What would you do? Stolen Swarovski spotter

[stephane]

Wondering what you guys would do in this scenario:
I had my Swarovski spotter stolen a couple months ago. It popped up on FB marketplace a couple day ago and I called the police immediately when I saw the ad (a couple hours after it was posted). Serial number on the box in the listing matches my stolen spotter so I know it’s the same one. I’m a several hour drive from where it was listed so I was relying on the police in that city to investigate/recover it. The feeling I got from the phone conversation was that they would immediately investigate it based on the value. It was listed as “sold” a few hours later. I heard from the police they didn’t have time that day, and by the time they tried to make contact it was already sold. Now it sounds like they won’t further investigate it at all. It is registered as stolen with Swarovski.

Should I make posts all over the local hunting/birding/marketplace/forums saying it’s stolen in the hopes the buyer sees it and does the right thing? Should I not do anything and hope the buyer tries to register it with Swarovski?
I’m leaning towards waiting for them to try to register with Swaro. Worried if they know it’s stolen they’ll just never send it in for service or try to register and then i’ll never get it back.

I didn’t contact the seller because I didn’t want to tip them off before the police investigated.
I’m assuming the seller is not the thief, considering they posted the serial number in the photo (but who knows…).

 

[fatlander]

Report the ad to Facebook. It’s against their stated policy guidelines. They’ll probably work with the PD to share who received the item. It’s illegal to posses stolen property whether you knew it was stolen or not when you bought it. The police will confiscate it and bring it back to you.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[KenLee]

Never trust LE to give a sh** about your stuff.
I'd wait for registration attempt and watch for a "flip" on FB, Craigslist and other forums.

 

[svivian]

if the buyer tries to register it swaro will notify you and hopefully get you some contact information.

 

[alexnelon]

I don't have the energy to try to be a cop on top of everything else. I'd just file an insurance claim and buy a new one.

Anything beyond that (getting the stolen one back) would just be a bonus.

 

[HornPorn]

Wondering what you guys would do in this scenario:
I had my Swarovski spotter stolen a couple months ago. It popped up on FB marketplace a couple day ago and I called the police immediately when I saw the ad (a couple hours after it was posted). Serial number on the box in the listing matches my stolen spotter so I know it’s the same one. I’m a several hour drive from where it was listed so I was relying on the police in that city to investigate/recover it. The feeling I got from the phone conversation was that they would immediately investigate it based on the value. It was listed as “sold” a few hours later. I heard from the police they didn’t have time that day, and by the time they tried to make contact it was already sold. Now it sounds like they won’t further investigate it at all. It is registered as stolen with Swarovski.

Should I make posts all over the local hunting/birding/marketplace/forums saying it’s stolen in the hopes the buyer sees it and does the right thing? Should I not do anything and hope the buyer tries to register it with Swarovski?
I’m leaning towards waiting for them to try to register with Swaro. Worried if they know it’s stolen they’ll just never send it in for service or try to register and then i’ll never get it back.

I didn’t contact the seller because I didn’t want to tip them off before the police investigated.
I’m assuming the seller is not the thief, considering they posted the serial number in the photo (but who knows…).

Hate that this happened to you. I would be very upset as well

What exactly do you think is the "right thing" for the buyer to do? I could see them giving you the contact info and name of the seller, then you could follow the chain until you got to the thief. Or do you expect the buyer to just give you the spotter back and eat the money they spent on it since it was stolen?

Under what circumstances was the spotter stolen? How did happen?

 

[180ls1]

I think the more time and space you give it hoping it pops up down the road the less likely you are to get it back.

You know who had possession of it recently, that is huge. I would immediately go after it. Seek legal council if you have not already.

 

[svivian]

Hate that this happened to you. I would be very upset as well

What exactly do you think is the "right thing" for the buyer to do? I could see them giving you the contact info and name of the seller, then you could follow the chain until you got to the thief. Or do you expect the buyer to just give you the spotter back and eat the money they spent on it since it was stolen?

Under what circumstances was the spotter stolen? How did happen?

Its a serialized item, the buyer will not be able to register this spotter in their name or get any warranty work done. The buyer will also want to file a police report against the thief as they were unaware they bought stolen goods.

If you bought a stolen car do you get to keep it?

For anyone buying a swaro product, its beneficial to call swaro and verify the serial number and match the name with the seller....

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Just follow up the chain immediately. The further you get down the chain, the more laundered the item will be and the more you will be hurting someone blameless if you recover it from them.


____________________
“Keep on keepin’ on…”

 

[Cgoodma5]

Never trust LE to give a sh** about your stuff.
I'd wait for registration attempt and watch for a "flip" on FB, Craigslist and other forums.

Good advice.

 

[The Harbor Master]

Never trust LE to give a sh** about your stuff.
I'd wait for registration attempt and watch for a "flip" on FB, Craigslist and other forums.

This... had a pistol stolen 5 years ago and LE sounded like they couldn't possibly care any less.

If someone tries to register it, what would Swaro do? Tell them they can't register because it's stolen, promting the current holder to just keep it or sell it? Would Swaro ask for it to be sent in, all secret squirrel like, and then hold onto it intending to return it to you, thus screwing the current owner who paid for it in good faith? Not being a smart ass, honestly asking.

Crappy situation, good luck OP.

 

[svivian]

This... had a pistol stolen 5 years ago and LE sounded like they couldn't possibly care any less.

If someone tries to register it, what would Swaro do? Tell them they can't register because it's stolen, promting the current holder to just keep it or sell it? Would Swaro ask for it to be sent in, all secret squirrel like, and then hold onto it intending to return it to you, thus screwing the current owner who paid for it in good faith? Not being a smart ass, honestly asking.

Crappy situation, good luck OP.

Yes swaro has returned stolen products back to original owners.

Thread 'Stolen Swarovski in Kansas City- recovered!'

Sep 19, 2022

Hey friends. Had a set of Swarovski el 8.5x42 stolen in Kansas City last weekend. I don’t know how many Kansas City folks are here but if y’all happen to see a pair for sale in the area shoot me a pm.

• Brushcreekbill
• Replies: 17
• Forum: Optics

 

[ThorM465]

How did you prove to the department that you are the rightful owner, it was in fact stolen, and you didn't sell it and are trying to run a scam?

 

[SikaSeeker]

If it was me I'd immediately have responded to the ad saying "be there ASAP with cash" and went to go meet the person selling in a public place. Try to feel out the seller, its probable a thief may not necessarily be knowledgeable about optics but not guaranteed either.

If youre waiting for cops to do anything you'll be waiting a long time.

If they were selling cheap a possible red flag. Think it's likely the facebook seller is the thief, imagine you get a swaro scope for cheap. Would you be selling it on as quick? Unlikely.

Whatever you do good luck, unfortunately you'll have to take the initiative. Screenshot everything. If they have other listing's message about those and set a meeting to purchase some other item. Have a friend secretly record. Innocent til proven guilty but I cant stand thought of a thief being so brazen. Criminals arent very clever so wouldn't surprise me if they are guilty party.

 

[tracker12]

Never trust LE to give a sh** about your stuff.
I'd wait for registration attempt and watch for a "flip" on FB, Craigslist and other forums.

Your never going to recover your spotter unless you get LE involved like it or not. And FB is not going to provide you the information on the seller/buyer. They may release that information to LE if contacted. I was a LEO for 30 years and some companies would cooperate and some would not withoutr a court order. Best advice is report it stolen to your local PD (i would expect that was already done). Report the theft to Swarovski. No idea what they will do if someone registers it after you report it stolen. I would ask when you report it stolen. I would also continue to communicate with LE and at least ask if they are continuing to investigate. More details on how the theft i occurred and if you filed a theft complaint would help.

 

[KenLee]

Your never going to recover your spotter unless you get LE involved like it or not. And FB is not going to provide you the information on the seller/buyer. They may release that information to LE if contacted. I was a LEO for 30 years and some companies would cooperate and some would not withoutr a court order. Best advice is report it stolen to your local PD (i would expect that was already done). Report the theft to Swarovski. No idea what they will do if someone registers it after you report it stolen. I would ask when you report it stolen. I would also continue to communicate with LE and at least ask if they are continuing to investigate. More details on how the theft i occurred and if you filed a theft complaint would help.

I've found that the only way to get LE to do a damn thing is the tresspasser/thief to call 911 on me. When LE gets there, everything gets sorted out satisfactorily then or at the preliminary hearing. Me/victim in front of a jury is the last thing they want. Especially after I serve LE with 10 hrs worth of discovery.