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What would you do if...you bought a doll that had been stolen?

Jun 7, 2011

    1. I wasn't sure if this should go into General Discussion or debate... could go either way really. But I'll stick with general and ask my question.
      So!
      I think with any doll owners, as with anyone who collects something they love (and is worth a fair amount of cash) beyond the idea of dropping, break or ruining the doll in Some way a big fear would be to have your doll stolen. And we've all read some of the horror stories of it I'm sure! Tinies being slipped into a pocket, carrying cases with dolls within being nabbed.
      But my question isn't what would you do if your doll was stolen..though I'm sure there is a number of routes to take in that case.
      What I want to know is
      What would you do if you found out the doll you just bought had been stolen from someone else?


      Say for example, you've just bought a new doll from the Marketplace, or off of ebay, and after receiving you happen upon an APB for someones missing doll which as it happens is the same type as your new boy/girl. Then you find the owner who's looking for news on their stolen precious had maybe carved their initials inside the head cap....and low and behold your new doll is sporting the very same tell tale mark.
      What would you do?
      Technically you paid for the doll... ut it wasn't really the sellers TO sell. And somewhere out there is the very unhappy original owner. Would you contact them? Would you keep quiet?
       
    2. I would contact them 100%. There is absolutely no way I could not feel guilty even though I bought the doll none the wiser. As soon as I found out I'd need to say something. Its hard to say what I'd do about the money situation but I'd definitely try to get my money back and return the doll to its rightful owner.
       
    3. Hmm, that's a pretty. difficult question... but I'd contact the original owner for sure and let them know that I may have bought their stolen doll not knowing it had been stolen, if it was for sure their doll then I would definitely try and get their doll back to them. Well of course I'd have to report the person for selling the stolen doll and only hope that everything worked out.
       
    4. I think I would definitely get into contact with the original owner and return the doll. After all, if I was in the same situation, I would want my dolly back. By returning the stolen doll not only do you make the original owner happy you are also doing a good deed. I dunno, while I'll be out of money and a doll, it'd be better on my conscience...
       
    5. I'd contact them and let them know that their doll was with me, tell them who I got it from and probably report the seller. I might sell the doll back for a discounted price if the owner REALLY wanted their doll back. I know it sounds sucky to have to buy a stolen doll back, but no way I'm going to be out of my money.
       
    6. Kind of this....I know it sucks to ask for money for it, and I probably wouldn't ask. ButI would hope they would offer a reward or something. Which I would do if it was one of my dolls, offer a reward. I would ask for all the info that person had on the seller so I could try and track down the thief as well.
       
    7. I actually have no complete idea how to answer this question. By nature, I am easily guilt-ridden, so I would want to get that doll back to their correct owner right away. But, also, I'm selfish about what I have spent my hard-earned money on and, if it had cost me a pretty penny, I wouldn't want to just lose my money (this is assuming the seller sold it and ran). There is no way to put that that isn't horrible, though. I wouldn't ask the rightful owner to pay me, if it can be helped, but I would definitely have this overwhelming feeling of wanting to keep it simply because I work too hard for my money and I bought it not knowing its original origins.

      In the end, though, I know myself and I know my guilt would win out. So I would give it back to the person it was stolen from. But, man oh man, would I haunt the seller of said doll for a long, LONG time!
       
    8. I'd totally get in contact with the original owner.
      I don't know what laws are in regards to theft...but this is what I would do at this point and with the knowledge I currently have.

      First step: get a lot of proof that it was the owner's doll. They should have photographs of the carved initials, no? I know I would take pictures and such. Cross match their pictures with mine. Even better, if the pictures were taken in the owner's house then the proof can't be denied if they can give me a picture of the same room.

      Second Step: If it ends up as his/her's, I would ask the seller where they got their doll from, origin of the initials, proof of original purchase (where did those papers go?), and an extensive gallery of photo shoot pictures. Who doesn't do these after all? Chances are, they would make this stuff up and cannot show me the proof I want. They'd probably start getting suspicious and I would start getting very infrequent contact from them or may not get anymore contact from them. Regardless, I have their address! From there, I can find their phone number (hopefully).

      Third Step: Did the original owner lose their doll at a convention, on vacation? Or someplace near home? If it's someplace near home, then confrontation can be made between those two people and their local authorities if there is substantial proof. I might be able to get my money back from the stealer too! If it's at a convention (especially a large one such as Otakon, ComicCon) or on vacation, and their addresses are far apart, then I doubt anything can be done with getting the authorities involved.

      Fourth Step: In the case where they are states apart, I, with a wounded wallet, and broken heart (b/c I'm only going to buy a doll that really strikes me) I'll return the doll. Maybe if the original owner's feeling charitable, I might get a reward =3

      In the case where they are near each other in the same state, um...I don't really know what's going to happen between those two people and me or if the authorities will get involved but I'm sure the original owner and me are going to do our best to make that person get what they deserve. The doll will be returned regardless of me getting my money back from the stealer. I bet the original owner can really ruin the reputation of the stealer in the stealer's own neighborhood if they live close enough :o

      Though...I wonder. Chances are, payments are going to be made by paypal. Does paypal have any policies regarding this? Buying stolen items...the 45 day money back thing...
       
    9. I agree with her.....I'd SURELY try to get my money back because knowing me I'd buy a stollen SOOM or something so expensive I'd sell my own plasma to own it
       
    10. First thing's first: I'd feel really uncomfortable. I'd be a little scared that I'd be in some sort of trouble for buying the doll, even when I didn't know at the time of buying it. I'd maybe take a day to set out a plan of action, because I'd also want to help catch the person who stole the doll, originally.

      Secondly, I'd tell my parents, because this situation is way too big for me to handle on my own. Then we'd find out a plan of action (calling the police, and giving them all the information on my transaction). After that was handled, I'd contact the person and tell them that I had their doll, and maybe even take a photograph of my own of the etched initials to show them that this was it, and I wasn't trying to scam them, or something.

      I don't know if the police would want to actually have the doll (dust for prints, or something?) but if that happened, I'd have gotten some kind of contact info from them to give to the original owner. If the cops didn't want the doll, then I'd get the owner's info, and mail it back.

      Of course, I'd want my money back, and I don't know if the police reimburse you for something of that nature, or PayPal can... but contacting the seller directly seems very risky. If this person stole the doll, or happens to know they're selling a stolen doll, and I told them that the doll they sold me turned out to be stolen property, that might trigger the seller to either go MIA, and cancel their accounts... and I'd never see them, and it would make the police's job a little harder.

      I wouldn't ask that original owner for my money back, because it's not their fault the doll got stolen, and I'd feel like I was ransoming their doll, and that doesn't sit right with me. If they wanted to offer me something by their own choice (like if they did commission work, or something, for free as a reward) I'd happily take that. My BBB Apollo needs clothes, and I'm not keen on sewing for him until he arrives. I couldn't resell a possession that wasn't technically mine. It's not their fault I bought their stolen doll. On the flipside, if my doll was stolen, I might file a police report as well as post on here, and if someone was willing to sell me back my doll, when I didn't sell it to them, I'd think they were also in on this (maybe even the thief), and might include this in the report.
       
    11. I'd contact the owner, make sure they filed a police report, then take the seller to small claims court. The police should be able to issue a warrant for selling stolen goods so as soon as they nab the person (which is pretty quick in cases of Ebay or CL as they are usually very cooperative with police in providing personal data) .

      The whole thing would be a huge pain and there'd be a ton of paperwork involved but hopefully I could get the doll to the owner AND get my cash back.
       
    12. Not trying to single you out, just want to point out that if someone got a doll that they figured out was stolen and didn't return it, without asking for anything, to the original owner, they would be in danger of going to jail.

      In the US, there is a law against possession of stolen property. If you didn't realize it was stolen it can be confiscated, and if you DID you face jail time.


      To answer the question, YES I would return the doll! After taking LOTS of pictures of the return address on the package and contacting Paypal as well as the police department relevant to the case, and posting all over this forum.
       
    13. QFT

      Receiving of stolen goods is a serious crime.

      From the PayPal site:

      PayPal shall not be responsible for any fraud, deception or misrepresentations by Users, whether or not the User is Verified. However, PayPal's Buyer Complaint Program, described below, will seek to assist Users who may be the victims of fraud if they report the problem promptly.

      Fraud. Under no circumstances will PayPal reimburse requests in the event of fraud or misrepresentation by the buyer. In addition, fees will not be refundable in cases of fraud.

      So PayPal will do nothing if you bought a stolen item. You *might* have some recourse if you bought a stolen item with a credit card via PayPal.
       
    14. I'd tell the real owner, via e-mail or PM, so as to leave a papertrail, that I possibly had their doll, and would be willing to ship it bock to them by recorded post. I'd then ask them if they would like to know the name of the person who sold it to me, and to see my PayPal/card receipts for such, and if they'd like to proceed in any legal way (I have no idea of the legal actions that could be taken, but if I was in the situation I'd find out sharpish!), or if the matter was now closed. I'd assume that my money was now gone into the ether, and just chalk it up to experience. Pressuring for a reward is just tacky - The owner might not be able to offer one, and it smacks of holding the goods hostage. For that matter, they might be so shocked by what's happened that it doesn't even occur to them to offer one.

      As for ascertaining that it really was the same doll, I'd ask them to list any identifying marks they could remember, other than the initials, and possibly ask for a photograph, if they had one, of the marks; "He's got a bit of blue staining on his arse," is general enough that it could apply to most dolls that wear jeans, but a picture of the staining, showing (for example) the exact patches of light and dark involved, would be almost as good as some kind of fingerprint. This is assuming that they hadn't posted photographs of the identifiers already - If they had, that'd be it. Of course, in the case of a doll with a serial number, if the serial matched it'd be good enough for me.

      Above all, I'd try to keep it low-pressure, assure the person that their doll was in honest hands, and that I'd get it back to them in their timescale, rather than mine.
       
    15. I'd do the above and file a police report myself to hand in the doll as evidence. When you find out you bought something that was stolen and the seller was not the rightful owner, you should contact the police, whether it concerns a doll, a TV, a car, etc. You may also want to contact the rightful owner to gather information needed to file a police report. Not only is this the ethical way, it will also help you stay out of trouble, because buying stolen goods is illegal in most countries.

      If you go to the police, you'll have the best chances of getting your money back. The doll will end up being confiscated and the owner will have to prove ownership, but that's up to the owner. I'd rather go through the long and hard way through the police than end up being scammed by someone who falsely accuses the seller of selling their "stolen" doll and tries to trick me into giving the doll to them. (Sadly, dishonest people exist too.)
       
    16. I would contact the owner immediately. Of course I would want proof that the doll was really theirs and was really stolen before returning it, but if it's true that the doll was rightfully theirs, then I would return it. And then go after the scum who stole it with everything I've got! :evil: But there's no way I could be happy with a doll that I knew was really someone else's.
       
    17. I've never purchased a stolen doll, but I have found a stolen doll and promptly worked to return it to its rightful owner. I was shocked that some people actually asked in a roundabout way why I didn't keep the doll since I would have been free and clear and could have gotten away with it. It would have been the wrong thing to do and I would have had no enjoyment from it.

      If I purchased a stolen doll, I would definitely work with the proper authorities to return the doll to its owner and go after the seller if they were the one responsible for its theft.
       
    18. I would try and find it's rightful owner and return it. Legal issues aside, by keeping the doll, I would be responsible for adding to the victim's misery in all of this, and I'm just not okay with that. I would also hope that if the situation were reversed, that the buyer would return my doll to me.
       
    19. Even from a purely legal standpoint (and bearing in mind I am from the UK, not the US- things might be different overseas) I would contact the police, and tell them that I have unwittingly bought stolen goods. They can then launch an investigation, which would give me the legal paperwork I need to sue the seller.
      The doll would be confiscated and then returned to it's rightful owner once the police have finished with it.

      I can't think of any moral way that I could keep a stolen doll, or any way I could convince myself to be OK keeping something that I knew belonged to someone else. It would really, really suck to be out of pocket, but that is what small claims court is for. If the seller is overseas, money can be claimed back via my credit card company, which is why I always use Visa for paypal payments, but even if all that fails... I would rather be out of pocket and wiser for next time, than knowingly breaking the law (and breaking somebody's heart) by keeping stolen goods.
       
    20. You do realize how awful this sounds, right? Basically what you're saying is that you'd extort the true owner of the doll out of money and cause them even more misfortune. The true owner has already had to a) buy the doll to begin with, b) wait for said doll from the company or buyer, c) go through the horrible experience of having said doll stolen, d) go through a period of them beating themselves up over 'being so neglectful to the point their doll was stolen', e) find out you are quite possibly in possession of their doll, f) have you demand that if they want their doll back they must pay you money.

      Just so you are aware, extortion is illegal. It's actually an offense punishable (at least in Canada I believe) with jail time.

      ex·tor·tion ([​IMG]k-stôr[​IMG]sh[​IMG]n)n.
      1.
      The act or an instance of extorting.
      2.
      Illegal use of one's official position or powers to obtain property, funds, or patronage.
      3. An excessive or exorbitant charge.
      4. Something extorted.


      Personally, I'd do everything in my power to ensure that I got my money back, the doll was sent to it's rightful owner (to be fair I'll admit I'd ask for half the cost of shipping), and that the lowlife scum who I bought the stolen doll from was given their 'just deserts' through a lovely little visit by their local police department.