Members AzunigaToo Posted March 28, 2009 Members Share Posted March 28, 2009 Should we worry that any great deal we get on a vintage guitar might be stolen. I mean, I would not buy a guitar if I new for sure that it was stolen - I'd hate for my gear to be hawked knowingly around town you know. But what if we innocently come across a good or even great deal then want to sell the gear later. Has anyone been contacted by a "buyer" claiming that the guitar you are selling is his stolen beloved 1964 Gibson? Is there any registry we can check before we buy or sell gear? I also don't want to end up on the short end of accidentally buying a stolen guitar and have to take the loss when the police take it away?! Any concerns???? Advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dimmypage Posted March 28, 2009 Members Share Posted March 28, 2009 Ive had 5 nice guitars stolen,unfortunately people buy hot stuff all the time:mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tomh777 Posted March 28, 2009 Members Share Posted March 28, 2009 I wouldn't knowingly buy anything hot. Also if I suspect that may be the case & would highly recommend to the seller to be responsible as well. But I would not suspect any & everything either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members harold heckuba Posted March 28, 2009 Members Share Posted March 28, 2009 Based on the OP's no. of posts and the subject, it sounds like he may be considering buying a hot guitar. If its discovered, you will lose it back and get no money back. Not worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hecticone Posted March 28, 2009 Members Share Posted March 28, 2009 Buy it flip it and donate the money to charitable organization. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dc1502 Posted March 28, 2009 Members Share Posted March 28, 2009 Most law enforcement agencies have agreements with pawnshops in their area , in most places it goes like this.................once a week someone from theft investigations division picks up copies of the pawn tickets for merchandise that was pawned that week . Then they go back and compare pawned items to theft cases with matching items that were stolen, the person that pawned said property is then located and arrested for theft and transfer of stolen property , and the the pawn shop files a civil case against person to recover lost money which was loaned.the bad thing about all of this is that if you do (and i have ) end up making a purchase that later is determined to be stolen you have no rights to the property , you only have the right to seek civil restitution .so this means that if the police find out you purchased a guitar from a pawn shop that was stolen , they will come and get it and you have to sue the person that stole or the pawn shop for your money........................................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AzunigaToo Posted March 28, 2009 Author Members Share Posted March 28, 2009 Based on the OP's no. of posts and the subject, it sounds like he may be considering buying a hot guitar. If its discovered, you will lose it back and get no money back. Not worth it. 3H, are you really suggesting you can tell all that about me because of the few number of posts? Wow, talk about type casting? Anyway, I assure you (if you can bring yourself to beleive, if not that's cool too) I am not considering or will I ever consider buying someones misfortune (stolen gear). There are enough legit deals out here (in L.A. anyway). BTW you can ask me directly unless I have too few posts - :poke: JK! I am however worried that the killer deal I got on an original '64 Gibson is too good to be true. I asked the seller if it was hot - he said no so I bought. I think that is all a could do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members harold heckuba Posted March 28, 2009 Members Share Posted March 28, 2009 ^^^^^^^ Well, it turns out I was exactly right! Sorry, man, but that 64 Gibson will soon be in the police's hands. Never buy anything that is too good to be true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BoredGuitarist7 Posted March 28, 2009 Members Share Posted March 28, 2009 Then we bought something stolen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AzunigaToo Posted March 28, 2009 Author Members Share Posted March 28, 2009 ^^^^^^^ Well, it turns out I was exactly right! Sorry, man, but that 64 Gibson will soon be in the police's hands. Never buy anything that is too good to be true. Well, I'll just keep it then. I have been gigging it for 18 months now at Arts Bar as my main agressive P90 machine. It does ZZ Top like the Rev. would love. If I do decide to sell it I'll just to go through the usually Stolen Gear laundry channels of which we are all familiar with in L.A. Better yet, I'll paint it, change the 1 pickup with a re-route for 2 PAFs and buy an OEM bridge! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vantango84 Posted March 28, 2009 Members Share Posted March 28, 2009 dude, honestly, It might not be stolen.... like.... maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dc1502 Posted March 28, 2009 Members Share Posted March 28, 2009 Well, I'll just keep it then. I have been gigging it for 18 months now at Arts Bar as my main agressive P90 machine. It does ZZ Top like the Rev. would love. If I do decide to sell it I'll just to go through the usually Stolen Gear laundry channels of which we are all familiar with in L.A. Better yet, I'll paint it, change the 1 pickup with a re-route for 2 PAFs and buy an OEM bridge! NEWS HEADLINE READS: man found in alleyway behind Art's bar impaled on stolen 1964 gibson guitar that had been painted and retrofitted with oem bridge . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vantango84 Posted March 28, 2009 Members Share Posted March 28, 2009 also, if you're worried you've bought stolen gear, best not to announce it here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zbasstringer Posted March 28, 2009 Members Share Posted March 28, 2009 I want my guitar back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Raj Posted March 28, 2009 Members Share Posted March 28, 2009 Bear in mind also that in many jurisdictions, receiving or handling stolen goods is a criminal offense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RaVenCAD Posted March 28, 2009 Members Share Posted March 28, 2009 Bear in mind also that in many jurisdictions, KNOWINGLY receiving or handling stolen goods is a criminal offense. Fixed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newbuilder Posted March 28, 2009 Members Share Posted March 28, 2009 Too good to be true...usually is. Kharma is a bitch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RaVenCAD Posted March 28, 2009 Members Share Posted March 28, 2009 The smart thing would have been to check the serial number with the police department before purchase.. One of 3 things would happen.. 1 - Guitar comes back clean, no worries.. 2 - Seller says "errrr, no, decided not to sell, lose my number.." 3 - Seller says "how about I knock off $500 instead of you running the serial?" well, I guess 4 could happen.. 4 - Seller realizes he's made, pops a cap in you to cover his trail.. This is why I buy my gear from stores =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KATMAN Posted March 28, 2009 Members Share Posted March 28, 2009 There used to be a music store in town that dealt in used musical equipment.I got the feeling some of the items they had was stolen.Like a '78 hardtail Strat for $200(this was in 1990).They kept thse in the back room.Needless to say,the store didn't last long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AzunigaToo Posted March 28, 2009 Author Members Share Posted March 28, 2009 :eek:Too good to be true...usually is. Kharma is a bitch!Ok this one scares me! I Hate Bad Guitar Karma. Aviod it at all cost. I'd rather lose the few bennies I paid, even find to poor chap who lost the guitar than go on believing you know! :eek::eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RaVenCAD Posted March 28, 2009 Members Share Posted March 28, 2009 Then call the cops, run the number and accept your fate.. It might be perfectly legit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ouzhewen Posted March 28, 2009 Members Share Posted March 28, 2009 If I feel it may be stolen, I stay away. But you cannot contemplate this on every used item or you'll never buy. For me though, I keep an eye out for used GIbson deals, and when I see a guitar, I just call 1-800-444-2766 to confirm the serial number, plus they could tell me if its stolen, if its reported.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newbuilder Posted March 28, 2009 Members Share Posted March 28, 2009 :eek: Ok this one scares me! I Hate Bad Guitar Karma. Aviod it at all cost. I'd rather lose the few bennies I paid, even find to poor chap who lost the guitar than go on believing you know! :eek: :eek: Yeah, a buddie of mine bought a hot tape player for his car 15 years ago. The same weekend he installed it, someone tried to steal it out of his car in a completely different town. It was too well installed, so they stuck a screw driver in it and jacked it up real bad.I don't want to call in on your Kharma, you may have scored on a legit deal. But if you continuously think that something shady happened, that is your conscience talking....run the serial and see what happens, it will make you feel better in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chiro972 Posted March 28, 2009 Members Share Posted March 28, 2009 As someone earlier pointed out, it is knowingly accepting stolen goods that is the crime. However if someone comes along and can PROVE that you have his guitar then they can take it from you with no compensation. You wouldn't be guilty of a crime, but you would be out your guitar and the money you paid. I have gotten a couple of really good deals over the years and I had no indication that they were stolen though and all worked out ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dimmypage Posted March 28, 2009 Members Share Posted March 28, 2009 All you have to do to find out if its stolen is to check the serial number with your local police and they can check it with the national hotline. 99% of the time people buy stolen merchandise they have a pretty good idea it was stolen. Theres a tremendous market for hot Les Pauls, Martins and Strats. There seems to be a lot of "good folks " buying hot gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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