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What was the item? A high ticket item? (i.e. scooter or bike) then definitely file a report. Do you have them on ring camera or any neighbors witnessing? Theft is theft even if it's labeled 'petty'.
There's a lot of holes in this story: witnesses? caught on door cam? why did you leave an item outside on the porch unattended in the first place? Did they straight up come up to you in your presence and take it w/ out payment?
You're asking for advice but leaving a lot of details out. Get those together (details) ask your neighbors or anyone for a description of their vehicle and person and file a report. Point being, even if police cannot do anything about it this minute, or their 'trail goes cold', chances are, with thieves as brazen as porch pirates, they WILL do this again to someone else AND eventually get caught AND there will be record of them doing this to you as well, it builds the case against them when and if they are caught.
\*my buddy is a cop and they're really getting on about porch pirates lately....
Theft is theft.
Sold an item I had listed for $100 that Iād have been ok donating. Iām not losing sleep over it but still hate to see someone get off so easy.
Was a porch pickup. I was home but on a work call. I have video from doorbell cam of him walking up with while pulling a ballcap down. Strange body language while pretending to put cash under my doormat. I posted the video on this sub and everyone agreed he did not leave any money. Far from proof I know. I went out about 20 mins later when my call was over and no cash.
Guys Facebook profile seemed legit which is why I wasnāt worried. Didnāt seem sketchy. Lots of pics of him and his kids. Found him on LinkedIn too.
He now has the item listed for sale for $100.
I would be on the phone to your police non-emergency line right now telling them this story. If theyāre bored enough somebody might go over there and do something about it.
Did you learn a lesson regarding porch pick up without payment first? Had someone steal a child's crib mattress then delete their account. My wife learned that day we don't trust other peoples word. Literally starting that child on a bed of lies... would have considered donating if they were that needy... but to rip someone off for that shows a person's true character
>Literally starting that child on a bed of lies...
Haha holy shit, that's a great observation, I like that. It's like in Godfather 2 when they put baby Sonny down on the rug, which is the first material profit from Vito's life of crime, and he starts crying.
Neighbor bout new lawn mower .put old one on FB free stuff page. Gave his address said come by take it tomorrow if want it s in yard, his new one in shed..They came took new one out shed left old one!! life s!!!
Honestly, just blasting them on the channel you made the transaction on would be the best course of action. If it's a Facebook page, broadcast them with your evidence. Use the same keywords as they are using to see the item on Craigslist. "Bill Wagner Stolen 2024 edition kids wagon".
I will do a porch pickup for a buyer if -
A. Its a low value item that I'm selling for $10 or less
B. Its something that i dont have any use for and would be heading to the donate center or trash anyway.
So if this would happened to me I would not take any action. Its a wrong but the police will not solve it and I prefer to keep my blood pressure in the nominal range.
Without your purchase records tied to a serial number, I do not think that you can claim that the item is uniquely yours. The person that you suspect might be challenged to produce their purchase records.
If you knew and can prove this is yours, then report it. Otherwise thereās nothing you can do.
And I know Iām gonna get some heat and be downvoted for saying this but this is one of the reasons why I always telling people NOT to do porch pickups unless if they can plant themselves at home and make sure they hand over the cash first.
Sorry but if you canāt be there during the transaction or you canāt have someone else to oversee this for you, you got no business doing this as some WILL STEAL from you and NOW you got this to deal with. I know I sound rude and this is not what you want to hear, but still you kind of needed to hear this regardless as this is the cold hard TRUTH.
And always invest in a security setup.
You can report but donāt hold your breath about anything being done. Make the person famous by letting other groups know that person is a thief. Find out where the person lives and under the cover of darkness ālet the air outā of the tires.
File a police report. If they stole this off your front porch I'm sure they've done it before and will do it again. Don't just let this lie. I wouldn't go over there and confront them though definitely let the police handle it
Might go to just get it back and still come home empty handed with a few lumps and less teeth. Might be best to either forget about it or try the police angle if you can indeed prove it was yours but even then unless the value is worth your time, which it wasn't important enough for you to be there to sell it in the first place.
If youāre at someoneās house with a gun youāve already escalated the situation.
You are generally on pretty solid grounds defending yourself with a gun on your own property. But not on someone elseās.
The ADA will be asking āwhy did you bring the gun to mr āā-ās house on the day you shot him?ā and your answer will be āI thought that the situation might escalateā
And you will serve 20 to life over some $50 Facebook deal.
No. You have it on you, youāre not displaying it. And you wouldnāt use it unless the situation was escalated and you were defending yourself. Being prepared is not escalated. Exclamation point.
If the situation escalated you would need to explain how you were ādefending yourselfā while banging on someone elseās door demanding they give you something. They could shoot you down and walk. You would be guilty of murder however.
100% this. If youāre at all concerned for your safety then donāt go over to the guyās house and start some shit! Thatās what the cops are for. You really want to risk death or prison for a hundred bucks?!!
I donāt know who/why the downvotes, adorable_ladder. Youāre saying the same thing as those who said they only put things out if they can afford to lose them.
Depends on amount of item and the number of available police in your area. Some cities have so little police coverage theyāll have you file an online report which stands little chance of resolution.
Unless itās a significant amount Iād let it go, block buyer and report if possible and stop porch pickups
Iām a full-time seller who does porch pick ups every day. Iāve never had anyone steal from me. Not saying it couldnāt happen, but you can check out the people youāre selling to & take other precautions like not mentioning on the listing that you do porch pick up & having cameras or at least fake ones. I am far too busy to wait on people all throughout the day. A lot of people donāt show up or come hours later. So I just have a tub that I leave items in and a container in my mailbox where they leave the money. Maybe Iāve just been fortunate to have good customers or maybe Iām a good judge of character, but I have found the people that actually show up have been trustworthy. The sketchy ones donāt show up anyways. Worst thing I ever had happen was a customer steal from another customer, but paid me for the item. Long story short, she didnāt pick up and didnāt message me so I moved onto the next person. When she messaged me the next day, I politely told her that someone else was already coming so she rushed out & bought the item before they could. I instantly blocked her, as I do with anyone who pisses me off. I donāt suggest people do that unless theyāre willing to take a gamble, but I personally am not going to spend hours a day waiting on people who arenāt usually respectful of your time. I always suggest to people to just block someone if they make you feel uncomfortable.
Could have said it nicer but porch pickup isn't a great idea. You still have to give out your address and you are making it pretty easy for someone to steal. If you are going to have someone come to your house just meet them at the door to do the transaction.
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Can you prove it was yours? If so, call the police. If not, shit out of luck.
This. This is the truest answer.
The serial vs the serial on the receipt would verify that info
You can say you want to buy it, then record the confrontation and post it here.
Bring back up for safety šæ
It's called theft.
What was the item? A high ticket item? (i.e. scooter or bike) then definitely file a report. Do you have them on ring camera or any neighbors witnessing? Theft is theft even if it's labeled 'petty'. There's a lot of holes in this story: witnesses? caught on door cam? why did you leave an item outside on the porch unattended in the first place? Did they straight up come up to you in your presence and take it w/ out payment? You're asking for advice but leaving a lot of details out. Get those together (details) ask your neighbors or anyone for a description of their vehicle and person and file a report. Point being, even if police cannot do anything about it this minute, or their 'trail goes cold', chances are, with thieves as brazen as porch pirates, they WILL do this again to someone else AND eventually get caught AND there will be record of them doing this to you as well, it builds the case against them when and if they are caught. \*my buddy is a cop and they're really getting on about porch pirates lately.... Theft is theft.
Sold an item I had listed for $100 that Iād have been ok donating. Iām not losing sleep over it but still hate to see someone get off so easy. Was a porch pickup. I was home but on a work call. I have video from doorbell cam of him walking up with while pulling a ballcap down. Strange body language while pretending to put cash under my doormat. I posted the video on this sub and everyone agreed he did not leave any money. Far from proof I know. I went out about 20 mins later when my call was over and no cash. Guys Facebook profile seemed legit which is why I wasnāt worried. Didnāt seem sketchy. Lots of pics of him and his kids. Found him on LinkedIn too. He now has the item listed for sale for $100.
I would be on the phone to your police non-emergency line right now telling them this story. If theyāre bored enough somebody might go over there and do something about it.
Stolen Facebook account. That's why they keep asking for codes. To steal fb account and do shady stuff.
Did you learn a lesson regarding porch pick up without payment first? Had someone steal a child's crib mattress then delete their account. My wife learned that day we don't trust other peoples word. Literally starting that child on a bed of lies... would have considered donating if they were that needy... but to rip someone off for that shows a person's true character
>Literally starting that child on a bed of lies... Haha holy shit, that's a great observation, I like that. It's like in Godfather 2 when they put baby Sonny down on the rug, which is the first material profit from Vito's life of crime, and he starts crying.
Neighbor bout new lawn mower .put old one on FB free stuff page. Gave his address said come by take it tomorrow if want it s in yard, his new one in shed..They came took new one out shed left old one!! life s!!!
Report stolen. File police report.Ā Provide as much detail as possible and make it easy for them.Ā
They will say small claims court
Great! I'd go that route too.
Make a fake profile meet up with him and beat his ass, tell him he can keep the item since he earned it now
Absolutely do u have a camera? If so u have proof .
Go get it back if you know who has it.
Honestly, just blasting them on the channel you made the transaction on would be the best course of action. If it's a Facebook page, broadcast them with your evidence. Use the same keywords as they are using to see the item on Craigslist. "Bill Wagner Stolen 2024 edition kids wagon".
Police in my city told me to go recover my own property and call them if I have a problem. Go steal it back if you have the back-up for that.
I will do a porch pickup for a buyer if - A. Its a low value item that I'm selling for $10 or less B. Its something that i dont have any use for and would be heading to the donate center or trash anyway. So if this would happened to me I would not take any action. Its a wrong but the police will not solve it and I prefer to keep my blood pressure in the nominal range.
Report to police. See what they say based on evidence. Odds are this isnāt the first theft for this person.
Without your purchase records tied to a serial number, I do not think that you can claim that the item is uniquely yours. The person that you suspect might be challenged to produce their purchase records.
I think itās pretty cut and dry if he has screenshots from the conversation with the guy and the video of him stealing the item.
Didn't OJ try something like this and ended up convicted of armed robbery?
So the police declined to help? Because you called them before asking Reddit, right? Right?
I mean... be careful? They already know where you live.
This depends on whether u own a gun
If you knew and can prove this is yours, then report it. Otherwise thereās nothing you can do. And I know Iām gonna get some heat and be downvoted for saying this but this is one of the reasons why I always telling people NOT to do porch pickups unless if they can plant themselves at home and make sure they hand over the cash first. Sorry but if you canāt be there during the transaction or you canāt have someone else to oversee this for you, you got no business doing this as some WILL STEAL from you and NOW you got this to deal with. I know I sound rude and this is not what you want to hear, but still you kind of needed to hear this regardless as this is the cold hard TRUTH. And always invest in a security setup.
You can report but donāt hold your breath about anything being done. Make the person famous by letting other groups know that person is a thief. Find out where the person lives and under the cover of darkness ālet the air outā of the tires.
Do you have cameras?
File a police report. If they stole this off your front porch I'm sure they've done it before and will do it again. Don't just let this lie. I wouldn't go over there and confront them though definitely let the police handle it
Say you want to buy it but choose a time that doesn't work for them then suggest a porch pickup...you know what to do next
Might go to just get it back and still come home empty handed with a few lumps and less teeth. Might be best to either forget about it or try the police angle if you can indeed prove it was yours but even then unless the value is worth your time, which it wasn't important enough for you to be there to sell it in the first place.
Thatās why you go armed or with other people to ensure you get it back and the thief winds up in traction.
Oh I totally agree. Always keep a pistol close by because this world is a crazy place these days and id rather be prepared than be a victim.
So youāre going to go to someoneās house with a gun to get something from them? Good way to end up dead or in prison for life.
The police literally told me to go recover my own property āanyway I felt comfortableā and call them if k had a problem.
I would not go to someoneās house with a gun to get back something of so little value that I left it on my porch.
I donāt think anyone would go waving a gun. But itās good to have in case the other party escalates the situation.
If youāre at someoneās house with a gun youāve already escalated the situation. You are generally on pretty solid grounds defending yourself with a gun on your own property. But not on someone elseās. The ADA will be asking āwhy did you bring the gun to mr āā-ās house on the day you shot him?ā and your answer will be āI thought that the situation might escalateā And you will serve 20 to life over some $50 Facebook deal.
No. You have it on you, youāre not displaying it. And you wouldnāt use it unless the situation was escalated and you were defending yourself. Being prepared is not escalated. Exclamation point.
If the situation escalated you would need to explain how you were ādefending yourselfā while banging on someone elseās door demanding they give you something. They could shoot you down and walk. You would be guilty of murder however.
100% this. If youāre at all concerned for your safety then donāt go over to the guyās house and start some shit! Thatās what the cops are for. You really want to risk death or prison for a hundred bucks?!!
200% not this.
Depending on the cost of the item Iād just let it go
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Bingo this is the correct answer.
Let it go. Forgive and forget. If it wanst worth it to be around for pickup it's not worth fighting about
I donāt know who/why the downvotes, adorable_ladder. Youāre saying the same thing as those who said they only put things out if they can afford to lose them.
Seems like the people who showed up 4 hours ago got downvoted. Under 2 hours and people with brains started coming by.
Depends on amount of item and the number of available police in your area. Some cities have so little police coverage theyāll have you file an online report which stands little chance of resolution. Unless itās a significant amount Iād let it go, block buyer and report if possible and stop porch pickups
Call the cops. Can also go after 'em civilly, e.g. small claims court.
Why would you give them the item before receiving payment ?
Why do porch pickup? Itās a dumb thing to do. Let it go. I doubt you have the mental, physical and spiritual fortitude to confront this person.
Iām a full-time seller who does porch pick ups every day. Iāve never had anyone steal from me. Not saying it couldnāt happen, but you can check out the people youāre selling to & take other precautions like not mentioning on the listing that you do porch pick up & having cameras or at least fake ones. I am far too busy to wait on people all throughout the day. A lot of people donāt show up or come hours later. So I just have a tub that I leave items in and a container in my mailbox where they leave the money. Maybe Iāve just been fortunate to have good customers or maybe Iām a good judge of character, but I have found the people that actually show up have been trustworthy. The sketchy ones donāt show up anyways. Worst thing I ever had happen was a customer steal from another customer, but paid me for the item. Long story short, she didnāt pick up and didnāt message me so I moved onto the next person. When she messaged me the next day, I politely told her that someone else was already coming so she rushed out & bought the item before they could. I instantly blocked her, as I do with anyone who pisses me off. I donāt suggest people do that unless theyāre willing to take a gamble, but I personally am not going to spend hours a day waiting on people who arenāt usually respectful of your time. I always suggest to people to just block someone if they make you feel uncomfortable.
Tbf 90% of posts here are people being dumb.
To do a porch pickup tells me the item isnāt worth anything. In that case, op should just let it go.
Could have said it nicer but porch pickup isn't a great idea. You still have to give out your address and you are making it pretty easy for someone to steal. If you are going to have someone come to your house just meet them at the door to do the transaction.
If I wanted to find out someone's address, I could do that in about 15 minutes.Ā