were at when we realized our gear had been stolen. The owners informed us that some shady guy had come in the club looking to sell some "high quality gear for cheap". We get the guys number and went on an undercover sting. He was staying at a budget suites, so we show up and look at what he's got. It's all ours... with the serial numbers handily scratched off. So we say "we are interested and we'll come back to get the gear". We immediately called the cops and spent four hours getting written statements, gear information, etc. The cops had to call a judge at midnight to get a warrant. So off we went, back to the place he was staying. This time we had about 4 police cruisers with us. We just sat back and watched as they knocked on the door, cuffed the guy and hauled him off. We got our gear back and I still play the SWR cabs today. Justice was served!!!
 
#35
I've worked as a mechanic/service manager in a number of high-end bicycles shops for almot 20 years, and seen my share of expensive stolen bikes. One thing I recommend (and use myself) is the business card trick - put a card (one of yours, with your name clearly printed) somewhere where it won't be easily stumbled across. Now, this is easier to do with a bike (more inconspicuous options), but a little creative thinking will usually get you a secret spot somewhere. I've gone even farther and written some version of 'if you're reading this, it may be stolen and call the cops, please' on them.
 
#36
Regarding the police not having a file of the report after all this time.... It's always a good idea to get a copy of the report as soon as it's completed and on file with the police. Keep it in a safe place, because someday when you need the report as proof, the police may be unable or unwilling to locate their master copy of your old report.
 
#38
I had my car stolen a few years ago with my EB Sterling in the trunk. My car was found a few days later but surprise surprise, the Sterling was gone. About a year later I was looking on eBay and saw my bass. It was being sold by a pawn shop located in the same place my car was recovered from. So I contacted the pawn shop owner and even though I did not have the serial number, I was able to convince him that it was my bass by showing him a picture of me playing it. He luckily believed me, and after getting through some red tape, I bought it back for $350. So hang in there!
 
#39
Anyone with expensive/rare gear needs to insure it at appraised value. You are going to get burned if it's stolen and it's only insured at whatever replacement value the company deems, and besides which, if you actually get paid for the claim you can't say the instrument is yours anymore, it's the insurance company's. Some people have done that, taken insurance money and then recovered the instrument, but that's illegal as well, and you're better off negotiating with the insurance company.

I have a number of cameras/lenses and the descriptions and serials are on an inventory list with photos of the equipment (cannot mark a camera, it devalues them). All tucked into a safe deposit box with descriptions of other valuables. I have a copy here for quick reference, but it's better to have two, one in a safe place, in case of fires or other destructive acts.

Music equipment shouldn't be indelibly marked for ID if you think you might sell it (there's good ways of marking secretly that can be removed when sold, many already mentioned), just in case it's stolen from a subsequent owner, recovered and then returned to you. You may not know the owner if it's many years later. If it's already marked and can't be removed, you should make out a detailed receipt that describes the markings so the new owner can deal with the markings however they see fit or use it to prove their ownership.
 

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