Where should I post about stolen items?

[Intrepide]

My home has been burgled pretty hard while it sat unoccupied.  Yes, they stole my lead (and plastic and resin) mountain, in the amount of about 7 tubs and three toolboxes worth.  Most of it could not be identified once it is commerce, but some could be.

Under what forum should I post this, if I should?  

Also, if anyone else has gone through this I would appreciate any advise on dealing with it.

[Westfalia Chris]

I've moved this topic to the General Discussion board since it would be the most appropriate one.

[Drachenklinge]

If there is painted stuff and You still have some pictures ... post it, show it around.
You can alos have an eye on iNet markets, maybe some things show and You may find a starting trace.

If they have just stolen it because it is lead - like cupper is of value today, though I didn'thave heard about such a thing - then maybe there is no luck, cause they are not interested in the sculpts, neither for their own nor for selling.

But ... question ... is anything else, say regular stuff, like money or TV, etc stolen? Cause if not, it might be a raid just for the said lead or plastic minis and that might limit the persons of interest, cause they seem to known that there is something to be taken in the first place.
If they stole just about everthing like having a three lorries with them than they might have just doing this ... grabbing anything, selling later whatever possible.

Really, who think of stealing ONLY plastic minis if not nerds like us OR people who know, nerds like us will buy it?? So, due.to.the pattern of their loot You might rule out some options.

[The Dozing Dragon]

Post pics and lists as soon as you can. That way those who keep an eye out for sales may see something.

[Lowtardog]

Also help to say which country you are from mate

[dbsubashi]

I have been robbed twice. Both times it was because I used tool boxes to store my figures. Sadly, thieves see tool boxes and think "tools", which are easy to pawn/sell. (Tool boxes are not alone. Black plastic cases like GW's look like gun cases, and are even higher up a thief's grab list. And cloth cases like KR/Battlefoam/Sabol Army Transport are almost as bad.) I assume you reported this to the police; if not you should. You will need a police report for insurance claims, if nothing else. But unless you have photos, or have marked your figures in some way to show that they are yours and not anyone elses, they are gone. If the police find the robbers, they will not be able to confirm any figures they find as yours without photos or someway of marking. And since they can't confirm that the robbers "figures" aren't stolen loot, they can't try them for stealing them, nor give them back to you after any trial, even with a conviction. They will sit at police HQ until they decide to destroy them. Also without photos, it will be hard to get pawn shops/Ebay or other outlets to do anything. I work in a game store and have seen this happen lots of times. One customer found his figures on Ebay, but they sold to a guy in Canada who refused to return them. (Why should he? He paid a lot for them.) And the police couldn't do anything because it was another country. Another customer found part of his army in a local pawn shop. He got that part back; he had photos to back his claim. But they never found the rest of the army.

Photos may also be needed for an insurance claim. Even if you never set all your models down and took pictures, maybe you took photos of your work area to show the boxes, or have photos from a game you played, perhaps at the local club? Those pictures may help with a claim, or the police investigation.

Just a hint for everyone else, take pictures of your stuff! Line up your units and film away! Then catalog it, and file it all on your homeowners/renters insurance. For painted figs, put the value at fig price+painting value. It your soldiers are stolen, burned in a fire, destroyed in an earthquake tornado/hurricane or flood, even if insurance pays off at full retail value, it will be a long time and a lot of money to get your work area back up, and all your paint and tools replaced. And then you have to start the building and painting all over again. Sadly it will be a long time until you are playing again. But with painting included, you may get enough to cover having a pro paint some things up for you, to get back on the table and with friends quickly. This is especially important if you play "big battalion" games. You may have thousands of dollars of figures, with several thousands of dollars of painting. And most home owners policies payout a limited value for possessions. In the case of a full loss of home, you may get nothing for your lead pile. Treat them like the art the are, and insure them as such. If something terrible happens, at least you will be taken care of properly by your insurance company.

Another reason for the painting price is to establish a truer, and higher valuation. For most of us, if someone runs off with your figure case, you are out a couple hundred dollars. But with painting included, that figure can hit thousands. (How long did it take you to paint all those figures? Then multiply that times minimum wage, and see how much your army truly cost.) And that can make it a felony as opposed to a misdemeanor. Sad but true, police respond quicker and work harder over felonies. You will get better response and better follow-ups from the police for felonies. Every police department keeps track of felonies in their jurisdiction and are rated on solving them. And they higher price will also mean your insurance company will be working with the police to help solve the thing.

All this being said, I am very sorry for your loss Intrepide. I can commiserate completely.

[Gallowglass]

If Intrepide's home has been burgled (and he's in the United States), then it's already a felony offense. The local police will deal with that as they would any equivalent offense.

dbsubashi's advice is pretty good overall in terms of 'what to do now'. Keep an eye on Ebay, local flea markets/auctions, yard sales and any pawn stores or thrift stores in the area. Of course, you should also head straight down to your LGS and tell them to be on the lookout for anybody coming in with a large bunch of hobby stuff that they want sold on consignment.

Any gamer in the US should at least look into getting a valuable personal property insurance policy to go along with either your homeowner's or renter's insurance policy. That'll cover high-dollar items like jewelry, fine art, stamp collections, coin collections, silverware, cameras and firearms. You should be able to get a valuable collection of figures/miniatures covered under something like that. They're not that expensive an addition - not if you look at the cost of replacing all your miniatures.

sorry this happened, interpide. I hope those responsible are caught and your property is returned.

[Grimmnar]

Also help to say which country you are from mate

Looks like he is in the UK or Europe somewhere.

Grimm