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

[Clay-F]

As for fingerprinting....

If they dont have a suspect to check them with its generally done only to make the victim feel better.

At least according to a few criminal justice classes I took....

 

[Chet_F]

Yea whats the use of law enforcement if they don't try to ENFORCE the laws??? I was mugged quite a few years ago and lost all respect for police officers and the justice system in general. That's not to say that I am not law abiding but don't expect me to have high praise for police officers either. What do my taxes pay for F'in pencil pushing? The guy that mugged me ran through fresh snow and the tracks led right to his house. They heard voices inside but did not enter. Probable cause was there but they chose not to use it. Why? I suspect they didn't give a SHIT because I was just some punk kid that got his wallet jacked and they had better things to do with there time. I protect myself now and have only had one "run-in" with a mugger. Needless to say he didn't get anything besides a bruised ego. I recommend the 4 D-Cell Maglite proferably in black. Great for self-defense

 

[LeeL]

Almost the same thing happened to me this past Valentine's Day, but they only got about half my movies...unfortunately, they also grabbed my receiver, DVD player, guitar amps, bass, microphones, and mixing board (I'm a musician, too, obviously).

We recovered most of the musical stuff, the player and about 20 DVDs...the rest was replaced, less about $500 worth of movies (damned deductibles!). Between the receiver, bass, replaced DVDs and replaced front door, total worth was about $7000 Cdn.

The lessons I've learned? My dog is the biggest suck on the face of the earth. ADT Alarms are worth it, no matter what the monthly fee is. Don't keep your DVDs within viewing range of your living room windows. Mark everything you have, however you can (I now mark all my DVD cases, under the DVD slot, with a china marker).

It's a tough lesson, and my heart goes out to you, I've been there. I just hope you had a good piece of the rock, and a claims adjuster who gives a rat's ass about you, not just saving his company a couple of bucks.

 

[Dave Poehlman]

Chuck, thanks for taking the time to tell us of your tragedy. At least the rest of us can learn from your experience. I'm going home tonight to inventory my meager collection and keep a copy in my fire-proof safe. Would writing my initials on the DVD hub with a sharpie help?

Hopefully you'll have an insurance check in hand soon, Chuck. Then you'll be like a kid in a candy store.

 

[wayne lacina]

Sorry to hear bout your loss. I too had my entire collection of over 250 DVD's taken and nothing else stolen.
I had insurance and they only paid 15.00 on the title.
I did have list of the titles but the mistake I made was to not copy exactly what the titles were. By that I mean
"special edition" "platnium edition", "collectors edition" etc. It makes a difference, believe me. I was actually told it is a good idea to make photo copies of the covers to help insurance replacement. When I called the insurance company (Farmers) I was told that if I filed a
claim I ran the risk of not being renewed. I was told that
any claims filed go into a national data bank and that other homeowners insurance companies draw from that database. It will affect your future premiums. I know.
:frowning:

 

[Lance Nichols]

Wayne, welcome to the world of "insurance". You pay to have the coverage, but *insert helpful diety of choice here* help you if you ever have to use it.

 

[Chuck Watwood]

Telling the forum about my ordeal has been like therapy for me. I intend to keep posting about it until it is resolved. I hope to hear back from the insurance company early next week. If they pay me $15.00 a title, I will consider myself lucky. I better get more than that for the television box sets however. $15.00 won't cut it for each of 7 X-files season box sets, Buffy box sets, Soprano's box sets, etc. I have 31 sets of television seasons. Those alone amounted to over $2200 in replacement costs. I have already gone out and purchased a number of titles to replace those stolen. I started an Access database of all titles, labelled and stored the receipts, and have taken digital pics of both front and back covers of each. I can clearly read the UPC number so there is no doubt. I have also photographed all my stereo components, speakers, computer, etc. I am going to be installing a steel door with a steel casing in a large closet in my basement. This is where I intend to keep my DVDs, CDs, cameras, and anything else thats portable and of value. It may sound like over kill, however, I don't want this to happen again. If I receive a fair settlement from the insurance company, I will selectively replace my collection over time. Many of the titles will drop in price as time goes on, many already have. I lament that I will never, ever, have quite the collection I once had. Some of these movies will never be printed again. Some I can't justify buying again. But life goes on. Once again, you guys are great. Thanks for the support.

 

[Todd Robertson]

if people dont want ripped off...then these are the things we must do. I know....sad we have to...but this is the real world....and many of us still dont live there. great idea Chuck.

this is why I converted an old walk-in closet into a dvd vault. double-door, electronic locks, Rottweiler sleeps AT the door, security systems and a gun. over the top? only to those who are spoon fed and think that they are untouchable. wait till it happens to them...which it will. a tragedy is like a slap in the face and you either learn or dont learn. so no matter what anyone says....invest in your protection....and your stash will be protected. pretty simple.

my offer still stands Chuck. if you need a title.....give me a shout out. I shop 2 or 3 times a week. you are a midwestern boy....we need to stick together!!!!

peace,
Todd

 

[Ryan_C]

Chuck,

Sorry to hear about this, those guys should pay dearly! Hopefully your settlement will cover it all.

Not sure if anyone has mentioned it, but a cheap(er) way to replace some of your discs might be to get them through Columbia House. With the current code, the price comes out to about $6 or $7 and some change per disc. Just and FYI, thought it might help.

 

[Garrett Adams]

I believe "Breaking and Entering" is a misdemeanor whereas "Stealing" is considered the felony.

Out here in California I believe the two distinctions are burglary or robbery. However I don't agree that burglary is always considered a misdemeanor. To make a point, if a few million dollars worth of paintings were burgled I'm almost certain it would be classified as a felony.

 

[Chuck Watwood]

Todd:

Once again thanks for the offer of a free DVD from your collection. If the insurance company screws me, I may revisit and take you up on the offer. Its very kind.
I do intend to make a secure room in the basement as soon as I get back from California. It will involve a solid steel door and casing with a deadbolt lock. I intend to put expanded metal on the outer wall underneath the sheetrock. I am considering bolting 1/8 inch plate steel on the inside. If anyone tries to crack it, it will be a hard nut to crack.

Ryan:

I'll take a look at Columbia House again, however, my past experience with them is that they are frequently out of titles and all you get is a paper voucher back after ordering. If they have improved, I may do it? Thanks for the suggestion.

I'm still waiting to hear back from the insurance company. If I don't hear something by early next week, I'll call them. I might not be able to settle until I return from California. I'll be gone almost the whole first half of October. This wait is killing me.

 

[Matt Butler]

Chuck,
I dont see how or why your insurance companmy would drop you after this. Youve been paying them for years and now you have a claim. BFD! That is not a reason to drop you. Call me naive but that is BS.

Matt

 

[Chuck Watwood]

Here is an Update to my Stolen DVD Saga:

I received a settlement from my insurance company today. On a $12,500 claim, they paid $10,406 after my $250 deductible. My home owners policy is a replacement policy, however, DVD's and audio discs don't fall into that category. They depreciated my claim based on a 10 year life of all recorded media. I was satisfied with the amount paid, I expected worse, however, I am disturbed that they depreciate DVD's and CD's so fast. They lump them into the same category as records, audio tapes and VHS tapes. All of which wear and degrade rather quickly. I argued the point that DVD's, which are taken care of, can last for decades. I know that many of you have laser discs that are excellent shape many years later. Possibly we, as a membership, should lobby the insurance industry to have a separate category for digital media. They shouldn't be depreciated out over a 10 year life since they can last for many more years. I intend to post this message on a separate thread if the moderators will allow. I think it needs to be brought to everyones attention. Thanks to everyone who posted in support. I appreciate it and hope we can all learn from this. But it looks like we have more work to do. This has been quite a learning experience.

 

[Patrick G]

So, Chuck, are you gonna start collecting again, or are you going to wait for HD-DVD or what? Glad the insurance company came thru for ya.

 

[Gregg Shiu]

Chuck, great news buddy! Glad to hear they came thru finally. Hopefully, your collection will be restored asap and you'll record all that stuff down in Dvdprofiler now. I know it's so cliche, but it's true we don't really show that much appreciation for what we have until it's gone, and I can't even imagine what it'd be like to have to go thru what you've done to get back what was rightfully yours anyways. Here's to hoping they catch the culprit and force him to watch horrible movies in OAR.

 

[Chuck Watwood]

Patrick,

I am going to start collecting again immediately, I already have purchased 10-15 of my must have titles. I will collect much more carefully and selectively, however. Many of the titles have come down in price and I intend to replace slowly. There are about 50 titles that I will buy in the very near future, hard to find editions, special editions, etc. The rest will be replaced over time.

 

[Todd_Brown]

Hello all,
You may want to check out this company, http://www.collectinsure.com/ they are an insurance compny that only handles collectibles and such. I am in the process of insuring my movie poster collection and my DVDs, The company is well know in the poster collectibles world (my other passion) and is very reasonable and reliable.

Todd Brown

 

[Chuck Watwood]

Todd,

Thanks for the link. It just blew me away that my DVD collection would have no value in 10 years. That is so absurd. I will check out this company with pleasure. Once again, thanks.

Greg,

Thanks for the support. Its much appreciated.

 

[MarkHastings]

Chuck, Congrats on the insurance money. It sounds like it'll help quite a bit.

I wonder what would happen if you went to Best Buy and spent the $10,000 all at once They'd make you customer of the decade

 

[OwenJ]

OMG, $10,000 in Best Buy... (salivates)

C.J.