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My Entire DVD Collection Was Stolen Last Night (1 Viewer)

Terry H

Second Unit
Joined
Mar 17, 2001
Messages
316
I'm sorry you got ripped off Chuck. Thanks for sharing your experience and giving the rest of us a wake up call. I have used dvdProfiler but have not been good about keeping it up to date. I'm going to update now and take some digital pix. I tend to forget exactly how much I have invested in media. You also have me wondering how my insurance would handle it... Replacement value or some kind or depreciation formula. I think they also require "riders" if say a jewlery, coin or gun collection exceed a certain value. I need to check into this.
 

Chuck Watwood

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Dec 9, 2002
Messages
122
Dom,

Its been over a week since I last talked to the police. I haven't heard anything from them. I have heard that there are only a handful of detectives in my Missouri county and they have hundreds of cases to deal with. I don't think much will be done, however, I hope I am wrong. Thanks for the concern.
 

JeremySt

Screenwriter
Joined
Aug 19, 2001
Messages
1,771
Real Name
Jeremy
I had a stack of VHS tapes stolen out of dorm room when I was in college. Alot of rare gems in there too.:angry:

I had my Dances With Wolves DTS stolen about 4 years ago. I know who did it, and he never admitted to it. :angry: :angry: :angry:

I was able to track down two more copies a while back, one brand new, and the other slighly used. Ive been debating about putting it up for sale on the HTF;)
 

MarkHastings

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2003
Messages
12,013
Chuck, first off - Sorry about the loss :frowning:
FWIW I never talk about what I have in overall/large terms, and only keep databases where I can get at them
This is a great point that I've always tried to keep in mind:

EVERYONE HERE SHOULD READ THE FOLLOWING:
We've all come to trust this forum and community, we all know that everyone here is like a 'family', but we forget that this forum can be accessed by ANYONE! I always cringe when I see people bragging about their thousands of DVD's and $$$$$$$ worth of HT Equipment. I've even seen entire threads where people post photos of their HT Theaters and DVD collections :eek:

Since most people use their real names here and also use their profile to let others know where they live, how hard would it be for a criminal to find this site, find a thread where "Joe Somebody" has posted photos of his collection and photos of the layout of his house. Then all you have to do is look at his profile and see exactly what city and state he lives in. I'm sure criminals just LOVE to find sites like this where people talk candidly about all the money they spend on stuff.

To me, that sounds like an invitation for disaster. Hopefully everyone will think twice about posting this kind of stuff. Again, even though most who post here would NEVER do something like this, you never know who's reading these forums.

Again, sorry for the loss Chuck, but hopefully it's a wake up call for most here who don't realize how much personal information we actually post on the internet without any thoughts about how it could be used against them.
 

Rob Lutter

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2000
Messages
4,523
Mark,

You would NOT believe the trouble I went though to find my best friend when we went to college. He had just moved into the dorms and THE CAMPUS WOULD NOT GIVE ME A PHONE # NOR ADDRESS. I had to call his parents who gave me his address. :)

Plus almost all my DVDs are at my parent's house, who have a pretty decent alarm system, and they are all kept under lock and key... plus they are unlisted (and in a different city from me) ;)

So, :p)
 

Levesque

Supporting Actor
Joined
Mar 21, 2002
Messages
586
Gesh! I own over 700 titles on DVD, and over a thousand CD. Just to think of all those beeing stolen, I,m shivering... All the dedication, the research, all gone in a heartbeat.

I,m with you man. I really feel bad for you.I would be so :angry: if that would happen to me!

Good luck. Hope the insurance company will be good with you!
 

Brian Mello

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Mar 20, 2001
Messages
125
This is a great point that I've always tried to keep in mind:

EVERYONE HERE SHOULD READ THE FOLLOWING:
We've all come to trust this forum and community, we all know that everyone here is like a 'family', but we forget that this forum can be accessed by ANYONE! I always cringe when I see people bragging about their thousands of DVD's and $$$$$$$ worth of HT Equipment. I've even seen entire threads where people post photos of their HT Theaters and DVD collections

Since most people use their real names here and also use their profile to let others know where they live, how hard would it be for a criminal to find this site, find a thread where "Joe Somebody" has posted photos of his collection and photos of the layout of his house. Then all you have to do is look at his profile and see exactly what city and state he lives in. I'm sure criminals just LOVE to find sites like this where people talk candidly about all the money they spend on stuff.

To me, that sounds like an invitation for disaster. Hopefully everyone will think twice about posting this kind of stuff. Again, even though most who post here would NEVER do something like this, you never know who's reading these forums.
You are exactly right! Someone who walks into your house and only takes your DVD collection more than likely knew what you had and has probably been in your house before. Usually if I'm having furniture delivered, pest control, etc. I hide or cover most of my DVDs or anything valuable.
 

MarkHastings

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2003
Messages
12,013
You would NOT believe the trouble I went though to find my best friend when we went to college.
But that's because you're looking for one specific person.

Let me give you a scary example:
Let's say I happen to come across one of those threads where people post pictures of their DVD collection. I notice 'Joe Somebody' has a photo of 3,000 DVD's and an expensive HT setup. In his profile, it shows his city and state, with the help of a phone book, I can figure out (within a few names) where he lives.

Now with some time, you can easily find out things from this guy...What about the HT Cruise thingy? What if 'Joe Somebody' posted in that thread "Hey guys, I'm taking my family on the cruise the week of Sept. 8th-12th." - Now I know that this guy isn't going to be at home during that week. Maybe for even more info, I create a thread that says "What experiences have you had with attack dogs" - and 'Joe Somebody' posts: "I don't own any pets, but I know a friend who owns a dog....etc" - and now I know that there won't be any attack dogs in the house to get me if I break in.


Sorry for the creepiness, but a case of every DVD being stollen (and nothing else) definitely sounds suspicious.
 

Brian W.

Screenwriter
Joined
Jul 29, 1999
Messages
1,972
Real Name
Brian
I think you guys are absolutely right. Listing what you own on the web site, especially when you use your real name, could be extremely risky.

I'm so sorry to hear about this, Chuck. Could it be somebody you know, though? That was my first thought, because they apparently went straight for the DVDs. The fact that they DIDN'T completely clean you out makes me think they knew before they broke in what they were going for. The only time we ever had our house broken into, it turned out to be our next door neighbor's kid.

But, boy, have you made me think twice about renter's insurance. I've always known I "should" get it, but I've never gotten around to it. I will DEFINITELY be getting renters insurance as soon as possible.
 

Greg*go

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 14, 2002
Messages
941
Never thought about that Mark.. unfotunatley, some good points. I'm just glad I always mention how extremely POOR I am. Did I ever mention that I don't even own a computer?

This thread makes me wish I knew how to use Access. Whenever I try to make a database, I can never figure it out.
 

Stephen_Ri

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Sep 10, 2002
Messages
96
You have my sympathy. I hope the insurance will take care of nearly all of them, and give you cash for those OOP. I've lost a couple hundred dollars worth of video games to theives myself, and it made me mad. For me, the annoyance of it wore off in a month; yours is a much bigger deal, but I hope it doesn't bother you for very long either. Your misfortune will serve as a reminder for many of us to secure out collections.
 

Mickey P

Agent
Joined
Sep 5, 2003
Messages
40
You know, its occured to me a lot of us have our names and home towns right here on each and every thread right there on the left side! You also have lists and links and pictures of your DVD`s. This place is a gold mine for someone to rob you! Your giving them all the info they need to come to your home town and rob you!! Not a good idea to have your first and last name and hometown out in the open like this. Can this be changed so we are not so vulnerable. We are really asking for it here. Those of you with just a first name and an inital are probably better off, but not 100%safe either.Can this forum be changed or altered to protect our identitys? Its fine to list or show pictures of what you have as Im sure like me you are proud of your collection, but your name and home town does not need to be listed!! Most of us here are setting ourselves up to get cleaned out! Maybe Im being paranoid, but whos to say thats how this did`nt already happen. I see joe blow here has 700 DVD`s according to his Profiler list or whatever, and hes in my hometown. Look him up in the phone book,watch the house for a few days to see when hes home and when he s gone, go in and steal his collection! I dont know if you can change that info in the left column, but we need to change the way this is setup!
 

Clay-F

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Feb 13, 2003
Messages
230
I'm so sorry to hear your loss. About 6 years ago my brother had several hundred CD's stolen. Our insurance did give him a lump sum, and he was able to just buy back what he wanted.

You said something that caught my attention. Do you buy a lot of your dvd's from one peticular place? If so maybe some employee has been keeping an eye on you. If you pay by credit card a lot, then it would be pretty easy to track you down. If someone came just for your dvd's then thats what I would suspect.....

Just a thought.
 

Chuck Watwood

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Dec 9, 2002
Messages
122
I have told the police of someone I suspect. So far they haven't bothered to get back to me. This person, couple, knows my ex girlfriend and the woman in the couple has been to my house a few times. My ex says that the guy was asking her a couple of questions about my work schedule a few weeks ago. By the time the police get around to looking, if they do, the DVD's will be long gone. I am still compiling my list of stolen DVD's in order to give the insurance company as much detail as possible. Believe me, they want lots of detail. Once again, thanks for all the concern on the list.
 

Tom McA

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Nov 15, 2002
Messages
192
Argh. Sorry for your losses. I'm in the "Recently Burgled" club too. (Alarm installed last week...) Only about $1k worth of stuff stolen ("only" - ha!), and I'll have to repair the door frame where they kicked it open. Some small jewelry, our camcorder, still camera, and a big handful of my unsorted state quarters were all that got taken. DVD's and HT gear were untouched, and the dog was thankfully unharmed. (The cops guessed the only thing that kept them from spending more time in our house was her yapping. Good girl.)

Glad I read this thread. Never thought about cataloging my DVD's.

Remember that un-reimbursed theft losses are tax-deductible.

Here's hoping that karma works, and that our thieves get theirs down the road. Preferably at the hands of a sexually creative future cellmate...
 

Tony-B

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2002
Messages
3,768
I feel sorry for you Tom.

To all of you: If you don't already have a list on DVDAF or DVD Profiler, you really need to invest the time in making one. It could come through and really help you out one day.

Chuck, I hope that the cops get around to checking out the suspect ASAP.
 

David Von Pein

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2002
Messages
5,752
I dont know if you can change that info in the left column, but we need to change the way this is setup!
Every HTF member has complete control of what is displayed to the left of his/her posts.

You can choose to put as much or as little data/info about yourself via the
User Control Panel (on front page). Once there, you can change any options via the Edit Profile and Edit Options buttons.
 

Chuck Watwood

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Dec 9, 2002
Messages
122
Tom,

Thanks for the tip about un-reimbursed theft losses being tax deductible. That will help a little. I have been typing until my fingers bleed trying to finish up the itemized list for the insurance company. I should have it turned in sometime next week. I have thought about the dog thing, however, I am just not home very much. Dogs need people. Maybe a stuffed dog that barks?
 

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