would this Deter you from buying used gear????

It would sure reduce the resale value of your gear, no doubt about it. Whatever happened to writing down the serial numbers in a secure place? Are the crooks really going to go to the trouble of removing the serial numbers?

You raise a very interesting point. In the past, I have usually engraved my Washington state driver's license number on all of my valuable equipment, be it audio or other stuff. However, since the last major upgrade of my audio/HT system, I have NOT engraved anything, precisely because I'm concerned about decreasing the potential value of the gear if I sell it. I have, however, subscribed to a good national home security service which should prevent/deter theft.

In response to Karls question, there are two main reasons that people are encouraged to engrave their driver's license number on expensive equipment:
1. to make the items harder to fence;
2. to make it easier for the police to recover stolen belongings.

I'll be interested to read the comments of others on this topic.

All I have to say..... What does engraving personal information on possessions have ANYTHING to do with SNIPERS????

Us citizens of the USA have been living under Paranoia since this country was founded. This Paranoia has made this country may ultimately destroy us.

If you doubt me, watch the Michael Moore movie: Bowling for Columbine. Moore may go a bit over the enge in the movie, but he raises some very serious points.

Anyway, I refuse to give into fear. I will never engrave my gear or anything else I own per se. If someone really has the will to remove my 150 lb speakers (each) from my house and steal them... well they better not try it when I am home or they better not let me catch them... heh heh. All I can say is that the market market on really high end gear is so small, it would be very difficult to unload anything I have (cept maybe cables) without arousing some sort of suspision (where is that spell checker when I need it). Even then... would the criminals know what the gear was worth? heh heh.

KF