ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area how long till they get killed doing this?

Unfortunately, this practice is becoming commonplace all over the US. The utility where I'm presently employed was hit only a week or so ago. Theives cut a chain link fence and entered a 161 to 69 KV substation and cut many 4/0 copper cables used for grounding steel substation fixtures. A grounding transformer bond was also cut. Substations can be some of the most dangerous places on earth if you don't realize what you are messing with. It probably won't be too much longer before news of some toasted individuals will make the 10 o'clock news. What the survivors of these acts aren't aware of is that crimes of this sort will most likely be prosecuted under some of the new anti-terrorist laws and this "stunt" is going to wind up costing them a fair amount of time in a federal penetentiary. Personally, I'd hate to think that I was going to have to be "Bubba's girlfriend" for the next 15 years just for 20 pounds of scrap copper........

TwinCity, what I believe E57 is saying is that while someone with good feedback on Ebay will probably not stilt you, if he's selling a $1000 tool for $150 the tool is quite likely stolen. It would be quite easy for someone to steal dozens of power tools, then sell them on Ebay, with good communication and excellent shipping practices, thus getting perfect feedback.

-Will

Elviscat, My point exactly..... TwinCitySparky BTW, not in anyway new to most things.... (Except welding... Need pratice...) IMO Ebay is the new "fleamarket", no one is tracking goods there, unless it is Nazi or Confederate memoralbilia... And even then they have some sever trouble with that. And like any fleamarket, there is the good and bad. One fleamarket story I know of personally is that stolen goods do arrive in them and often. (I grew up in a rough nieghborhood...) Some people for years, and never got caught... The fact that you can now purchase with a credit card, and have those stolen goods delivered right to your door, makes no difference at all to the thief you bought them from. It must be noted that all goods have market value. And as mentioned before, when things are priced to move, it should be a trigger that maybe that person does not know the value of the item. Because maybe, it did not belong to him in the first place. I have seen things go for a song there, and the person who got them may think they are getting a fantastic deal. But what they don't realize is that many of those items could be easily sold elsewhere at the same low price, like a pawn shop, but they would have had to register it, with photo ID, and in some states, a finger print. EBay, lets people sell anything, no questions asked, and no middleman.... This is a very well known fact. It is also very well known, that if you burn one name out, just get another. Even reputable persons in the know do that.

Some call it a free market, I call it Fleamarket.

Won't even get into the many ID theft scams.

e57

There are crooks in every profession. Ebay has its share. Having said that, If you know how to find the good sellers, you’ll be fine. I resell security equipment on that site for a dealer that I have worked with for years. They regularly have outdated equipment that they need to “dump” to get the cost off the books. I buy the components for pennies on the dollar and resell them for not much more. I make an honest profit and everyone wins. I sometimes sell $500.00 control panels for $40.00 – All legally bought and paid for. Many other companies liquidate their wares in a similar fashion there. If you look in the stores area of the Ebay site, you will find several major brand retailers there, most cloaked as fancy stores.

Stay away from 1 year membership, 25 feedback guys!

And now - back to our program.


[This message has been edited by TwinCitySparky (edited 05-23-2006).]

I've heard the "companies have mountains of surplus, and need E-bay to get rid of it for pennies on the dollar" spiel before. Almost makes it sound like you're doing them a favor, sending them money!

The Reno area's biggest business is -no, not gambling- warehousing. For a variety of reasons, a very large part of what sells in California is warehoused, and staged here. If there were ever a place where companies would be "stuck" with tons of stuff they just couldn't dispose of, Reno would be the place.
Guess what? It just doesn't happen that way. Period.

We have a marketing system that is essentially free. This means stuff sells for what it's really worth... the prices are neither falsely inflated or artificially discounted. "The market" ensures that.


So I agree with those who are suspicious when an expensive tool, one that is usually company provided, becomes available through unusual channels, at a large discount. To just make up an example, you can be sure GM does NOT have a lot full of Cadillacs that they just HAVE to dispose of for $400!

A lot of companies do dump stuff for free or for pennies on the dollar. When IBM was imploding they were tossing scopes, meters and parts in the dumpster. I ended up with 2 Tektronics scopes, a couple Weston meters and a Dranitz that were simply "surplussed". I did a project for IBM/State Farm right after I retired where we were throwing Hewlett Packard printers and an assortment of terminals in "bulk ship" boxes, bound for the crusher. They told us we could give anyone one if they wanted it. I am always amazed what shows up in the dumpsters at my wife's job sites. That is where we got our kitchen cabinets (actually rescued before they made it outside).

Back on topic kinda...
If you work at a scrap yard, and some guy pulls up in with a van or truck with 300#'s of scrap copper wire. Thats one thing, but you could question it...
If some guy pushes up 4 shopping carts full of unopened rolls and 1/2 rolls of 12/3, and 3 1/2 rolls of 2/0. - that guy is a thief....

Likewise, if someone is selling 30 of of one item, and 20 of another. One could venture to question... He's either a liqidator, or a highjacker.... Fresh out of the truck they stole.... Or the freight yard. And if you think that doesn't happen think again....
But if someone is selling a handmade swiss gold and diamond antique watch that my mother-n-law used to have as just, "Gold watch", and my buddies fluke scopemeter as just "voltmeter", that guys a thief.... And probhably has years of excellent feedback from people who bought from him on pennies on the thousand.

They have a scrap dealer on TV here this evening telling TV 20 that he can't refuse to buy things he may think are stolen because he has been sued for accusing "an innocent man" of being a thief.
The story showed, what looked like me to be, brand new rolls of copper the size of your thumb. They do videotape the transaction but I didn't see the cops busting anyone.