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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that those who buy stolen good are...

68 replies

HelpMeGetOutOfHere · 01/12/2014 13:48

one of the lowest people in society? Bloke at work today boasting bout his new ps4 he brought for £200 last night. No box no cables, so obviously stolen, I said as much and he shrugged his shoulders.

I hope that the ps4 locks up when connected and he can't play it. To knowingly buy something that has been stolen is awful. It shoes a complete lack of morals. What about the person its been stolen from? Some poor kid whos parents can't afford to replace it, and aren't insured. Or even if its from a multi millionaires house its still disgusting.

Apparently my thinking is skewed because I've been burgled twice and know the devastation that it can cause, regardless of insurance status. Its not just the missing items is the trauma of having some unkown rifling through your belongings and removing your safe haven

OP posts:
Original poster
HelpMeGetOutOfHere · 01/12/2014 13:48

apologies for the typos. combination of needing a new keyboard and feeling quite angry.

OP posts:
FlossyMoo · 01/12/2014 13:50

YANBU regarding the handling of stolen goods.

NeedsAsockamnesty · 01/12/2014 13:50

Its pretty low.

ShatnersBassoon · 01/12/2014 13:52

There are certainly lower echelons of society, but I do agree that it's a really shitty selfish thing to do.

BuzzardBird · 01/12/2014 13:53

Of course you are right, that is why it is a crime. You can report if you feel strongly.

DoraGora · 01/12/2014 13:55

It's pretty low. But, I'm not wild about a society which feels the need to own endless stupid junk, either. There was a country somewhere in Eastern Europe, long ago, where the people were too poor to own much and the ruler stuck thieves on spikes. He then left jewels scattered in public places and no one dared disturb them. I'm not sure whether or not that was progress.

Original poster
HelpMeGetOutOfHere · 01/12/2014 18:45

Sorry I posted and ran. Work got busy.

This is a msn who boasts he just inherited tens of thousands of pounds so not short of cash.

I know there are worse things. Such as the person who committed the burglary, murders, rapists etc. But if people like this didn't buy the stolen good surely that would stop some people stealing?

OP posts:
grumpyoldgitagain · 01/12/2014 18:48

In the eyes of the law he is worse than the burglar

If people didn't buy knowingly stolen goods then the thieving bastards wouldn't steal as there would be no market for the stuff they stole

Original poster
HelpMeGetOutOfHere · 01/12/2014 19:11

That makes sense grumpy.

I'm not brave enough to 'grass' on him.

OP posts:
FreeSpirit89 · 01/12/2014 20:26

Unless there stealing it for themselves, then no way to really stop the supply and demand aspect.

Especially booze from shops

EatShitDezza · 01/12/2014 20:28

YABU

I think there are people lower, you know like murderers maybe.

We used to get shop lifters knocking on our door. You could have root round the back of the van.

motherofmonster · 01/12/2014 20:29

No its horrible.
but i do have a lower opinion of someone who buys stolen goods when they have obviously came from someone's home, than someone who buys something that 'fell off the back of a lorry'

cruikshank · 01/12/2014 20:30

I think it depends where it was stolen from. If from a house then yes that's low. If from a shop, meh. I'm sure that's a hangover from my adolescent 'sticking it to the man' days but that's how I see it. I can't get irate about corporations losing money in the age of total inequality that we're living in. I can, however, get very angry indeed about people having things stolen that they've worked hard to buy and probably can't afford to replace. So in the case of the man in the OP, I would say that yes he's pretty fucking low - the burglars wouldn't be stealing the stuff if they didn't have willing amoral wankers like him to off-load it onto.

NewNamePlease · 01/12/2014 20:33

It's the same as stealing just without the risks really. If people stopped buying stolen goods a lot of stuff would stop being stolen.
If I knew someone who did it I would report. Things like ps4 must have reg number etc?

NewNamePlease · 01/12/2014 20:36

You do realise cruick that if we all stole from the man then he would not be able to employ or pay anyone? Stealing from a shop is still stealing for eg. retail managers in some stores get bonuses reliant on stock takes only being down by a certain %. Would you happily go to a shop managers home and steal stuff? It's the same thing.

cruikshank · 01/12/2014 20:39

I do realise that, yes, newname, but given that capitalism as it stands today is failing practically everyone involved in its shoddy little dance, including millions of people in Western nations and that's before you even get to the majority of people in the world, I can't get too shoulders-on about supporting it.

cruikshank · 01/12/2014 20:42

Also, lots of people have got a number. Some of them steal stuff from shops. Some of them deal arms. Some of them dodge taxes. Some of them produce goods in factories where people will die as a result of their working conditions, having lived an existence of grinding, all-pervasive poverty before then. Only one group of those are likely to be held to account for their actions.

jakesmith · 01/12/2014 20:43

Pathetic attitude it's the same crime no matter where it was stolen from, you need to grow up.

cruikshank · 01/12/2014 20:50

Interesting. What does it matter to you if I 'grow up' or not? I'm not nicking your PS4 or whatever, am I? Do you feel hurt/threatened/angry just because I hold a different view to you?

Original poster
HelpMeGetOutOfHere · 01/12/2014 20:53

eatshitdezza you obviously didn't read my update.

I do think stealing is stealing regardless of where it's from. I'd have a problem if he was boasting about buying a shoplifted ps4 too.

OP posts:
Uptheairymountain · 01/12/2014 20:55

I get where you're coming from, cruikshank. Shoplifters will probably go to prison but the others on your list have a good chance of a knighthood.

I feel guilty at the moment though because I bought dd a pair of new M & S snowboots from someone I genuinely thought was a legit private seller. She's just been arrested for shoplifting armfuls of clothes so they must have been stolen too. Although I obviously don't feel guilty enough to hand them in to the police Hmm.

Bulbasaur · 01/12/2014 21:06

I agree, that people that buy stolen goods are the worst.

Are you sure it was stolen? Sometimes people do pawn things off because they are genuinely falling behind on bills.

I would think if you have the time to steal the PS4, you'd grab the connector chord you had to unhook to detach it in the first place.

If he bought a PS4 that cheap without first hooking it up to make sure it worked, he's an idiot. I'd be suspicious that it was a lemon.

pauline6703 · 01/12/2014 21:21

I had a TV stolen from my home and the thief simply cut all the cables. In my opinion the people who buy stolen gods should go to jail for long sentences. We need to stop housebreaking by stopping the demand for the goods that are stolen.

cricketpitch · 01/12/2014 21:27

I agree. It is so much more difficult now - stuff just goes on ebay and is really difficult to track. I've bought stuff and always assumed it was legit but in reality how would you know? Being burgled is heartbreaking. Horrible. And so, if you know something is stolen, you shouldn't buy it.

DoraGora · 01/12/2014 21:30

I don't know who buys stuff on Ebay with cut cables sticking out the back.

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