stolen gear?

[Kirils 1]

I just got ripped off for $1700.00 on the purchase of a shit rig from a guy in TN. (his name given on request).
( I know I shoulda stuck with DZ auctions) The Cypres was out of the rig, and the riggers stamp was removed from the reserve. The bozo I bought this crap from is not replying to my E-mail. I suspect this might be stolen gear. What is the best way to check if it is so, and then what?
danka
Skydiving is not a static excercise with discrete predictability...

[freefalle 0]

okay whats his name?

[E150 0]

Shit - sorry to here your bad news - there area some To$$ers out there.
Take a photo of it and mail it to loads of DZ's asking if they recognise it??

[SkydiveMonkey 0]

Find him and make him jump - you've got the rig now !!
Skydivers always go down

[BadDog 0]

I'd search the list in Parachutist. Go to www.uspa.org and click on stolen gear. I'd like to get the guy's name if you don't mind sending it to me.
CorporateLawyerDave aka BadDog

[BadDog 0]

BTW, the stolen gear link is under the marketplace link at www.uspa.org.
CorporateLawyerDave aka BadDog

[freeflir29 0]

Hey...I know quite a few jumpers in TN. Just give me the name and I'm sure I can find them for you.
"Houston? That place is full of Crack heads and debutantes."- Hank Hill
Clay

[fred 0]

Also, see if you still have the packaging, and keep it. Save the return address if there is one, and the stamp from the post office... it'll help to narrow down where the guy is.

[mikefarmer 0]

Gear thieves piss me off! Thieves piss me off! Great, now I'm pissed off! Name, Name, Name!!!
Missy the 225 lb. Meat Missile
Sky World

[Strynx 0]

Name plz i don't whanna buy a rig from this guy ever. The net is a very small place, i'm sure nobody wants to run on one of his add thanx!
P.L.U.R.

[SkydiveMonkey 0]

Quote

his name given on request

Put it on the boards so people know not to buy the rig when it's offered.
my mind is like a canopy - 9 cells and I'm happy

[mountainman 0]

Post deleted by mountainman

[Kirils 1]

I contacted the rigger who did the last reserve repack. He said there was someone by the same name in the Houston area a little over a year ago selling stolen rigs. We still haven't verified if it's stolen gear. I am trying to make contact
with the owner indicated by the last repack rigger. I am persuing legal action. I apologize for ranting, but over all these years I have never been let down or ripped off by another jumper. I really think this guy is outside the family.
Thanks
Skydiving is not a static excercise with discrete predictability...

[mountainman 0]

What is actually wrong with the rig? I know that the CYPRES is gone, but other than that, is there something wrong with it?
Just curious.
JumpinDuo.com...come and sign the guestbook.

[tigra 0]

Well, any time the riggers seal or the reserve packing data card are missing and/ or appear to be tampered with, that's cause for a red flag. Especially since this is unfamiliar gear. Add to that the missing cypres (which I assume he thought he was buying) and the lack of response to emails or phone calls and I guess I would be concerned as well. Even if the rig appeared to be otherwise perfectly fine.

Personally, I'd be concerned about buying or selling any used gear over the internet or phone. I wouldn't buy used gear without having it checked out by a rigger I trust (even from someone I know) and test jumping it. And I'd be hesitant to send a canopy or rig to a buyer (or prospective buyer) without payment first, and without them test jumping it.

[freefallin14 0]

"I wouldn't buy used gear without having it checked out by a rigger I trust (even from someone I know) and test jumping it. And I'd be hesitant to send a canopy or rig to a buyer (or prospective buyer) without payment first, and without them test jumping it."
How do you do this? If you are the seller do you demand payment first, then send it? If so, how does the buyer know the seller isn't just going to take the money, never send it and dissapear? I just bought a reserve off the internet, but it was from Tony at Square 1 so I had no concerns about just sending the money and waiting for the delivery. And if you are the seller how can you send the canopy, rig, etc., without worrying about never recieving payment? I am in the process of selling a main and was wondering what your experiences have been. I am usually a trusting person but stories like this make me sick.
Bret

[indyz 1]

It seems that what usually happens is you send the gear to a DZ that you both agree on. It is inspected and the buyer may have a chance to jump it. If everything is satisfactory the payment is made and the gear is released to the buyer, otherwise the gear is returned and the buyer keeps his money.
If you just want to make sure you get the gear, you can go through an escrow service. The seller ships the merchandise to the service and the buyer sends the payment to the service. Once the escrow service has the money and the merchandise, some services will verify to the best of their ability that the merchandise is what the seller says it is. This is where you can get ripped off; how many escrow service employees could tell the difference between a brand new Stiletto and an old Paracommander? If everything is kosher, the service sends the merchandise to the buyer and the money to the seller. The US Postal Service even offers a basic escrow service for first class mail, but I wouldn't trust it for anything as expensive as a rig.
If you paid with your credit card, you might be able to challenge the charge and only be responsible for up to a certain amount.
--
Brian
Homepage

[PalmettoTiger 1]

You don't have to have the escrow service verify the merchandise. I used Trade-Enable once as a buyer and it worked like this:
1. I sent Trade-Enable the money.
2. Once they had it, they had the seller send the rig to me, via a trackable shipping service.
3. Trade-Enable then knew when I received the rig, and I had a previously agreed on amount of time to evaluate the rig. (If for some reason I didn't respond by the end of that time period, they would have release the money to the seller).
4. I took the rig to my rigger and had him inspect it. Normally, once I approve the merchandise Trade-Enable releases the money to the seller. In this case, I ended up getting a different rig because of harness sizing, so I told Trade-Enable I was returning the merchandise. I shipped it with a trackable service, and once it got back to the seller, Trade-Enable released the money back to me.
All in all I was very satisfied with it, and the price was great too. It's 4% of the transaction for credit, and 2% for cash. So buying a $2000 used rig would only cost you $40 if you split the cost with the other party. A small price to pay to make sure you don't get ripped off.
PTiger
I'm stepping through the door
And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

[sangiro 4]

Do not post his name on these forums (or any public forum) until you are sure the gear was stolen.... for obvious reasons! Stick to your plan to send it to individuals upon request.
Safe swoops
Sangiro