# Offered stolen tools?



## bobcaygeonjon (Aug 30, 2007)

The gas thief thread made me think of this subject.

First off I hate people who steal tools. To me there in a special bracket all of there own. I dont condone any type of thiefing at all but, do you know what I'm getting at. A guy who would steal another guys tools deserves that extra special treatment. But do you know whats worse. It's the A hole who buys the stuff knowing full well it's stolen. 

I used to get offered a lot of stuff ( I never bought any ) but this one time this guy offered me one of those drill mixers that plasterers use. In case I changed my mind he made the mistake of telling me were he lived which was about 40 yards from were I was working. Next thing you know a van pulled up, out jumped a plasterer wanting to know if anybody has been offered any tools. End result the plasterer got his mixer back and the A hole got to see the world through squinty eyes for a couple of days. 

Now I want to ask you all to be honest for a while. 
Have you ever bought stolen tools? 
Maybe you were desperate, hadn't much cash etc. Maybe you were just young and stupid. But be honest. Stand up share your shame and tell the whole world. Yes I have bought stolen tools. Use this as a chance to redeem yourself. 

If not then be proud. :thumbsup:


----------



## dougchips (Apr 23, 2006)

Never have and I never will! I've had my tools stolen in the past and I know they ended up at a pawn shop of a flea market somewhere. Buying stolen tools only promotes more tools getting stolen. I was at a flea market last weekend and there were several (20+) vendors selling used tools---how does someone legally get ahold of tables full of used tools? 

On a side note, a window company, a siding company, a bath company and a roofing company all had booths set up.


----------



## PARA1 (Jul 18, 2007)

I bought a stolen cordless drill (still in the box) years ago. I used it a couple of times,left a job with a side bin on my service bed open and it fell out(the only thing that fell out).--makes you wonder, remember*"IF YOU STEAL IT WE ALL FEEL IT"*


----------



## JonM (Nov 1, 2007)

I wouldn't want anyone coming into my house taking the food off my table...why would I do it to anyone else?


----------



## neolitic (Apr 20, 2006)

*NEVER*
I have been ripped off big time twice, i.e. the whole truck gone and emptied.
Other times to a lesser extent.
This is why they used to _hang_ horse thieves.
Not because horses were particularly loved, but because they were stealing a man's livelihood, or at least his _means_ to a livelihood.
A practice that should be revived!
The people that buy the stuff?
Just hang them up by their privates in the center of town, as a reminder.


----------



## L. B. Condulet (Aug 23, 2007)

Last year some sketchy looking dudes came by the job site with a van load of tools. I didn't ask any questions but all the stuff was brand new and obviously stolen from Home Depot.

Some of the stuff even had HD price tags on them. There was a very nice electric start gas generator with a price tag of $2500. I bought it for $400.

I don't mind buying stolen property, if I didn't buy this generator, someone else would have.

But, I draw the line at buying tools that were stolen from a working man. There is nothing more despicable than stealing the the tools someone uses to make a living. If you buy those tools, you are supporting and encouraging that type of theft.


----------



## KillerToiletSpider (May 27, 2007)

dougchips said:


> how does someone legally get ahold of tables full of used tools?


Liquidation auctions, estate sales, etc. A friend of mine makes his living doing it.


----------



## JonM (Nov 1, 2007)

L. B. Condulet said:


> I don't mind buying stolen property, if I didn't buy this generator, someone else would have.


Sorry, I can't agree with you on this one...If there wasn't a demand (you) there woudn't be a supply (thiefs)...If you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem...A thief is a thief is a thief...you just subbed out the dirty work...


----------



## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

I won't even buy tools from a pawn shop, since I was edumacated by this site by the guys here. I'm not taking the chance of supporting some crack head ass holes tool stealing habit. 

The next victim might be one of us.


----------



## kevjob (Aug 14, 2006)

not worth the karma:jester:


----------



## L. B. Condulet (Aug 23, 2007)

JonM said:


> A thief is a thief is a thief...you just subbed out the dirty work...


I don't disagree with that characterization. I'm very busy and spend my evenings pricing jobs and doing paperwork, I just don't have time to break into Home Depot and do my own stealing, so I sub this work out to the experts.

I got a great deal on a generator so I'm happy.


----------



## neolitic (Apr 20, 2006)

The Despot?
...might be some kind of "special dispensation" there....
I think I hear my conscience rolling over for a nap?
Nope they might just "graduate" to trucks.


----------



## POOLMANinCT (Oct 7, 2006)

yes, but no more.

when i was 25 yrs old i bought a brand new builders level & tote board for 30 bux. i was having lunch across the street from a HD & some nut case offered it to me for 50bux.granted it has made me tons of money & i still use it today.

but im reformed, around mid july another nut case offered me a 14" diamond blade for 15$, outside of HD. I promptly told him get the F&*L away from my van.

ray


----------



## works4me (Sep 1, 2007)

*Label your tools (marker or ingraving)*

I found I don't need to buy/steal them, I just seem to find them. Most recently I found a nice extending gas chain saw lying the middle of an intersection. Grabbed it, waited about 3 min. for some one to show up. No markings on item. Mine now:thumbup:. We also clean out alot of properties (rentals, rehabs etc.) we find all kinds of stuff left in the vacated houses. Drills, plasterer stilts, saws, ladders - some are pretty nice, you can tell they are hot and didn't unload them. I have always called anyone about a decent item if it has any markings on it of ownership - sometimes the ones with markings, they have a hard time unloading. The last thing any reputable worker wants to do is pull out a tool on a jobsite with someone else's name on it.

I got cleaned out at BLowes parking lot a couple of years ago (couple of paslodes, dewalt combo kit, etc.):furious:. Police caught the guy a few days later stealing other stuff. My business cards fell out of a file he stole from me when the police were searching the vehicle. All my stuff was long gone, police told me to "have a nice day, case closed". I did get his name though, I go 6'5" 245 lean, he'll be suprised to meet me someday. Of course I won't tell him who I am.


----------



## Chris G (May 17, 2006)

I have bought from a pawn shop before. Were they stolen? Maybe, maybe not. There is a pretty good verification system in my city.

There really is no need to shop at a pawn shop anymore. Tools have come way down in price over the years.

On another note, two weeks ago, I hid my cordless reciprocating saw under the porch I was working on, along with the battery charger and a battery in said charger. Went to the lumber store for twenty minutes. All gone when I came back. 99% sure who did it, and the cops came and knocked on his door. No answer. Funny, the just saw him go in there too. But, there is really not much they could do. 

Two days later, I am still working on the porch, I see a contractor with a bad toupe` pull up in his pickup truck in front of the same house. Out of the house comes a brand new washer and dryer into the truck it goes. Unbelievable. Crack heads in and out of this house all day too.


----------



## dkillianjr (Aug 28, 2006)

I've never bought anything that was stolen. I've had tools stolen from me I know that it sucks. I was in a decent neighborhood nobody around at all. I sat my circular saw on a customers front porch which was far from the street, went inside for 2min to talk to the HOs come out and bam it was gone. Another time I stopped for a quick bite to eat on the way home came out and truck looked fine did'nt suspect a thing. I get home open her up  it was almost empty they got brand new boots and some tools. Freakin scumbags Aparently they broke the lock to get in and them put it back in place so it looked fine.


Dave


----------



## tinner666 (Nov 3, 2004)

I don't, I have the private cell ph. #'s of several detectives around here. When tools are offered to me, I tell them I have a friend who is dying to get 'One of those'. I call the cop, BS a bit and tell him what I have. If he's free enough, he comes by and takes the tools and the guy away.


----------



## wackman (Nov 14, 2005)

I bought a miter saw at a pawn shop once. It had no markings on it at all and didn't seem stolen but who knows.

Shop guy said a contractor sold them a bunch of there tools that he was going to take a job as a foreman for someone else. Seemed realistic as I've know several guys do the exact thing and sell me tools.


----------



## RobertCDF (Aug 18, 2005)

Only bought a few things at pawn shops. I think 3 items total. Around here the police check evey serial number on every item before it goes to the floor. Its a law they have to follow and they can get in some trouble if they dont. If you dont have your tools serial numbers and file with the police then your just being dumb. I had a compressor stolen and it was no big deal. But I filed a report anyway with the serial number so if they ever find it they can nail the bastard.


----------



## silvertree (Jul 22, 2007)

Wont buy stolen tools ever, bad karma all around.


----------



## neolitic (Apr 20, 2006)

*Line Card*

T-bone------
Porterhouse---------
Brisket-------------
Vinny-------------

"This Week's Special"
Mystery Meat


----------



## ModernStyle (May 7, 2007)

I have never bought stolen tools ........ that I can remember.
I used to do some shady things in my younger days, sometimes people gave me things if they didnt have cash. I used to have a guy who worked at an appliance and electronics store, at first he claimed it was all scratch and dent stuff. Problem was there were no scratches or dents, in fact after awhile people were telling him what brand and color they wanted, and wouldnt you know somehow they all turned up on scratch and dent.
My brother had a guy who worked at the local Sears repair center, this guy would take the stuff off of the computer so it looked like it was never there, my brother is still a bit shady so he kinda played the guy and got a whole lot of stuff. 
We also had a guy who worked weekends at the local butcher shop, pretty sure he got caught, but for awhile we were eating steak and ribs damn near every night.
It has been a long time since I have dealt with any of the people I know from the old days, I see them around and buy them a beer if I see them in a bar, but I dont want them around my family.


----------



## L. B. Condulet (Aug 23, 2007)

Wow, several posts just disappeared...


----------



## wireless (Nov 2, 2006)

L. B. Condulet said:


> Wow, several posts just disappeared...


The topic is about stolen stuff!


----------



## Michaeljp86 (Apr 10, 2007)

L. B. Condulet said:


> Wow, several posts just disappeared...


 
From your fence? 

:laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing:

One of my dads friends worked at a hardware store next door when he was a kid. The owner gave him the keys to open the door, he then took the door key and went over to the key machine and copied it. Then every night he would go in there and help himself. :no:


----------



## Dell-Tech (May 28, 2008)

man if anything finds some a-hole selling power tools by the north bergen, nj area, let me know i jus got robbed for about 5-6grand.  i wish i would find that piece of **** somewhere trying to sell me the stuff...


----------



## Any Season (Nov 19, 2007)

L. B. Condulet said:


> I don't disagree with that characterization. I'm very busy and spend my evenings pricing jobs and doing paperwork, I just don't have time to break into Home Depot and do my own stealing, so I sub this work out to the experts.
> 
> I got a great deal on a generator so I'm happy.


When your trailer gets emptied will you have the same story or is it still 'last theif , best owner" ?

If you steal or knowingly buy someones stolen tools you are a piece of **** and it will come around.


----------



## samthedog (Mar 15, 2008)

I have bought second hand tools on a website we have in Norway. After a couple of the purchases I did wonder. I noticed another companies logo on a set of scaffolds I bought but they were auctioned surplus so it was ok. I would never knowingly buy stolen stuff. Just the thought of having my stuff stolen makes my blood boil.

Brings me to a story... A couple weeks back I was in Oslo visiting my mother in law and I noticed a junkie walking past cars and looking in. He walked around all the cars looking through the windows. He got to my truck and did the same. Then he started looking over his shoulder to make sure no-one was around. That was it for me, I threw on my shoes and raced outside, the only thought being,'how do I punch the living crap outta this guy without getting his filthy junkie blood on me??'.

I called to him as he was leaned up against my truck getting something out of his pocket. When he saw a 6 foot 2 body builder confront him he turned a little pale. As he hadn't broken anything or stolen anything yet I couldn't justify kicking his head in, but, I promised him that would be the end result if I saw him anywhere near my truck again. I also told him that I would tell the police he attacked me and I was simply defending myself. The whole time he was telling me I didn't understand and that he was simply looking at the truck because he wanted to buy one for work. What sort of work is that? Carrying stolen TVs and needles full of blow???


----------



## The Marble Guy (May 21, 2008)

L. B. Condulet said:


> I don't disagree with that characterization. I'm very busy and spend my evenings pricing jobs and doing paperwork, I just don't have time to break into Home Depot and do my own stealing, so I sub this work out to the experts.
> 
> I got a great deal on a generator so I'm happy.


 
Ya know recieving stolen property is a crime too. 

Had a guy pull with a bunch of new tools in a pickup a few years ago. Was asking all the guys on the site if they wanted to buy them. Said they were on "consignment",big word for a thief. Pulled out my wallet and I asked him if he could make me out a bill of sale and he got nervous. 

Next words out of my mouth were "You got two choices pal,my boot up your ass or I can call the cops." Thats the fastest I ever saw a fat man move when he jumped in the truck and drove away. 

No, I dont buy stolen tools. Funny thing was a friend of mine walked out into the garage shortly after and asked about the guy. Said he was gonna buy the compressor. I told him he was as big a POS as the thief. 


TMG


----------



## Cdat (Apr 18, 2007)

3 worst people in the world are: A lawyer, a thief and a child molester. If I catch you buying my stolen tools, I rank you beneath all three and I'll be add'ing you to the fertilizer in my garden.


----------



## Bill_Vincent (Apr 6, 2005)

We did a job years ago in the housing projects in Bridgeport, Ct.. This place was one for the books in many ways, and one of them was that at lunch time, we got to the point where we'd have to pack up our trucks, just as we would when it was quitting time, otherwise, everything would disappear. That's not the screwed up part, though. The srewed up part was that come mid afternoon, young kids would come aroound and try and sell our own tools BACK to us!! The first time I saw this happen, one guy got ready to put a beating on this kid, and some guy came around the corner with a Mac-10. He told the kid to keep the tools-- he'd buy new ones.


----------



## Handyman Jim (Apr 24, 2008)

When my old van had 147,000 miles on it ,I traded it in for a new one. On the old van ,I had installed hasps and the hockey puck type of locks, never any problem.

I put off installing the hasps and locks on the new truck a little too long and it cost me a super sawsall ,that was about 12-15 years old and a dewalt cordless drill that I was getting ready to replace anyhow.

They broke in with very little damage.If anyone else has a 2007 chevy express van or something similar,the locks that come with the van offer very little security. When I popped the door panel open to make the easy repair,I realized that it probably took 5-10 seconds to get in; because, of the way the locks are designed. Now I have installed hasps and locks on every door.

http://www.handymanjimnoonan.com


----------



## Heritage (Mar 20, 2007)

Home Depot? There's a free for all.
Lowes? Free for all.
Rona? Free for all.

Joe Blow's? Not a chance in hell. I was once doing a reno on a house, and the house next to it was getting gutted and redone also. But their project was shut down for a few months, so one day I kinda broke in:shifty:, just to duck my head in to see what they were doing. They had left all kinds of tools laying around, probably around 5k worth. Proud to say, I was never even tempted.:no:


----------



## Michaeljp86 (Apr 10, 2007)

Handyman Jim said:


> it cost me a super sawsall ,that was about 12-15 years old


Thats what Im scared of, I have alot of old stuff you cant get anymore and im not sure how I could live without it.



Heritage said:


> They had left all kinds of tools laying around, probably around 5k worth. Proud to say, I was never even tempted.:no:


When I was in high School one day we go back from a field trip and I had about 30min before my mom would come to pick me up. I walked down to the auto shop to burn some time. Nobody was around and all the tools were just laying out for anyone to take. I wanted to hide the impacts and hear about how they was stolen the next day. :laughing:


----------



## Patrick (Apr 12, 2006)

dougchips said:


> On a side note, a window company, a siding company, a bath company and a roofing company all had booths set up.


LOL YOU NEVER TOOK ME SERIOUSLY We do them, everyone gives me funny looks, but we sell very well at these things


----------



## TempestV (Feb 3, 2007)

I've bought many of my tools at pawn shops. However, pawn shops here are required to check everything with a serial number. The database is state wide, so if the tools are stolen, they came from out of state, or the person they were stolen from never reported it. I found that out when my bike got lifted out of the back of my truck while I was at work. I think I know who did it- a guy had just quite, came up to get his check and leave for California. Work is way out in the middle of nowhere, and the only people that come by work there. Also, about the time he quite, a bigfoot beam saw went missing. 

I've never been on a job where people show up trying to sell tools. I'd be pretty pissed if it happened.


----------



## geroge (May 31, 2008)

*i hate theifs*

just today i rode in with my brother to save gas (deisel) got back from the job and my van doors were wide open. had a 350 dollar porter cable air compresser stolen, a dewalt jigsaw and a electric drill. the police think that it was probably a crackhead. other wise they would have stole my raido wallett sattlite raido and scanner. the point of this is it could have been worse and criminals are the lowest form of life and should be allowed to be shot on site! i worked hard to get money to buy all my tools just to have some a$% steal them. theives should all die.:furious::wallbash::gun_bandana:


----------



## plazaman (Apr 17, 2005)

TempestV said:


> I've bought many of my tools at pawn shops. However, pawn shops here are required to check everything with a serial number. The database is state wide, so if the tools are stolen, they came from out of state, or the person they were stolen from never reported it. I found that out when my bike got lifted out of the back of my truck while I was at work. I think I know who did it- a guy had just quite, came up to get his check and leave for California. Work is way out in the middle of nowhere, and the only people that come by work there. Also, about the time he quite, a bigfoot beam saw went missing.
> 
> I've never been on a job where people show up trying to sell tools. I'd be pretty pissed if it happened.




yea, i would tend to think most items from the pawn shops are stolen items. i still wouldnt buy from them. very very few guys would take time and register tools. i know for sure i dont, i should, but.... i have so many tools...


----------



## Michaeljp86 (Apr 10, 2007)

Some friends got a wire welder from a pawn shop and when they ran it out of argon they took the tank in to have it filled and they welding supply said the tank is stolen and wouldnt give it back. They called the pawn shop owner and asked for the money to buy a new tank and he said screw you. This guy who owns the pawn shop has it in a drug town for one reason, he want these druggies to steal stuff to give him. He is just as bad as the guy stealing it in my mind.


----------



## Bill_Vincent (Apr 6, 2005)

plazaman said:


> yea, i would tend to think most items from the pawn shops are stolen items. i still wouldnt buy from them. very very few guys would take time and register tools. i know for sure i dont, i should, but.... i have so many tools...


Every power tool I own, right down to my Dremel, I've got the serial number written down. That was the first paperwork I wrote up when I started my business.


----------

