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

I've seen a similar thread in other forums but they were about mistakes made by the company (sending the wrong doll to you) and I saw a lot of people saying that if they were to be contacted about it they would deny receiving it and keep the doll.

While it is really not the same situation it made me think about the same way. I would directly contact the true owner and tell them.

Some people will want to sell the doll back to them and I understand that, pretty sure everyone can understand it, and I think that if I was the person that lost the doll I would also understand that if someone bought my doll they would want money back, but I wouldn't sell the doll back to the owner.

As any other problem that may come from a transaction, I would immediately go to the seller and a stolen product makes for some pretty bad feedback.
Except if that person dissapears in thin air, I am pretty sure the money will the reachable with some effort.

But even if it is not, even if I end up losing money, I would do what I would want someone to do for me, I'd send the doll the its rightful owner. I may try to make an understanding with the owner, but condition will only be made depending on the doll, condition, time, money, etc. So I cannot really say WTH they would be, but something like : "If you sell it can you tell me first ?" would be the kind of thing :P

Wouldn't we all want to get our dolls bakc if they were stolen ? Even if someone else bought it ?

And I'm pretty sure there is a law somewhere that says if you buy something that was stolen, even if you did not know, you are as much of a thief as the original one :/
Not a thing I want to think about much xP

EDIT: As Silverholly says just under this post, there would need to be something special about the doll.

 

If there isn't anything concrete distinguishing the doll as stolen, then no I wouldn't do anything about it. It's very unfortunate that their doll was stolen but just being the same type doesn't mean anything. If there *is* something special about it, then yeah I'd try to get as much evidence that it is the missing doll. I wouldn't charge the original owner because I know I would be even more pissed than I already was if someone did that to me.

 

This is difficult to answer, there's seem to be no win-win answer.
I would Definitely contact the owner and report the seller. However, I'm still a bit confused as to if I should return the doll. If I return the doll, what about the money I work so hard to get for this doll purchase. If I don't return this, it's just wrong. The guilt will eat me alive... TT

 

I would want to do my best and try to return the doll to it's origial owner if knowing 100% for sure it's that doll (owner pays shipping if in another country than me, which sure would be the case). I'll be super upset about the money I've paid but that's not the owner's fault. That person derserves it. I would want others doing the same thing for me too...
And then... I'm not good with all the legal stuff so the first thing I'm going to do is probably dropping the biggest bomb in the thief-seller's feedback thread documenting everything I can to warn others wether I get the money back or not. But hm... I can't be sure the person selling it to me really is the thief? Well... if I knew ^^

 

I think a person is either honest or dishonest. I don't see a grey area here or in the instance of receiving a doll from a company by mistake. I would do the right thing in both instances by returning the stolen doll to its owner and returning the doll sent me in error back to the company. I like to be able to sleep at night. Money is important but my good name and reputation are priceless.

 

This.

It's interesting that there is even a discussion about this topic. The law (since the 1600s) says that receiving stolen property is against the law. If you didn't know it was stolen (and can support it), you won't be prosecuted, but if you did know, you can be prosecuted. And in either case, the stolen property reverts back to the original owner. The person who bought the stolen doll is out the cash, which is sad, but the item never belonged to that person.

 

Obviously if they threatened legal action I'm going to give it back, but I'd be pissed at the original owner. And I'm not just going to go to them and and go "If you give me XXX I'll give you your doll back." But any generous person would give you something for even contacting them about the doll. And I may sound bad, but yes I want my money back and the original owner should do everything they can to help me get it back and not be "Oh I have my doll, you deal with it on your own."

I may sound like a jerk, but its not fair that two people get cheated out of things. Yes, its horrible to lose your doll, you know what else is horrible? Losing hundreds of dollars.

 

So you'd willingly break the law to save a few hundred dollars?

Your price is very low.

 

But you'd have no reason to be pissed at them- they aren't the one who has taken your money. If this situation happened, you would be better served focusing all your attention on the person who sold it to you, rather than resenting the doll's legal owner for not paying to get it back. Losing hundreds of dollars does suck- but why should the person who legally owns the doll be forced to pay for it twice? They are *already* out hundreds of dollars (as well as a much-loved doll), so all you would be doing is making their situation worse, illegally, just to make yours slightly better.

Legally, you would have no choice but to give it back, and actually, there is a lot that can be done to get your money back again. None of it should be done by the original owner, though- if they want to give you a reward, that's lovely, but they would not be obliged to, and it would be very unfair to even ask them for one. Instead, someone who ends up with a stolen doll should pursue the seller via the courts and via the police, and even through their bank to get their money back.

 

Obviously you didn't read my first line.

And thank you for enlightening me. No really, if there was a way to get my money back I'm all for it - I guess the right word would be that I was 'frustrated with the situation' instead of 'pissed at the owner'. It just seems very complicated, and I'm not sure how much 'help' I would get for a stolen doll, at least around where I am. But I'm not going to break the law because I think its 'unfair'. I think plenty of things are 'unfair', but I don't do them to spite the law. Though I would wonder if the owner had filed a police report of there own, while I have to go through all these things to get my money.

 

Yes, there's a law. But it's still really interesting to read about people's opinion, their own rules and how they would act if the law was set aside for a moment. So I think a discussion about this topic should be as welcomed as the others.

 

I would... I would contact with the true owner of the doll and demand my money back from the cheater seller. I shouldn't be the one loosing money in this, but the seller.
AND if I couldn't get my money back I wouldn't know what to do...

 

I would have to go to the police about it, since I obviously would also want my money back. If I don't get it, then eh, sucks to be me. I would make sure the original owner got their doll back, though. There's no way I'd be able to keep it after learning that it was stolen, especially since I know I would be absolutely gutted if it were me.

I like these kinds of threads. They really let you see the true nature of people!

 

Except that it's not really that complicated -- well, getting your money back may prove to be--I don't know about that, but when it comes down to what is the right thing to do in this situation, it's obvious -- you give the doll back whether or not you end up out the $$$. Getting scammed sucks, but it happens, you just have to be able to deal with it. Potential hassle and loss is the price of doing business in the second hand market--it doesn't happen too often, but there's always an element of risk that you are accepting. Hopefully it would come out ok for you, and you'd get the money back, but even if you didn't, the doll still rightfully belongs to it's original owner, not you. To keep it or demand money from the original owner would be punishing them for something that isn't their fault. There are worse things than being out money, you know.

 

For me on this one the legal and moral issues don't split because they seem to make total sense. Deliberately keeping stolen goods just seems wrong to me. I couldn't keep a doll I knew was stolen. I'd want reasonable evidence that the doll was stolen, but once I felt convinced that was the case, I would absolutely go to the police and take whatever steps are necessary under the law. I'd have a chance to alleviate someone else's problem, something I'd very much appreciate if the roles were reversed. I certainly wouldn't ask the original owner for any money, because then it's not only receiving stolen goods, it's selling stolen goods . . .

 

Actually, I did.

I've read through this entire thread, and noted that you and a couple of others seem to think that there is nothing wrong with selling your doll back to the owner, or simply keeping it. Your words seem to suggest that as long as you don't get caught, you are fine with breaking the law.

As others have said, this is very useful information!


Edited to add your exact words:

 

Except it's not the original owner that's 'cheating' you out of anything -- it is the thief. They're the one cheating both of you; they're the one to punish.

That's why matters like this are best left to the police -- and you can easily turn in the doll to the police along with all the required information, who will handle the matter from there to try to ensure that both you and the original owner are addressed appropriately.

I'm with sakuraharu and linakauno here; I don't see how this is even a question. I know that in my own experience, I once stumbled across someone's diamond tennis bracelet at an OT doll show at a hotel once, knew it was real on sight, and turned it in to lost and found at the front desk. Only later, when the owner claimed it from there and tracked me down on a collector's forum did I find out it was worth more than all the BJDs I presently own combined -- twice over and then some. At a time when I was dead broke. Did any of that matter for an instant? Nope. Not a bit. Would it have mattered if I knew? Not for a second. There's a right thing to do in these situations, and that's really all there is to it.

 

Well, on a legal and moral standpoint, I would contact police, original doll owner, etc.

I guess I would be upset when I give the doll back. (Not upset as in angry with the doll owner, but just frustrated at the overall situation.) It would be nice if the doll owner gave a reward, but I don't think it's something that they should "have" to do, nor something I would ask. >.<
This case is different from just "finding something". We would be victims of the seller, just as much as the doll owner who was stolen from.

After all, its not their fault if the dolly was stolen. I would much rather concentrate on bugging the seller. ^^