Too good to be true?


I have a pawn shop a few miles from my home. It is just a dingy old place. They have recently aquired some REALLY high end audio equipment, $6-7000 worth of speakers and amps. This guy doesn't know a woofer from his elbow. Is there a place I can go and run the serial #'s somewhere and find out if this stuff has been stolen from someone? For that matter, buying on a site like e-bay? How do you know what your getting isn't someone elses loss?
sirsnapalot
You have been watching too many crime shows on TV - why assume the worse?

This is the era of people not being able to survive past their next paycheck. Job loss is a more likely scenario for the origin for these goods.

Also, break & enter thieves are unlikely to spend their time and energy carting away speakers when they can just move on to the next house.
I wonder how the assumption of subwoofer and elbow came about? I'll bet he greases his elbows in the business that he's in! Stolen merchandise can show up anywhere for sale. I would venture to say he still made a profit after pulling the wool over your eyes!
Calling the manufacturer and the local PD to check on the s/ns is the best you can do.
Here is something to think about...Theft, and the fencing and sale of stolen goods is actually good for the economy.

A brand new $400 TV is stolen from you. It is fenced for $100, and resold for $150. The person who buys it could not afford to buy it at $400. The stolen goods price structure constitutes a deep, deep, discount, which broadens the market for the product. The manufacturer builds another TV set for you, which is paid for by your insurance company. Since the manufacturer is now building more TV sets, because some have been sold at the deep discount price, his costs per set goes down, and he can lower the price to $350. This sells more sets to honest people.

The above is not just a made up story, but is something I learned by reading a doctoral thesis regarding the role of the fence in society.