Unexpected N(O)GD/happy ending - stolen guitars returned! Update: another happy ending! Update 2!

ToneControl

timmypix said:

Hydra19 said:

Awesome!! Glad to see stories like these as well...so nice to read.
Thank you as well for explaining the details, should we all keep pics of our Serial Numbers in case guitars get stolen? How can we be safe on that front? 
Yes, awesome friend too. Enjoy having your guitars back with you, the smell should disappear.

Yeah, my main takeaway is insure your guitars!
But also that the police will not act at all if you do not have the guitar's serial number. I even pointed out to them that they can be scraped off or faked, but they treat a serial number for any product like you'd treat the VIN on a car, and that includes guitars.
God knows where this leaves small builders or partscasters - not sure what to do about my parts Tele.

Just write a serial number on it with sharpie pen, like a boutique maker, on the headstock, in the neck joint, under the scratchplate

rocktron

I am so happy for you.

There are things we own which have great sentimental value, and are irreplaceable. When these are stolen, it causes untold grief.

I hope the other guitars show up. It's a small world, and they may still be in the area where you live.  

Good luck.

PhilKing

Glad to hear it worked and I'm sure that you will enjoy them now you have them back.  It will also be a weight off your mind not wondering about them.

timmypix

So, another unexpected development in this saga - another one of the guitars stolen in 2017 has popped up on eBay, listed by Cash Converters.

Definitely mine - I'd changed the pickup surrounds and bridge saddles, and it was signed by Mark Holcomb at a meet and greet at PMT Manchester not long before it was stolen. I've contacted Cash Converters and a manager is going to call me back later this morning, but I'm not getting my hopes up. I don't have the serial number, I know the police won't act without the serial number, and I suspect Cash Converters won't act without the police telling them to.

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of once I'd made the modifications - I switched the pickup rings and saddles the night before I went away for the week in which I was burgled! But I've matched the figuring on the veneer between pictures, and I can't think anyone else would have the same guitar with the same modifications and signature from the same person. 

I'll keep this updated but as I say, I'm pessimistic.

drofluf

Fingers crossed for you anyway!

Kittyfrisk

@timmypix   Fingers crossed for you getting a positive result.
Your tenacity is amazing, so maybe you are due some more good karma 

timmypix

Kittyfrisk said:

@timmypix   Fngers crossed for you getting a positive result.
Your tenacity is amazing, so maybe you are due some more good karma 

Funny you should say that - I won one of those guitar giveaway raffles last night, but that'll be a separate thread when it arrives on Friday! But finding this guitar shortly afterwards has overshadowed it somewhat.

viz

Amazing, maybe worst case scenario they’ll give you a good price to buy it back. 75 wows on your first post, that has to be a record!

robinbowes

timmypix said:

Kittyfrisk said:

@timmypix   Fngers crossed for you getting a positive result.
Your tenacity is amazing, so maybe you are due some more good karma 

Funny you should say that - I won one of those guitar giveaway raffles last night, but that'll be a separate thread when it arrives on Friday! But finding this guitar shortly afterwards has overshadowed it somewhat.

Quick! Buy a lottery ticket!

timmypix

Quick update having just spoken to the NW regional manager for Cash Converters, which I wasn't expecting! 

He's taken the guitar offline and is taking it off display in the shop, and wants me to go to the branch to see the guitar in person and show him whatever evidence I can scrape together. It's in Blackpool which is a bit of a pain, but not too far away thankfully.

However, as he put it, much as he wants to believe it, it really depends what evidence I can provide. His first question was "was it insured", which of course it wasn't, and I never noted the serial number... sigh. So I can take whatever date stamped pictures I've got of it and the parts I'd taken off it, but that's about it, so it might be a fruitless mission. But I have to try!

Apparently it was sold to them in February last year, and thankfully no one's taken an interest to it while it's been on display, hence showing it online. The other caution he gave me was that if it had turned up nearer Salford, he'd believe me in a heartbeat, but it's showed up in Blackpool, and he "knows the guy who sold it to them", apparently. So either it's changed hands a couple of times (perfectly likely), or - and this is the cynic in me - he has a guy who offloads stolen guitars through them and normally gets away with it.

So I need to speak to my boss about finishing early one day next week (this regional manager doesn't work weekends), cobble together all the pictures I can, and then set off to Blackpool!

clarkefan

Very best of luck in Blackpool!

(Right, serial numbers...)

Chris.B

Good luck with the next and hopefully final step in recovering the last of your stolen guitars. 

One positive side effect of your thread is that it has made me take a note of my guitars - just in case. 

timmypix

Chris.B said:

Good luck with the next and hopefully final step in recovering the last of your stolen guitars. 

One positive side effect of your thread is that it has made me take a note of my guitars - just in case. 

Thank you. There are still 3 (4 if you count my flatmate's) to go... I keep my eyes peeled and it does seem to pay off sooner or later.

This is partly why I've wanted to share my story, because I don't think everyone has their guitars insured or even serial numbers stored - learn from my mistakes!

DeeTee

Just to add on to what @timmypix said, I've got two tips from my professional life.

1) There is an app called Encircle that will allow you to take an inventory of your possessions for insurance purposes. You can organize things by room or category. Crucially, you can add photos to each item, such as a pic of the guitar and a pic of the serial number. This can serve as proof of ownership if you do need to claim. Even if you only use it to inventory your music gear, it's worth it, especially if you buy second hand and private. 

2) Once you have the serial number, give it to the police asap. They need to have it BEFORE it turns up for sale. If you call and say it's your guitar and you know it is because of the serial, that's evidentially useless unless you gave it before the picture turns up. Otherwise the other side can just argue that you read it off the advert.

Good luck @timmypix! ;

skunkwerx

If you want it back and they dont give it cos of lack of evidence and you are sure it is yours, I’d buy it back anyway if I could afford it before it gets lost again, and then maybe chase the refund from CC later if you are able to prove ownership some other way.

how much was they asking for?

thermionic

Would drawing the manager’s attention to this thread help?

SlopeSoarer

I'm feeling hopeful for you and fingers are crossed!

timmypix

skunkwerx said:

If you want it back and they dont give it cos of lack of evidence and you are sure it is yours, I’d buy it back anyway if I could afford it before it gets lost again, and then maybe chase the refund from CC later if you are able to prove ownership some other way.

how much was they asking for?

More than I paid for it in the first place! I paid £400, they wanted £630! Having spoken to the manager, he mentioned the possibility of paying "cost", ie what they paid for it, which was £160. More than happy to do that if it draws a line under it with minimal fuss.

skunkwerx

timmypix said:

skunkwerx said:

If you want it back and they dont give it cos of lack of evidence and you are sure it is yours, I’d buy it back anyway if I could afford it before it gets lost again, and then maybe chase the refund from CC later if you are able to prove ownership some other way.

how much was they asking for?

More than I paid for it in the first place! I paid £400, they wanted £630! Having spoken to the manager, he mentioned the possibility of paying "cost", ie what they paid for it, which was £160. More than happy to do that if it draws a line under it with minimal fuss.

I hope you can find some evidence man but I guess £160 isnt the end of the world.. 

Though does it make you a criminal knowingly buying stolen goods? Lol. 

bugileman

You sure have a good friend, glad to hear you got them back. That never happens!!

I once bought an amp from a guy on Facebook. I paid for the amp and said I'd collect at a later date.....anyway, he blocked me and took my money. So I went into detective mode and eventually tracked him down as I knew which town he lived in. Apparently he was well known in the area, for being rather flakey non rent payer etc etc. I found out where he worked and rang his employer and gave a few choice words. He had just started a new job, so he was not really in the mood for anyone ruining his new position! Within a couple of days the money was back in my account and he had suffered major shame and embarrassment and probably had a verbal warning at work. 
Sometimes it pays to be persistent and keep going. It doesn't always work, but it can pay off.