Police Called about Stolen Goods Purchased on eBay - What Should I Do?

Pegadeals on 07/08/2024 - 19:43
Last edited 08/08/2024 - 09:51 by 1 other user

Bought a golf driver on eBay last week through an auction.

It got delivered in a few days, but after trying it out for a day, I realized it wasn’t for me. So, I sold it on Facebook Marketplace for cash.

Today, I got an email and a call from the police. They said the driver I bought was stolen and they've arrested the guy who sold it. The officer suggested I should return the club and dispute my loss with eBay, but I told him I'd already sold it. He said he's contacting everyone who bought the club and will get back to me about what to do next.

So my dear friends on OzBargain, what should I do?

Edit*

Sorry, what I really wanted to ask is, if the police came back to ask me to get the golf club back. Am I the one responsible to get it back?

General Discussion

Related Stores

eBay Australia
eBay Australia
Marketplace

Comments

  • ihfree on 07/08/2024 - 19:48
    +96

    Wait for the officer to call you back about what to do next.

    • CyberMurning on 07/08/2024 - 19:57
      +5

      But first, post on ozb. Oh already….

      • Pegadeals on 07/08/2024 - 20:45
        +36

        Got to kill sometime before getting arrested.

        • Miss B on 09/08/2024 - 06:24
          +22

          Read that as someone, thought it had escalated rather quickly.

        • brad1-8tsi on 09/08/2024 - 07:36
          +5

          kill sometime before getting arrested

          "some time" is two words. Together at first glance it looks like "someone"

        • Hotpotcorn on 09/08/2024 - 16:28

          LOVE YOUR USERNAMEH HAHA

    • easternculture on 09/08/2024 - 17:43
      +3

      Better call Saul, he knows a guy that can give you a new identity.

      "I need a dust filter for a Hoover Max Extract® 60 Pressure Pro"

    • redfox1200 on 10/08/2024 - 18:57
      +2

      plot twist the op is the officer and isn't sure what to do in this situation

    • HeWhoKnows on 11/08/2024 - 13:43
      +2

      I cant believe.the police are spending so much time on this.

      The thief has been arrested.

      Surely the police have more important jobs to follow up.

      I can never get them to do anything important.

      • saveye on 12/08/2024 - 09:52

        They want to play a round of golf with their buddies?

        Try being an old woman, I brought a musical instrument into the local cop shop which I found. It was hard going, because it was heavy. I got the third degree, humiliated, the cop told me I stole it, then said it would be a great addition to their band.

  • boomramada on 07/08/2024 - 19:58
    +16

    So my dear friends on OzBargain, what should I do?

    He said he's contacting everyone who bought the club and will get back to me about what to do next.

    • Pegadeals on 07/08/2024 - 20:46
      -7

      I agree

    • ThithLord on 08/08/2024 - 08:26
      +88

      I swear you people complain when crime goes unpunished, and when crime goes punished

      • EightImmortals on 08/08/2024 - 12:38
        -8

        What crime? The cop said they already caught the guy who did the real crime, everyone else are just innocent bystanders at this point.

        • skidexa on 10/08/2024 - 02:15
          +5

          If your stuff got stolen, wouldn't you want it back?

          • EightImmortals on 10/08/2024 - 07:12
            +2

            @skidexa: Of course. But in this case the person who stole it no longer has it, another innocent party does. So seeing as though they have caught the real crook he should be made to buy the victim another golf club, plus a fine of some sort for inconveniencing the cops when they could have been out stopping murders. It's not that hard really, just a bit of common sense, surely that's not too much to ask for?

            • kiriakoz on 10/08/2024 - 12:04
              +9

              @EightImmortals: Honestly, I'm not sure what you want. The cop is actually trying to reverse the sale so that the victim can get their stuff back. If the cop just fobs it off, people complain that the cops don't do anything.

              Otherwise, what is the point of policing? If you stop small crimes, people are less likely to move onto bigger crimes, hence he's in effect stopping murders.

              I'm so fed up of backseat drivers and couch potatoes criticising everything to the nth degree.

              • vchar on 12/08/2024 - 09:32
                +1

                @kiriakoz: you're right mate, some people don't even know what they want. they make it like when their valuable stuffs get stolen and they are happy to lose it.

                • kiriakoz on 12/08/2024 - 11:38

                  @vchar: Thank you, it does genuinely frustrate me that people analyse stuff so intensely from the comfort of their home so you acknowledging my comment makes me feel a bit better.

                  Real life happens outside of our phones and not everything people do is perfect but it’s generally done with good intention and with the information that they have at hand.

            • creesy on 15/08/2024 - 15:26

              @EightImmortals: Out stopping murders? What is this? The minority report?

              With a homicide rate of 0.87 per 100,000 id say they are doing a damn fine job.

              Also youll find that most people receiving stolen goods arent innocent bystanders. Id give you a source to back this up but its been a long time since i wrote that paper and im lazy.

      • cloudy on 08/08/2024 - 16:26
        +9

        what should occur is if the person who stole it makes good to the person he stole it from.

        Instead each person now is asked to seek reimbursement no matter how many hands changed? that sounds cumbersome and impractical, and does not punish the person who stole it.

        • Ryven on 09/08/2024 - 11:57

          The person who stole it probably sold it for well below its normal market value. And they're stealing golf clubs and selling them on ebay which is like the most thoroughly trackable sales medium. We probably aren't dealing with someone who's making decent money to pay the difference out. Should the victim of crime be happy with being paid out in infrequent small instalments over the next 50 years, or get their item back?

          • supersabroso on 09/08/2024 - 14:25

            @Ryven: No, of course they won't be happy but that's the reality. We allow a basic standard of life so that we don't punish the poor to the point where they want to start committing crimes like this. There comes a point where you have to steal to survive. The whole point of centrelink is that you don't have to get to that point.

          • EightImmortals on 10/08/2024 - 07:13
            +1

            @Ryven: Geez how much was the club worth? OP?

      • Daabido on 10/08/2024 - 12:09

        Give us hell Quimby!
        https://youtu.be/VplleMHgmDs

  • ihfree on 07/08/2024 - 19:59
    +5

    contacting everyone who bought the club

    How many people have bought it?

    • Pegadeals on 07/08/2024 - 20:15

      Not sure, officer said he had a looked at the person’s eBay account and there’s about 20 over

      • ihfree on 07/08/2024 - 20:24

        Ebay user you bought it from is the guy who was arrested?

        • Pegadeals on 07/08/2024 - 20:44

          Yes, I bought it from person A on eBay.

          Person A got arrested.

          • ihfree on 07/08/2024 - 21:55

            @Pegadeals: To speculate, I think your buyer is more at risk of financial loss than you. They may, however, contact you after being contacted by the police. Recovery of funds looks to be a civil matter - no idea what that would look like if the buyer decided to pursue. I'm also not sure what I would do in this situation if a refund was requested.

            I don't think you will be able to dispute the transaction given you no longer have the item and wouldn't be surrendering it to the police.

            Anyway, as originally said best to wait until police get back to you and go from there. I don't think it is worth doing anything until you are contacted by the police. You could also ask the police on advice for getting the best outcome for your buyer, though, i'm not sure how much they could help with that.

            • Pegadeals on 09/08/2024 - 09:39
              +3

              @ihfree: Thanks for your input. I'm still waiting for the police to get back.. will provide an update when that happens.

            • gromit on 10/08/2024 - 07:14
              +1

              @ihfree:

              To speculate, I think your buyer is more at risk of financial loss than you. They may, however, contact you after being contacted by the police. Recovery of funds looks to be a civil matter - no idea what that would look like if the buyer decided to pursue. I'm also not sure what I would do in this situation if a refund was requested.

              That is not how the law works. As the seller of stolen goods (even unknowingly) he will be required to refund the money. sadly he is the only person really at risk of financial loss as it will be up to ebay or the thief to refund him.

  • JIMB0 on 07/08/2024 - 20:12
    +51

    Is this still available?

    • Pegadeals on 07/08/2024 - 20:15
      +19

      Yes, are you still interested?

      • CyberMurning on 07/08/2024 - 20:33
        +11

        Are you the thief or the police? My answer depends on that

        • Pegadeals on 07/08/2024 - 20:46
          +11

          Neither, but cash only.

          • CyberMurning on 07/08/2024 - 21:13
            +6

            @Pegadeals: ah if not then can i offer payment by western union, it is safe and fast. if you dont have account with them, please send me your ID and i will open one for you. absolutely free

          • IpGem on 09/08/2024 - 11:08

            @Pegadeals: And i can offer via Nigerian prince

      • 87percent on 08/08/2024 - 18:22

        Please give me your home address and I’ll come pick it up

    • Bignudge on 08/08/2024 - 09:54

      Is the price neogotiable?

  • Dollar General on 07/08/2024 - 20:16
    +10

    Get yourself a suit and tie
    And get your hair cut way up high
    Get yourself a lawyer, son
    You're gonna need a real good one

  • sumyungguy on 07/08/2024 - 20:33
    +1

    The police requested you recover the stolen merch. You're asking whether you should accede to their request? Cooperating may reduce your sentence.

    • Pegadeals on 07/08/2024 - 20:48

      I have no problem cooperating.

      What if the person I sold it to on Marketplace doesn’t?

      • sumyungguy on 07/08/2024 - 20:53
        +3

        Neither of you were aware the item was stolen so you haven't commited an offence. Imagine it was your stolen driver. Would you want others to assist the police to recover it?

          • mapax on 08/08/2024 - 15:19

            @iguana: Whilst golf is full of privileged profanities, there are public golf courses for the poors.

    • brad1-8tsi on 09/08/2024 - 07:41
      +3

      The police requested you recover the stolen merch.

      Police did not request the OP to do that. They asked for the merch back and the OP couldn't comply as they had on sold it. Police said they would contact everyone that bought the club.

      It's a police issue for the police to act on.

  • Empharand on 07/08/2024 - 20:40

    They said the driver I bought was stolen and they've arrested the guy who sold it

    So, I sold it on Facebook Marketplace for cash.

    So…… who's going to tell him?
    Whoops!

    • Pegadeals on 07/08/2024 - 20:45
      +3

      How was I suppose to know the item I bought off eBay was stolen goods?

      • Empharand on 07/08/2024 - 20:50

        Here you go. Good luck!

        • Pegadeals on 07/08/2024 - 21:45

          Any video to help protect my back side?

          • ihfree on 07/08/2024 - 21:55

            @Pegadeals: Maybe a watch of Oz

          • Empharand on 08/08/2024 - 00:14

            @Pegadeals:

            Any video to help protect my back side?

            Here you go fam. You won't be able to bring one of these into prison but hopefully you can make one from whatever you have access to within the prison

          • happydude on 08/08/2024 - 12:36

            @Pegadeals: What were the sellers ebay reviews like?

            • Pegadeals on 09/08/2024 - 09:40

              @happydude: Not too sure, I think there were about 12 stars beside his username. Also, I won the item via auction so everything seemed normal.

  • Wiadro on 07/08/2024 - 20:43
    +3

    bikies

  • Ozbar Gain on 07/08/2024 - 21:07

    Why are you so worried. Did you know it was stolen?

    • jv on 07/08/2024 - 23:57
      -5

      "In Victoria, a person found guilty of handling stolen goods under section 88 of the Crimes Act 1958 is liable to 15 years imprisonment."

      • pulpfiction on 09/08/2024 - 13:37
        +2

        Incorrect: This applies if you "receive goods knowing or believing them to be stolen."

        https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/ca195…

        • jv on 09/08/2024 - 14:04
          -8

          Incorrect:

          No, my statement is correct.

          Your comment is irrelevant to what I said.

          • howcan on 09/08/2024 - 15:24
            +3

            @jv: It's not irrelevant. Sub-section 1 defines the act of handling stolen goods. If they weren't aware the goods were stolen then they do not meet the criteria for the offence of handling stolen goods, so sub-section 2 which you quoted (which defines the imprisonment penalty) doesn't apply.

            • jv on 09/08/2024 - 18:50
              -1

              @howcan:

              It's not irrelevant.

              Yes it is… It has nothing to do with my statement.

              Your statement is totally irrelevant if you read mine properly…

  • Ozbar Gain on 07/08/2024 - 21:07
    +17

    Drive it like it was stolen

    • Pegadeals on 09/08/2024 - 09:41
      +1

      Would've gone 310 meters if I knew it was stolen.

  • easternculture on 07/08/2024 - 21:20
    +1

    Make sure you dont drop that soap bar in prison showers. As Ice Cube says, BBC aint good for your health.

    • Empharand on 08/08/2024 - 00:11

      Since when is Ice Cube a physician? I'm going to need an expert opinion here

      • mantra on 08/08/2024 - 15:00
        +1

        Dr. Dre

        also, might get lucky; might be ABC, SBC or MBC

        they're more ABC than BBC but no matter which they mostly pose same risk for your health

    • Stuj on 08/08/2024 - 06:42
      -1

      Sounds to me that you have a unfulfilled fantasy there

  • dtc on 07/08/2024 - 21:56
    +1

    There are two (well three) issues

    criminal - you didnt know it was stolen so no criminal act in buying nor in selling

    civil - the law on this is a bit complex. On the whole, if you buy stolen property then the 'real' owner is entitled to take the property back and if you are out of pocket, your recourse is against the person you bought it from ie the thief. Reality is that you are out of pocket. However the rules of FB marketplace and ebay may change that general legal position. So the person you sold it to may have a right against you under FB marketplace rules (I havent read them) because you sold the person stolen goods (even though you werent aware it was stolen). Dont know the answer to this but its your biggest risk. ie the person you sold it to gets their money back from you (or from FB who claims it from you), you then have to get your money back from the seller or ebay. Or perhaps the person who bought it just has to suck it up and leave you angry FB messages.

    police - just co operate with them.

  • El cheepo on 08/08/2024 - 00:10
    +4

    He said he's contacting everyone who bought the club and will get back to me about what to do next.

    He is probably never calling back again.

    They barely have time to track the criminals, they ain’t gonna try track a golf club down.

  • sween64 on 08/08/2024 - 00:35
    +5

    Did you make a profit?

  • morse on 08/08/2024 - 04:42
    +19

    Are you sure you’re actually speaking to the police? This sounds like some kind of scam

    • pegaxs on 08/08/2024 - 08:22
      +22

      Came here to say the exact same thing. This just reeks of scam. Police usually do house calls to investigate and question people or ask you to come down to the station to make a statement…

      And police, chasing a golf club? Friend recently had a motorcycle stolen and they knew exactly where it was (gps tracker) and the police could not give a shit over a $20k motorcycle, and here the police are chasing up a single second hand golf club?

      • leiiv on 08/08/2024 - 11:27
        +5

        Yeah that's so unlikely. But it may also depend on who owns the stolen goods. If the victim is just a commoner, they won't give a sht. On the other hand, if the victim is a police commissioner or a high profile politician..

      • happydude on 08/08/2024 - 12:49
        +2

        I would say they have arrested the alleged offender and found the eBay account or vice versa. The club has to part of a bigger cache of stolen goods being pushed through eBay.

        To load up the offender will more charges they probably need to work back though the goods.

        But if this is about a single club it does seem to be out of character for police to care.

    • Pegadeals on 09/08/2024 - 09:46

      I initially received an email and thought it might be a scam, but it ended with @police.vic.gov.au, and I also verified the officer’s name through Google. Everything seemed credible.

      I didn’t respond to the email, but later received a call from a No Caller ID, where the caller identified themselves as the officer I had looked up.

      I’ll follow Bignudge’s advice and confirm the officer’s identity before engaging further when they call next time.

  • Danstar on 08/08/2024 - 08:08
    +2

    How did the police get your email and phone number so quick?

    As you bought it from ebay; it's not something they seller would've had handy. As you've said, all this seemed to have happened in a few days.

    I mean most serious crimes takes them week if not months to even start investigating.

    • Pegadeals on 09/08/2024 - 09:47

      Apparently the arrested suspect gave out his ebay account which contains all the information of every buyer that bought golf clubs from him.

  • onetwothreefour on 08/08/2024 - 09:10
    +4

    Did the club have any blood stains on it?

  • Bignudge on 08/08/2024 - 09:56
    +14

    Tbh, it sounds like a scam. Ask what the cop's name is and which station they're from. Then directly call up the station using the official number (not the number they give you).

    That should really clear things up.

    • askbargain on 08/08/2024 - 11:46
      +1

      big tell if the police are asking you to return it to the seller's address

      • onetwothreefour on 08/08/2024 - 12:24
        +1

        Also why would the cops tell op to return the club back to the person who has been arrested for stealing the club? Makes no sense.

        • ihfree on 08/08/2024 - 13:08

          @Pegadeals Can you clarify?

          I assume you're being asked to surrender the item at a police station? and then being told to dispute the transaction through eBay?

          • Pegadeals on 09/08/2024 - 10:00
            +2

            @ihfree: The officer did try to ask me to surrender the item to them and asked me to contact Ebay for a refund.

            As soon as I told him I don't have the club anymore, he said he will get back to me.

            TBH, I don't think Ebay is going to do anything even if I surrender the item.

    • altomic on 08/08/2024 - 16:51

      Sergeant Peterson, Chicago Police

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join