i was robbed today.

[tonyvortex]

working at a used cd/video/videogame store i deal with people who have their stuff ripped off almost daily.when i got home today from work i found my room was a mess as if someone was on a search and destroy mission.from what i can tell all that was taken was my halo xbox,slim ps2,ipod mini my DS,about 80 ps2 games,about 50 xbox games and only about 10 gamecube games.thankfully they left me my dvd player and gamecube.oddly they took a thing of trash that was in my room and my cell phone charger.the items that hurt the most honestly were boxes of paper.i cant really tell what boxes were and werent taken yet.i just moved into my apartment about a month ago and still have a lot of stuff boxed up.for all i know they could have gotten away with some of my old pictures,sketchbooks or even stuff for the old zine i did.i have no idea,i just know boxes are missing.my roomates laptop with all the music hes created was also taken.i feel so stupid for not having renters innsurance.luckily they didnt get to all the good stuff in my collection or my dvds.when i went to work this morning the blindes to the backdoor were open and when i got back they were closed.i assume the door was left unlocked by one of use stupidly and they looked in my apartment and saw all my arcade games lined up and tried the door and boom free stuff.im a mess right now thinking about all this.i dont feel comftable at all even sleeping here ,i keep thinking about strangers in my room.sorry for ranting,im just very upset and just needed to get that of my chest.

[studvicious]

Wow dude, sorry to hear that. That just really sucks.

[MarkMan]

That really sucks, I hope everything goes well for you... Have you checked in with authorities yet?

[tonyvortex]

we talked to the police and on monday is when the report will be filed.at that point all that happens is the pawn shops and what not are informed of what was stolen.i asked the cop if in cases like this nothing ever happens and he told me alot of times they find something only based on someone else getting in trouble and ratting out someone else.

[donkeykong1]

It sucks to hear that. Hope things go well with you.

[kedawa]

I got robbed twice in january, and lost about $5000 worth of stuff as well as some very important personal items, so I know what it's like.
Don't count on the cops to do much. They don't place too much importance on solving burglaries or recovering stolen goods. They seem to just assume everyone has insurance, and only investigate enough to determine that you aren't running some kind of insurance scam.

In my case, they knew who did it, but still didn't bother pursuing it. I had to settle things for myself, but at least the cops were kind enough to look the other way.

[kevin_psx]

i feel so stupid for not having renters innsurance.

Renters insurance costs more than the stuff you lost. Doesn't make sense to buy it.

Sorry to hear you were robbed. Same happened to me when I was 12. Now I don't collect stuff 'cause it's too easy to steal. I play it & sell it & put the money in the bank.

Again sorry to hear the bad news.

[atari_overlord]

i feel so stupid for not having renters innsurance.

Renters insurance costs more than the stuff you lost. Doesn't make sense to buy it.

renters insurance should only run about $125-$185 a year. It is real cheap (insurance wise ) and a real good idea to anyone who does not have it yet.

I am really sorry about all your losses tonyvortex. I had a laptop stolen a few years ago. Renters insurance paid for the computer but everything I had ever written was gone for good. Good luck and I hope they nail the person responsible.[/quote]

[jdc]

This is precisely why I don't let anyone know where I live with the exception of a few closest friends. Not only do I have years of gaming stuff, but I also have about $30,000 worth of race bicycles. Insurance is nice....but it can't replace sentiment or cure the feeling of your space being violated. Even so, it's time to look into getting some.

[Whiskers the Wonder Cat]

I advise you to get a dog, because, when the robbers were trying the break in to your house, the dog would of barked like crazy, the robbers would of been scared, and fleed.

I advise anyone who has giant collection of video games, arcades, whatever, to get some security into their house or apartment. Or a dog. Unless you know every one of your neighbors.

Some of my neighbors leave their doors open all day. Only one of them got robbed. What did the robber take? Some magazines, some beer from the fridge and a baseball cap. LOL

[heybtbm]

Renters insurance costs more than the stuff you lost. Doesn't make sense to buy it.

That couldn't be farther from the truth. I have individual games that are worth more than my yearly renters insurance bill.

[Whiskers the Wonder Cat]

Heybtbm, would you happened to be AC Slayer on another board?

[heybtbm]

Heybtbm, would you happened to be AC Slayer on another board?

Nope. I've been "heybtbm" on every board I've ever posted on.

[s1lence]

Wow , that sucks alot. My family was burglerized when I was about five. We had just gotten home from a Disney World vacation and the front door had been destroyed for them to enter. We actually recovered a bunch of the stuff over the next 2 years when they found the people that did it. It was in the country so pawn shops weren't common and ebay didn't exist at that time. I feel for your loss.

[drummy]

Worry man. We were robbed around last Christmas, and the perpetrator took about $10,000 in cash and a lot in merchandise. They took my digital camera, camcorder, my dad's laptop. Luckily, my room is filled with gaming and anime posters, so they must have thought that I was a little kid and took nothing from my room. However, we had insurance, so we were able to replace the stolen things with better things. However, it sucks that we were robbed and my parents are still skeptical about installing an anti-burglary alarm system. The worst part is that we come from an upper scale neighborhood, an upper middle class community with rarely any violence. But, good luck to you, I hope you get your stuff back. I know the feeling.

[kevin_psx]

renters insurance should only run about $125-$185 a year.

Times 20 years since my last robbery = $3700 thrown away. Not cheap for me. - For $3700 I'd replace what was stolen & still have $2500-3000 left in my pocket.

insurance sucks (money out of your wallet) - just my opinion

[boatofcar]

renters insurance should only run about $125-$185 a year.

Times 20 years since my last robbery = $3700 thrown away. Not cheap for me. - For $3700 I'd replace what was stolen & still have $2500-3000 left in my pocket.

insurance sucks (money out of your wallet) - just my opinion

I'll gladly pay my $120 a year for renters insurance, thank you very much. I'm covered up to 20k if anything should happen, whether it be fire, burglary, etc.

[johno590]

Wow, I'm very sorry about that... You did call the cops and soon as you got home right?

[Mattiekrome]

This sucks man. Hopefully the authorities will come up with something. Maybe start checking out some of the pawn shops around town, might give you something to work with. Hope you get it back and it all works out for you man

[Darth Sensei]

Renters insurance typically doesn't just cover theft. If someone hurts themselves in your apartment you're totally screwed without it.

Also, if someone upstairs floods your apt accidentally, you could lose everything wtihout insurance.

[Griking]

Was there anything in the boxes of paper and the garbage pail that was stolen that might have credit card numbers on it or any other personal information that someone can use to steal your idenity? They stole this stuff for a reason.

[tototheexplorer]

Wow, incredibly depressing. Like you said, the worst part is not the electronics, but the art that was stolen. Wish you luck and hopefully the police put a little effort into this.

[Mayhem]

That sucks Tony... I hope in the end nothing in the boxes you don't know about was irreplacable.

Expect a visit from Kris and myself before Thanksgiving to cheer you up...

[njiska]

Ouch that sucks. You've got my sympathy.

[Flack]

Don't count on the cops to do much. They don't place too much importance on solving burglaries or recovering stolen goods. They seem to just assume everyone has insurance, and only investigate enough to determine that you aren't running some kind of insurance scam.

Unfortuantely, that's been my experience too. When my sister's house was robbed we told the police who did it and basically they said, "bummer." My sister found some of her stuff in pawn shops, but without serial numbers it was impossible to retreive any of it. She didn't have renters insurance either, but she does now!

[alec006]

Aw man sorry to hear about that,funny how they dint want a gamecube LOL , hope you catch the basterds.

[exit]

Wow man that sucks, I've had the same kind of experience but it holds nothing to what happened to you. My car was robbed around July and they stole my shitty $100 cd player. The funny thing is they zipped up my CD book after they looked through it and found nothing they wanted, it was the first thing I noticed I was like hey I never zip that shut.

Good luck on getting some, if not all of your stuff back and hopefully the bastards that did that will get caught.

[SlayerX]

We've never been robbed, but my dad's car has been stolen when we got back to the city after a holiday, and my bike was stolen from in front of my work last month.

Police didn't give half a shit about my bike, so my friend's and I went around the local 'gang' neighbourhood to take a look, to no avail.

I tell you, a group of friends can do more than any cops in a stolen bike case :D

[mills]

Renters insurance costs more than the stuff you lost. Doesn't make sense to buy it.

Sorry to hear you were robbed. Same happened to me when I was 12. Now I don't collect stuff 'cause it's too easy to steal. I play it & sell it & put the money in the bank.

Again sorry to hear the bad news.

Dont listen to the people who are saying that renters insurance isnt worth it. If you had renters insurance it would have paid off in a situation like this!

Renters insurance costs me and my wife about 8 dollars a month!

[Gemini-Phoenix]

Think yourself lucky. I honestly don't know what I would do in this situation, as practically 8 years of my money are stashed up in one single room. Luckily though, there is always someone in my house, and we have alarm and locks and stuff. But I am now very paranoid!

I have spent well over £60,000 in the last three years alone on gaming / Cd's / Dvd's you name it... If that all went in a single day... Well, I would perhaps wind up in some sort of three foot by three foot room with my shoelaces taken away from me!

[Austin]

Real sorry to hear that, man. I once had my car broken into, and that was a horrible experience. Best of luck.

[boatofcar]

I have spent well over £60,000 in the last three years alone on gaming / Cd's / Dvd's you name it...

£60,000? Thats over 100 grand USD! WTF kind of job do you have?

[tonyvortex]

thanks everyone for your kind words.looking around more today ive noticed some obvious stuff gone like my psp(i had it in a case packed up so i havent touched it in months)they also took stuff like a 4 pack of toliet paper and my mach 3 razor.im still puzzled that they took maybe ten dvds out of all the ones i have.i wonder if they didnt touch my older game stuff thats really hard to replace since they didnt know what it was or becouse it would be harder to sell.

[Queen Of The Felines]

Ah jeez, that sucks. :( Be on the lookout in case these idiots try trading your stuff back to you at the store. :roll:

Kristine

[NYLatenite]

You may want to keep a very close eye on your credit report in the coming months - from what I've seen on reports on TV, they may have taken your garbage in hopes that there is financial information in there that they can use to steal your identity.

[Matt-El]

Yes, Listen to McGruff the crime dog. :)

Anyways, If necessary I think it may do you good to go to the owners yourself of the pawn shops in your area and ask about the items or tell them personally what happened.

[MrJeffy]

Getting ripped off totally sux. Start looking for boxes of anything that was stolen. As with the Atari Lynx, a matching serial number sticker is on the box, so be sure to give that to the assigned detective. If you have any serial numbers for anything electronic, go ahead and make a list to turn over as well. Stuff will turn up in pawn shops eventually.

Check you prescription drugs and your jewelry as well. And if any jewelry was taken, make a sketch or find a photo and have it enlarged. Jewelry is usually the first thing pawned and, if it's reasonably unique, can generate some good leads. The prescription drugs, if any refills are left, can also turn up as trying to be filled somwhere, so be sure to list those as well.

And as a rule of thumb for the future, even if you don't get the added insurance, always keep a list of serial number and/or make a secret distinguishing mark on the bottom of anything electronic. The majority of pawn shops don't want trouble, so they'll respond to police investigation questions.

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[Thetik]

that sucks man, sry to hear that.

[otterpop]

I never had renter's insurance when I was a renter but now that I'm home owner it sure is a nice thing to not worry about.

[Trebuken]

They took a bunch of stuff. Usually they are hit and run (one trip). Good chance a neighbor did it for their drug habit...watch them like a hawk. Does your apartment complex have a maintenance staff?? Did you put your own locks on the doors? Did you leave a light or radio on?? Big Dog?? Unemployed friend whoo need a place to crash?

Police did not take me serious when I got hit until I told them I did not renter's insurance. They assume everyone is attempting some sort of fraud (I lived in a fairly bad area).

Sorry about your luck. All you can do is carry-on and learn. Work your way into a home, as nice a neighborhood as you can find, and maybe ADT or something...you'll be paranoid for awhile...

Later,
Trebuken

[christhegamer]

Wow, man, that really sucks. Where I live, the biggest thing I ever get stolen is a king size butterfinger bar ( I actually trust places like Preplayed, since I know one of the guys there and even got $30 in cash once :)) Heres a tear for you, man :(

[unwinddesign]

That blows hard. I haven't ever had anything of note from me stolen, although it's probably coming. I'm cautious with my stuff, but there's always some assclown around that has to be a worthless prick.

[Iron Draggon]

Worry man. We were robbed aruond last Christmas, and the perpetrator took about $10,000 in cash and a lot in merchandise. They took my digital camera, camcorder, my dad's laptop. Luckily, my room is filled with gaming and anime posters, so they must have thought that I was a little kid and took nothing from my room. However, we had insurance, so we were able to replace the stolen things with better things. However, it sucks that we were robbed and my parents are still skeptical about installing an anti-burglary alarm system. The worst part is that we come from an upper scale neighborhood, an upper middle class community with rarely any violence. But, good luck to you, I hope you get your stuff back. I know the feeling.

It must be an upscale neighborhood if y'all had $10,000 in cash just lying around the house for some burglar to take!

[LAGO]

Renters insurance typically doesn't just cover theft. If someone hurts themselves in your apartment you're totally screwed without it.

Also, if someone upstairs floods your apt accidentally, you could lose everything wtihout insurance.

That just really agrrivates the hell out of me. If someone broke into my house and fell and broke their leg, well I just think they deserve it.

[InsaneDavid]

All this talk about insurance when, as you said, if your door was locked and the blinds were down, you'd probably still have your stuff. Chalk it up to a lesson learned in the end. Insurance or not, some stuff (such as the music and photos mentioned) can't be replaced.


I advise you to get a dog, because, when the robbers were trying the break in to your house, the dog would of barked like crazy, the robbers would of been scared, and fleed.

I advise anyone who has giant collection of video games, arcades, whatever, to get some security into their house or apartment. Or a dog. Unless you know every one of your neighbors.

They didn't try to break in from what was posted - they looked in a window, turned a door knob, and walked in. As for dogs, they're easy to "remove" in a myriad of different ways.

Moving on...

You said some "papers" were stolen. You need to notify your bank, and/or any other institutions that you may have had papers from. Idenity theft is more widespread offline than on.

Now before I get ransacked with "what do you know asshole?" I've been robbed myself, years ago when the NES was still at its height. Nine years old at the time, and my 86 NES games were all stolen sans 4 of them. A lot of my mom's jewlery was taken, and the VCR. How did they get in? Old style vertically sliding windows with old style locking latches that can easily be forced up and out.

I make sure shit is locked up now, I have documented archival lists of everything, I have the details recorded. I shred EVERYTHING, backup my data and make sure the backups are out of reach.

It's a terrible feeling when you get violated like that, hope things look up soon.

[SegaAges]

I know what it is like to get stolen from. It is a horrible feeling, and I am sorry that it had to happen to you. I was robbed by a company that later just sayed, "it wasn't me" and there was nothing that we could do about it (we were trying to sell my dad's house and some painters stole a bunch of my games).

Good luck to you. One thing I did was to take a bunch of my games to my grnadmother's house. It works. Everybody in my neighborhood knows my grandmother and knows that she doesn't really keep valuables in the house, so they are very safe there.

That would be a good suggestion for me to give to you, keep them at another house where you know it will be safe (which is why I also now keep all my games in big boxes and don't even display half of my games).

[roushimsx]

I'm sorry to hear about your loss, but on the positive side your loss spurred me to finally get some fucking renter's insurance (well between that and a friend's apartment going up in flames).

At least now if someone jacks my DVD/Game collections then I'll only have to worry about reacquiring everything again (which will be insanely time consuming) and not how I'm going to be able to afford it.

[marcus12024]

My renter's insurance runs about $180/year CND, and I'm covered for $55,000. They have a full inventory of just about everything I own, and its condition, along with digital photographs stored on a DVD. All of this information is stored at the insurance office, as well as in a safe at my apartment. All bank info/money/jewellery is stored in my safe as well, which is very well hidden, and too heavy to get out of the apartment with less than 4 strong people.

I feel quite safe.

I did have my bike stolen a few years ago, and that really sucked. Bastard stole it from right in front of City Hall (where I worked at the time), cut through the chain and everything. He left the cut lock and chain though :angry: I took it with me, and if I'd have found the guy I'd have beat him with it!

[prismra]

Why can't these damn people get a job!

Jeebus.

They should cut off your hand for robbery like they do in Saudi Arabia. I bet we'd see a lot less robberies.

[kevin_psx]

My dad is jobless.

And it's not through lack of trying. Don't spout off "get a job" unless you been there.

[prismra]

Don't spout off "get a job" unless you been there.


Umm, I meant it in the general sense. As in: go get a job and earn your own money to buy the things you want instead of stealing from others and ruining society.

[edit] Sorry, didn't mean to start a pissing match..

[Sosage]

I advise you to get a dogAs for dogs, they're easy to "remove" in a myriad of different ways.

You'd be surprised what a good Doberman will do to protect his/her domain. My two dogs actually cornered a guy in my backyard and was taking turns tearing chunks out of his pants when I finally got back there.

Sorry to hear about this. As others have said, renter's insurance is the way to go. I'm not trying to stick my finger in your face and proclaim “You should have known”, but I'm just letting the others know. A lot of insurance is bullshit, but renter's is the real deal.

Living in multiple apartments has taught me, in general, to never trust neighbors. Aside from having mail stolen (that is just par for the course) I've had people “check” my front door knob multiple times, peek into my windows, and in one case a guy just let himself in when my girlfriend answered the door in plain daylight (I wasn't home, but my dogs were...very big fuck off dogs). I also had issues with the apartment managers/staff just waltzing right in and claiming an emergency when I'd (or again, my dogs) catch them. Some apartment managers could give two shits about your privacy, let alone that your stuff belongs to you.

Fuck. This reminds me of how much I hate apartment living.

[Truffle]

Ive had people try to break into my house a couple of times, but believe me, my dog kept the motherf*#ers out!
I came out of my bedroom (last night!) after hearing my dogs going insane at the door. Aparently someone tried to just walk on in! but my black pit bull scared them off.
I found my door open before, too.

I love my scary, ugly, cute dog!

[InsaneDavid]

My two dogs actually cornered a guy in my backyard and was taking turns tearing chunks out of his pants when I finally got back there.

Then the robber sues you for $50,000 and wins, yet another of the thousands upon thousands of frivolous lawsuits that occur every year. ;)

[*TRICKSTAR*]

My house has never been robbed for my games or personals. I have had $8000 worth of snap on tools stolen from me.. but i had insurance and they found the guy later. The only thing protected is the guns.. I have a small vault for those. Sorry to hear about your mishap.
All you can do is re collect it i guess.
Hopefully by some chance they find the low life that robbed you.

[*TRICKSTAR*]

My house has never been robbed for my games or personals. I have had $8000 worth of snap on tools stolen from me.. but i had insurance and they found the guy later. The only thing protected is the guns.. I have a small vault for those. Sorry to hear about your mishap.
All you can do is re collect it i guess.
Hopefully by some chance they find the low life that robbed you.

[kedawa]

I can't believe some of you have had people just walk in to your apartments.
If someone tried that with me, they'd leave in a dozen or so seperate garbage bags.
If I even caught some one I didn't know trying my doorknob, I'd beat them to a pulp.

[Whiskers the Wonder Cat]

^
That is why I have 4 baseball bats in my house.

[kevin_psx]

A lot of insurance is bullshit, but renter's is the real deal. Living in multiple apartments has taught me, in general, to never trust neighbors. Aside from having mail stolen

When i first got my apartment in early 90s I ordered about $200 of blank VHS. UPS confirmed delivery but wasn't there - stolen off my step. Called renters insurance - "Since you never had the package in your hand we can't redeem you." "But it was on my step & UPS confirmed delivery." "Don't matter."

Canceled it then & there.

same thing with my car. Some idiot smashed in the front window. "It looks like natural damage to me - we don't pay acts of god" say the insurance agent. Didn't get a cent. How again is insurance good???? Opened a separate Emergency account & instead of paying The Man I pay the account. That's my car/theft insurance. Upto $30,000 and counting.

I think insurance is a scam. Take your money - don't pay out. grrrrr I'm angry thinking about it. :angry: :bad-words: :grrr: :deadhorse:

[Yam]

Sorry for your loss - I feel creeped out just reading those stories. I was robbed once back in Junior High when I lived with my parents. They stole a discman and a few cds from by room, but left my games. The scariest part of the experience was that they (true story) left a copy of Super Mario Allstars for the SNES between a few shirts I had piled on my dresser. Apparently they were trying to make ammends for robbing a child, but it was an incredibly stupid gesture, as they had taken my cd player, and I was horrified that they had touched my clothes.