Wantedabiggergarage, a frequent ToolGuyd reader and commentor, and GarageJournal forum member, was recently the victim of a theft and asked us to share his experience with you to serve as a warning. Be aware that thieves are also “holiday shopping” and are looking to take advantage of the distractions that this time of year brings about.
Had a work emergency and this morning got a call to bring in some stuff. Something else popped up and the toolbox was set outside the back door, next to the vehicle for ten minutes. (alleyway, not traveled by almost anyone). I went to leave, and the toolbox was gone. I stopped counting at $641 of the cost.
Please remind people that thieves are shopping too!! I am going to have to try to get some sleep as [our] overnighted parts are supposed to be in, in the morning (quite a drive BEFORE work).
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Never leave unsecured tools or valuables out of sight of trusted company! Also, if your livelihood depends on the use of your tools, insure them!
Blair
We just had an incident in the city last night where two individuals broke into a house that was being re-habed, and took a bunch of the contractor’s tools. The neighbors were alert, and called the police, and the two will now be spending Christmas courtesy of the county! The contractor did retrieve his tools, but the message is clear, take them with you, or secure them.
And for those buying tools, and such from private parties, be careful whom you deal with, if you end up buying stolen goods, and it is found out, even though you might have known it, you will art the least be out your money, and the tools, as they will be confiscated, used as evidence, and hopefully returned to the rightful owner.
uthscsaedu
WBG that sucks. I hope things work out for you. sorry to hear about that
Moore
I used to work in a hardware store and probably once a month we’d get a contractor who came in to reload after a vehicle or job site were broken into.
In the current day and age of eBay and Craigslist its so easy to flip the items quickly for profit that these horror stories keep happening more and more.
I saw a story in the news a year or so ago of a guy who actually found what he believed were his stolen tools on eBay. So he bought one, was able to prove to authorities that it was his that had been stolen and got the seller prosecuted.
uthscsaedu
That sucks to hear. Just out of curiosity, how do they prove the seller is the one that stole the tools? Maybe he bought them from someone else that stole them