SCREAMING STONE
Thousands of Musicians
Helping Other Musicians Get Back Their Stolen Instruments
Music instruments should be sacred and protected - every person of every nationality - including thieves, criminals, members of gangs and members of the mafia - all listen to music. Over 1 million instruments are stolen from musicians in the United States every year - and less than 2% are recovered and returned to the original owner.
After thieves stole my Minarik Lotus Gold Top electric guitar and the police said there was very little chance of me getting it back - I decided to do something. Realizing we can't just ask the thieves to stop stealing, but we can make it more difficult for them to sell stolen instruments by publicizing stolen instruments, I started distributing stolen instrument information to thousands of musicians on myspace, harmony-central, and numerous music and musician message boards. It's the musicians who have seen the messages that have actually found the stolen instruments - helping recover over $100,00 in stolen gear during the first three months!
Screaming Stone Stolen Music Instrument Recovery Project started with one musician and has grown to thousands of musicians nationwide helping to recover other musicians stolen instruments.
Please help spread the word - millions of musicians will thank you. If you want to help reduce instrument theft - spread the word - link to the stolen list on this site, print out the list and distribute it at gigs, copy the list and post it on your myspace or website - whatever - the more musicians we have knowing about the stolen instrument list, the better chance we have at reducing instrument theft.
If you own a pawn shop or used instrument store, please help musicians get back thier stolen instruments. We don't care what else you do - just help us get back the stolen instruments.
Help the cause - spread the word.
FAQ
If I reported the theft, don't the police have a better chance of finding it?
The police recover less than 3% of stolen instruments/music gear. I think the reasons are (1) low priority so they really are not looking for your stolen instrument (2) their system mainly relies on serial numbers which can be altered or subject to human data entry error (3) stolen instruments can be easily sold online bypassing the police - and this is really where we can make a change. Musicians are the buyers - we have a better chance of recovering stolen gear than the police. We need to make sure what we are buying is not stolen - and help other musicians get their gear back by keeping an eye out for stolen gear.
How do I verify my ownership? And what if I can't?
Registration with the manufacturer helps. If you purchased the guitar from an authorized dealer or used instrument shop, they will have a record of receipts. Considering receipts can be faked, if the buyer really wants to confirm that you are the owner, have them call the store. If you bought it used from an individual, did they provide you with any proof of ownership? If not, are you sure it's not stolen? It sucks if you can't provide evidence of ownership, but here's the gig - we have to do this. Do you want someone buying the instrument someone just stole from you? If you really need help verifying your ownership, let us know.
Stolen instruments are cheap. I can't afford new gear.
Then you probably can't afford to replace your gear when it's stolen - same as the person whose gear was stolen in the first place.
What about RFID technology?
RFID, Radio Frequency Identification Detection, is where you install a device into the instrument so that if it's stolen it can be identified. That's great. But the problem is finding the instrument. We need more people looking for stolen gear so that we can actually find it and get it back. (Note: Carvin is installing the SNAGG RFID in all of their guitars. If you are buying a Carvin, please check the SNAGG database.)
There's already many other sites that people post stolen instruments on.
That's the problem - there are many sites - and no one knows where or which one to look - and not many people actually do look. We need to change that. We need one site that people can go to - and we need to get people to see if its stolen before they buy.
Someone listed a guitar like mine and now I can't sell mine!
Same serial numbers and same guitar? Contact us.
What if someone submits a stolen instrument, and does the wrong serial number and it's mine!?
Make sure its the same serial number AND same instrument. If it is, let us know which one.
I sell used instruments. This is going to kill my sales.
You think your customers are going to check this site and decide to not buy your used guitar? If they checked this site for your used, they're going to check for every used they are looking at buying. So why would they buy someone else's used instrument that they also searched for on this site instead of yours?
This is going to suck if I want to sell my guitar, 'cause I bought it used and now I can't provide proof of ownership.
You only have to do one of the following: If it's from a store, contact them immediately and get a receipt. If the store is out of business, that sucks, but we have to do this site. If it's from an individual, contact them for a receipt. If they won't, are you sure it's not stolen? It would really suck if it's my stolen guitar. If you can't contact the seller, there's not much you can do
Google ads? Links to Guitar Center? WTF!?? You want to make money off this!
Make money? Great. I've already been ripped off once. I'd rather have someone else help pay for this site.
Considering over one million instruments are stolen and sold every year, that's allot of stolen instruments that were bought be unsuspecting people. Now those people are going to be screwed if they try and sell.
OK. But does that mean that we shouldn't do something to stop future instrument theft? And do you think it's fair that people are stealing instruments and then selling them to unsuspecting people?
I have a small shop that sells used instruments. This site does nothing but create paranoia in my customers.
You're customers are paranoid? If your gear is legit? Have you done what you can to not buy stolen gear? Like getting a copy of ID and thumbprint? Customers are going to check this site before they buy a used instrument, and one of two things will happen: they will or they won't find the item. If they find the item, then it's stolen. If they don't find the instrument they either think it's not stolen, or that it may be stolen just not listed - so provide them with a guaranty - and do what you can to make sure the gear you buy is not stolen - 'cause I don't want my gear stolen and resold again!
|
