Just going to vent for a minute. I had my truck broken into last week and a bunch of tools stolen. All my battery tools, drills, sawzall, rotozip, impact driver, hole saw sets, 2 bags of hand tools. etc. It sure is a hassle replacing tools you don't know are missing until you are on the job and need them! I hate a thief!

It's more of a hassle when they come back for the new tools next week. The thief is only half the problem. The other half is the person who buys stolen tools.

The first thief has the element of surprise. The second trip can be more perilous.

Let's get this straight,
If some guy comes around that you've never heard of before, selling good tools with some grind marks on them and they are at good prices, what are you more likely to do?
Buy the tools or call the cops?
These clowns need to be put out of "business" first off.
Don't participate in thier crooked schemes for a start and if you hear of any person selling tools cheaper than what they should be, notify the authorities.
These people only exist, because they unfortunately, have a market.

I guess most of us have 'been there' with stolen tools, materials, trucks, etc.

Yes, it's a pain & inconvenience and added expenses, even with insurance reinbursements.

Last incident I had was a van vanishing from inside the shop, tools, materials & all. It was located exactly 30 days later, empty, stripped & burned! Fortunatley, insurance helped..but it was a major blow.

As to those who purchase 'questionable' tools, I guess it has to be chalked up to human nature!

Be very careful in the next few months. Many thieves come back for the replacements. If you had any security weaknesses be sure you address those and the next insurance claim could also result in huge premium increases.

Video surveillance equipment is getting cheap enough to worth looking into.
I have 4 cameras around my house into a DVR. It may not stop the thieves but it does make them easier to prosecute. It is particularly effective if the thief is a neighbor kid you recognize. Mom has a hard time saying "not my son" when you have pictures.

Some people have mentioned that they paint their tools some yucky color, like "hot pink". Idea being that nobody would want to buy tools with such an unmanly color, thus making the tools less attractive to thieves. Also makes the tools easier to find lying around a job site.

This can work until you are on a jobsite with another contractor that has chosen the same awful color

Around here the typical thief is a crank addict...

Further, there is a West Coast crime syndicate that ships used American quality tools to China by the container-load.

About two years ago twin 45-foot containers were found at the Long Beach docks stuffed with high-quality ugly tools.

It's so bad that venturing into the big box parking lot is a hazard.

Now that a lot of guys are leaving the trade it can be hard to figure out if you're dealing with a fence or a tradesman's wife.

I'll second Greg's camera idea. We had been plagued here for years by a gang who stripped isolated holiday homes of everything bar the paint,[ furniture, fuel oil, tools, fittings, food, garden plants - everything, including the kitchen sink], who then came back for the new insurance-funded replacements as a second or third bite of the cherry. Until, that is, a local Brit got angry when they wrecked his new pool house. He got a Paris security co to fit high resolution cameras linked to the Gerdarmeries and a private security outfit. Bingo, they caught them all on the next outing almost before they got out of the house and they're now banged-up waiting for long sentences. Now, us being a quiet backwater, our police have little to do at the worst of times, so a 'shout' at 2am resulted in literally every Cop within 50 kilometers homing in on the crooks from all points of the compass. Stupidly, they had kept most all of the loot for their own use or stored it in a barn. Now the fun starts, as the Insurance Co may try to return the goods and want their money back!

WARNING some of these tools have been marked for easy identification by law enforcement officers, others have been wire to explode.