What would you do if you suspected a loco you bought had been stolen.

No.

I can't see me doing your first idea, i.e. calling the seller and asking him if he stole it. If something was obvious, like an owner's name and phone number and it was different that than the person I bought it from, I might make the call.

.....

Dennis

I'm curious to know what prompted this post.  Experience?  Hypothetical?

The "house Break in-trains stolen" and "whats the best way to mark a locomotive in case its stolen" threads.

As with everything, gotta wring out every possible angle on any given subject.

I think this could be considered "o guage hypochondria".

.

Probably this thread.

-Dave

I think you mean "kleptophobia."  

I'd call the authorities and try to get ahold of the origonal owner if his/her name was on it..I'd wish the same of anyone who'd find one of mine if it was stolen....I have my reasons;

-had a motorcycle stolen and 1 year later it was found with 5k on her and my personnal plate was still on it. Liability only due to paying off a student loan then.

-I'm a cub scout leader...ya gotta teach the kids right and wrong and live by it too.

-my grandfather would turn over in his grave if he knew that I ever possessed anyone's stolen trains - he had a huge collection of lionel before he passed. 

- 

I think this guy spends to much time thinking of things to put on the forum. 

Before buying, you ask sellers the same question that the "Pawn Stars" ask of all of their customers, "Where did you get it?"  You pass on buying if you get a bad feeling about the answer.  You can ask internet sellers the same question via email.  

All the train sellers that I know either are selling trains that they bought or are selling their own collection.  I think that the only guy you need to worry about is the fellow who is selling out of the trunk of his car in an alley.

Joe

The LHS I shopped at in the 80s and 90s always took the Drivers License of a person selling trains to his store.

What would you guys do with a twenty or hundred dollar bill in your possession that you acquired in a legitimate way and found out it is counterfeit? Would you give it to the Secret Service and get nothing in return or pass it forward the same way you acquired it?

 I think you are catching on Eddie!!

Greg

I Guess the other two threads weren't enough  Why don't we start a few more

I think this could be considered "o guage hypochondria".

 

Would that be someone who feared that their trains were broken when they are not?

Scott Smith

I guess "o guage paranoia" would be a better choice of words.

Having said that, what if your track is stolen, but you get it back. What should you clean "recovered" track with?

What if the police call and say they've found your missing locomotive but you open the shell and it has someone elses number engraved in it. Do you say its not yours or are you happy to have the same loco back, and you didn't steal it so its not your problem?

The possibilities are endless.......

What if...all along it was the locomotive you purchased in the first place and it was just a serial number.  What if you had already called the police...they came out...and you had to explain that to them?

I bought a MTH diesel off that guy a few months ago and he was an OGR forum member!    So, who can you trust?    Actually it wasn't in the alley, just at a Sheetz gas station.  

A couple of months ago a waitress had her purse stolen. When asking a customer for ID to order alcohol she was given her own Drivers License. It must be true I read it on the internet.

Wow. This was an interesting response.

It's not hypochondria. Actually, I am not worried at all about my trains getting stolen.

Tiffany's post got me thinking: would what she was thinking about do any good at all?   Seems to me from the responses here, it would not.  The responses pretty much confirmed what I expected, too, (and showed I am not the only cynic here).

It was more than a "read it on the internet."  It was a legitimate news story run on the wire.  I believe it was an Applebee's. 

Maybe I missed it but was this loco supposed to be brand new?  What if the loco had actually changed hands several times in the past...legitimately.  And maybe the original owner never put any marks on it.  Or worse, maybe the thief put an ID on it. So, when you call he will say he is the real owner.  WOW  Will the REAL owner please stand up.

And, this guy at Sheetz,  he musta pulled it out of his trunk,  huh???  Was he eating a SHmuffin?

OK, now what was I doin before I was so rudely interrupted?  Ohhh yeah,  I gotta mark some locos to get ready to sell at York.    LOL

Rick

based  on responses none of you guys believes what goes around comes around.Some lame *** who breaks into a shop or home steals some stuff trains included, doesn't have too much going for him anyway just how many outlets do you think there are for toy trains anybody who is really interested in purchasing the stuff for cut rate knows its hot whats that say about the purchaser? anybody need a payday loan I remember when usury was a sin now its called bussiness

I wonder how many posts you have to start to have your own Forum Section -- THE LEE WILLIS FORUM SECTION

Based on some of the topics, I'm not sure a whole lot of thought goes into some of them. On the other hand, some are OK.

Gerry

This is a tough question. If someone had a well marked train stolen, he may have had it insured as well. So he may have been compensated. And if you inadvertently purchased it, then returned it, perhaps you are now the victim as you have lost your money unless you have a good paper trail that will stand up before the eyes of the law. But can you sleep at night? Like I said, this is a tough question and a good Scout always does what is best.

Here is a true story that could just as well have been a train: My wife had a cleaning business. An employee from a temp service stole jewelry from many clients. The temp agency was not held accountable, the bonding agent did not pay off because the thief was not tried and convicted. Here is what happened: We went to court and lost. We paid the appraised value to the victim. The victim also had been paid in full by their insurance company. And then the victim's jewelry was recovered from a pawn shop and returned to her.

So results tabulation: We lost several thousand dollars. The victim gained several thousand dollars from us and the same from their home owner's policy. And the victim got her jewelry back within 60 days. So now you can see who the victims were: The insurance company and us. The perp got away with it. And the original owner made out like the real bandit.

So, with an obviously tainted past, I would just presume the train had been passed on through some legitimate sequence of events and that I had spent my money wisely. I would keep the train and let the sleeping dog lie. OK. Judge me, but as the old catch 22 paraphrase goes, "just because I am paranoid does not mean everyone is not out to get me."

And I would of course not have bought the train if the situation did not feel right. I get a sense of wrong when the seller does not know the value and seems to be dumping an item to be rid of it. I would hope to ask the right questions and then pay attention to the answers and the body language. I would not then feel the need to volunteer to be the victim in the "train" of events.

Thank you for your honesty, Bill.  And I won't judge you because as you have laid out no response at all is a rational and even ethically okay path to take when something is just marked, not marked as stolen.   I think you and I have roughly the same view and would respond the same here. 

There is another thread poking fun at this thread (which in and of itself speaks volumes about how others see this topic) but point I wanted to bring up is that there is no way to expect that marking a toy train would result in its being less likely to be stolen or much more likely to be returned to you if it was.  I really do not worry about it - for one thing I think damage in fire is as or more likely - but if a person does then insurance is available.  Frankly the only toy train I have insured is my Dad's 1930's Marx wind up - but that is an heirloom not a toy train. 

quote:

anyway just how many outlets do you think there are for toy trains anybody who is really interested in purchasing the stuff for cut rate knows its hot whats that say about the purchaser

How about Ebay?

Locomods Bill has my vote for the best response.  Now I can move on.

.....

Dennis

First of all I would not pass on counterfeit money!  That's a no no.  I also would probably not mark my trains so I can sell them!   And thirdly and most important I don't see myself ever having or owning a $2,000 locomotive! But stranger things have happened!  

I do think if you want to mark your engines, use something that only you could identify but would not identify you personally in case you do want to sell it later.  

I don't remember being paranoiac  saying OK Mr Seller  lets see your documented provenance, nor anyone pushing me for mine. No Toy Mafia skulking around in the secondary market or in dark sunglasses behind a card table.

Toy train national registration? The mind boggles and jumps the shark.

Toy train cops? I fret about this imaginary scenario?

Must be a slow, slow day on a deserted island if I did.

So, how do you suspect an item was "stolen'? Does a Hudson fall out of their back pocket while running down Main Street? The whole question seems silly to the point of being a straight line for a comedic response. 

Well all MTH PS2 & 3 locomotives can have the owners name, address & phone number written to memory via the DCS Dealer Loader. Now if MTH could just figure out how to have them call home when they're stolen...??

Chuck

A whole new topic for DCC..GPS. I Imagine a Sopranos episode with one of Tony's lieutenants nicknamed the Big Chooch.

These occurrences are so rare and the perpetrators are always the bad news bears..I would be shocked if a toy crime wave befalls us. Copper seems to be the "hot" material of the day for most of these losing knuckleheads.

Bruce

I only buy things from people that I 'know'.  If they are new to this forum - pass.  No e-bay or craigslist on engines/locos.  Why?  Among the list of reasons is the one Lee points out.  Of course higher on the list of reasons would be whether it works.  From this forum, folks are of one fabric.  If from an unknown source and if the item is stolen, I bet the price on it would be too good to be true and that would raise my suspicion as well.

So, in direct response to Lee's original question, I avoid situations that may likely yield a stolen item. 

alot of ......... what ifs , good engine, bad seller,could it happen, uuhhhh....time to change the channel.-jim