stolen collection

[neutopia6]

Hey guys, last Wednesday my house was broken into and they stole $13,000 worth of my collection, I'm completely fucking devastated, it was my life's work, and basically my only passion
I'm writing this because whoever did this is in British Columbia, I live near Vancouver, and if they try and sell it chances are it will pop up there.
50 TurboGrafx games, a Turbo Duo, I have the box with matching serial numbers, also taken was my Dreamcast with about 40 games, my Super Nintendo with about 150 games, my Wii U, and both my NES in box with around 400 titles.
If anyone knows or sees anything words can't describe how much I would appreciate it, I lost a huge part of my life with this.
Should be weird to see 50 TurboGrafx games and a turbo duo pop up in the wild in Vancouver so I thought I'd just let you all know in case there is a nice person out there who may have seen or heard something.
Thanks for your time.

[mitsuman]

Man sucks to hear this.
Any word from the police on what can be done? Insurance cover it in a any way? I know it won't be the same, but maybe some solice in getting some money back from if insured.

[neutopia6]

It wasn't insured, I'm kicking myself for that now, didn't think anyone would break down the door and walk away with like 600 games, blew my fucking mind.
Well because its theft of over $10,000 the police seem to enjoy the case, apparently a list of my stuff with all the serial numbers are sitting in many of the pawnshops, but in case the person was trying to get rid of it through a private seller I figured spreading the word here might help, its kind of hard to find a Turbo Duo with 50 games sitting in the wild, and if there are collectors here from Vancouver it may only be a matter of time before they stumble across it out of nowhere, my fingers are crossed.
Fuuuuuuck.

[mitsuman]

Well good luck!

Oh and what he said...

if you find the fucker who did this, i hope you make him eat his own nuts before he bleeds out after you cut them off.

seriously.

[jelloslug]

I'm always shopping so if I see anything like that pop up for sale I'll let you know.

[spenoza]

Keep an eye on your local Craigslist and on Ebay.

[jelloslug]

Has anyone been to your house and seen your collection lately?

[cjameslv]

Has anyone been to your house and seen your collection lately?

This is exactly right, it is most likely someone you know.

[jelloslug]

I hope you cross post this on other forums also to get the most coverage.

[neutopia6]

I've been checking buy and sells, pawn shop pages, kijiji, craigslit, eBay pages for the past five days, nothing yet.
I always have people over, ever since I was young I was the dude obsessed with gaming, I know its someone I was close to, no stranger breaks in, sees wall after wall of games, then goes for TurboGrafx, I had some shitty Xbox, Wii, and ps2 stuff they left, they didn't grab any master system, genesis, 32x, no 64, GameCube, nothing, they specifically went for my favorite shit, I'm always bragging about TurboGrafx and NES.
Its gonna be hard to move fifty TurboGrafx games at once at a pawn shop without someone stumbling across it, I just want it back, don't care about anything else really.

[esteban]

Damn.

[thesteve]

do a search for any rare game you had
the systems will be harder to find in a search

[SamIAm]

A couple years ago, at my brother's wedding, someone stole an envelope with $5000 in it. The freaky thing was, the only people attending the wedding who were there at the time of the theft were family members. There was no way to prove anything, so that was that.

Trust no one.

Sorry about your loss.

[HailingTheThings]

Also, never underestimate the power of vengeance and wrath. Getting your games back = awesome.  Getting your games back after feeding someone their nuts before they die? priceless.

*feins*

*swoons*

*melts*

[tg16manaic]

wow, i'm really sorry to hear about this. I hope u can still recover some money from your home insurance, even though the collection itself wasn't insured, they should at least cover some of the value of your possesions like in any general case. The problem is proving what u had. If you have pics of your collection that might help, or someone who saw ur collection and can vouch for u to prove that u had it and what u had. Although nothing will cover the sentimental value, all the work and time u must have put into it. It's heartbreaking to hear about this. I can't even begin to imagine how bad u must feel. This makes me wonder what could possibly happen to all of our collections. We all need to have our stuff appraised and insured. Does anyone know a good way to go about doing that? We can learn from this horrible experience. Any suggestions?

[johnnykonami]

Hey guys, last Wednesday my house was broken into and they stole $13,000 worth of my collection, I'm completely fucking devastated, it was my life's work, and basically my only passion
I'm writing this because whoever did this is in British Columbia, I live near Vancouver, and if they try and sell it chances are it will pop up there.
50 TurboGrafx games, a Turbo Duo, I have the box with matching serial numbers, also taken was my Dreamcast with about 40 games, my Super Nintendo with about 150 games, my Wii U, and both my NES in box with around 400 titles.
If anyone knows or sees anything words can't describe how much I would appreciate it, I lost a huge part of my life with this.
Should be weird to see 50 TurboGrafx games and a turbo duo pop up in the wild in Vancouver so I thought I'd just let you all know in case there is a nice person out there who may have seen or heard something.
Thanks for your time.

That blows, man.  I hope you can get some or all of it back.

[NightWolve]

Sorry to hear man, I do sometimes myself fear the level of devastation that it would cause if I had my life's collected belongings stolen... Menards had these motion detection alarms for $9.99 and I decided to buy one last week for the back porch area between the 1st and 2nd floor as a start. I got lots of hand tools there too, plus if you break thru the first door, you'll have nobody seeing you go further up to the 2nd floor where I'm at.

Point being, some kind of security system is probably worth investing in these days. This little high screech alarm at motion is inadequate, but it's better than nothing I figure and might as well be there. It comes with 2 keychain buttons like a car's alarm, so you click once to activate it when you leave the area, click again when you're passing through to avoid it going off on you. It's not ADT with instant 911 calling, wired security, but it's some kind of alert.

[turbokon]

Damn, sorry to hear.  My house was broken into several years ago but luckly they didn't take any my retro stuff, only my wii and PS3 with a few games I had for them.

[Nazi NecroPhile]

Bummer.  Hopefully you'll figure out who stole it (it shouldn't be that hard) or at least find some of the goodies in the wild.

P.S. - get insurance, it's relatively cheap.

[DeshDildo]

I am so sorry to hear this happened.  This is one of my biggest fears when it comes to my collection obsession.  I investigated additional insurance on it but the way my homeowners insurance is written replacement value would be given with complete documentation.  This includes pictures and I have a spread sheet worked up of everything I have and it's value (that I need to update).

I really hope you find out who did it and at least get some of your stuff back.  I am so sorry to hear about this devastating loss.

[esadajr]

I'm also sorry to read about this. I wish you the best.

A time to reflect about the collecting (if not hoarding) of material possessions. I'm not saying to get rid of everything, but to reflect on what things really bring joy. A burglar system is always a good idea for a house, after the initial investment, the monitoring service is not too expensive.

[YANDMAN]

FUCK really sorry to hear your bad news man, That is harsh

[EvilEvoIX]

This is beyond scary, I pray to God you find that fucker.

[JoshTurboTrollX]

I'm sorry to hear about this, I hope you recover everything that was taken.


But I too am curious, has anyone been over recently that was into retro gaming or needing cash?  Did you post pics/videos of your collection online anywhere?

[neutopia6]

When I go pick up games, I usually come back with 50-100, take a photo, post on Facebook, most people don't realize this is expensive stuff.
Not many people that I've opened up with about prices or anything, I don't enjoy people much so I'm extremely picky with who I open up with, so that narrows it down a lot.
I don't have any kind of insurance, just renting from a new place the past several months, never thought anyone would break in and steal games, or at the very least if it did happen, I never thought they'd go for TurboGrafx, its quite the obscure, unheard of system.
Nothing has popped up yet and its been nearly a week.
With my Super Nintendo games there was an ogre battle game with a torn piece off the label, secret of mama, demons crest, earthbound, mega man x3, tons of great stuff, NES had all mega mans, castlevanias, Zelda's, dragon warriors, even an English translated final fantasy 3, Bucky o hare, just too much to list, great collection though, if I saw it in the wild I'd recognize it, thanks for all the well wishing, I hope I catch this fucking cunt and regain my passion.

[DeshDildo]

Was anything else taken or just the games?

[esteban]

The guilty party is probably someone you know.

Or a Goverrat.

Or both.

[csgx1]

Damn, that's pretty f'd up.  Sorry for your loss.  Sounds like the thief knew exactly what you had.

I had a friend in high school had his house broken into and his Game Boy, Game Gear and Genesis and games were only stolen.  Ended up being a friend of a friend.

[glazball]

You have my deepest sympathies as well.  So, so, so sorry to hear about this.  My fingers and toes are crossed that the police will turn something up for you.

[vexcollects]

Oh Man. I am so sorry to hear this. I felt sick to my stomach when you said you had no insurance. I'm always looking as well. I will watch out for your stuff on eBay. There is a guy currently unloading a ton of TG stuff on eBay, but he is in Ontario. No Duo system as far as I could see.

I hope the police get this guy and make him play a Wii shovelware game for 5-10 years.

[neutopia6]

Lmao, that Wii shovelware comment made me laugh pretty hard.
No, I don't hang out with crack heads, don't do any drugs myself anymore so don't really hang out with that crowd unless its just weed, no insurance, nothing.
The asshole left the crowbar on my steps though, and fingerprints on my TV, he had to unplug nearly 20 systems, went into the freezer to to steal some cartons of cigarettes so they dusted for fingerprints and shit there too, also took nearly $2,000 hidden amongst various hiding places in the house.
The person was pretty thorough, went just for Wii u, NES, SNES , Dreamcast and TurboGrafx, didn't touch jaguar or 3do or Saturn, only the stuff I bragged about to people I'd been friends with awhile I thought I could trust.
I scoped out eBay, its not that Ontario add, I had about 20 Turbo CDs and Super CD games too, don't know if that will help, the Dragons curse I grabbed had a piece of tape saying dragons curse on the side, it was a kieth courage case, I'm just trying to remember any details.
Once again thank you so much to anyone keeping there eyes open, there is a $500 reward for anyone who can help me get it back.

[bob]

You really cant narrow this down?  Somebody to specifically take the good games, and knew VARIOUS hiding places of money?

[neutopia6]

No bank because I don't trust the bank, they always take fees, and fuck people over, not to mention I'm just waiting for America to start another pointless war and fuck the economy, then our pretend money in the bank will be useless.
Also nearly every piece of extra cash I have has gone into gaming anyways so I'd just put money in to pull it out, I have a pretty serious problem with gaming, its all I really watch, do, read, talk about, now that a huge chunk of it is gone I've been contemplating selling the last of it or just giving up on everything, years of saving and hard work gone, its very hard to deal with and I'm still in shock, very confused, pissed off and devastated.

[Nazi NecroPhile]

This is just getting funnier by the minute.

[Opethian]

[xcrement5x]

1) That sucks, hope you are able to trace everything back.  Did they steal all your turbo stuff?

2) I agree it is most likely someone who knows you, especially if they went straight for the retro stuff. 

3) A bit of advice for the near future: http://simplisafe.com/

4) Seriously no banking, how does that even work?  Do you barter with chickens and stuff as well?

[bob]

you know, they say just having the "ADT" stickers on doors/windows is effective enough, even if you aren't connected to their systems.  Like a Beware of Dog sign, most people aren't going to test it.

[bmich1]

There's a couple of TG16 lots on eBay right now out of Canada. They just went up yesterday I think. I just don't see lots of this quality very often. Probably nothing but just a thought...... http://www.ebay.com/itm/231366452914?_trksid=p2060778.m1431.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231366449923?_trksid=p2060778.m1431.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[madboom0522]

I sent him a pm with the same info and did not here back form him... I think he mentioned in later posts that he already looked at it though.

[ToyMachine78]

You really cant narrow this down?  Somebody to specifically take the good games, and knew VARIOUS hiding places of money?

I was thinking the same thing! Sounds like an ex girlfriend to me. Who else would you confide money stashes to?

Could be a goverrat though. With their intelligence network, they know everything!

[Brraap]

Sucks dude, ill send you a free copy of tv sports football, so you can start your collection again

[neutopia6]

No, its neither of those two lots, and yes, all of my Turbo stuff, all of my Dreamcast, took all NES, most of my SNES, took my Wii u, left the games, and the charger for gamepad as well as sensor bar, I don't care if the person gets caught, I just want my games, fuck the cash, and smokes, years of hard work getting a collection like that, just to come back to broken empty shelves is the shittiest feeling ever, thank you though for looking it means so so much to me.

[xcrement5x]

No, its neither of those two lots, and yes, all of my Turbo stuff, all of my Dreamcast, took all NES, most of my SNES, took my Wii u, left the games, and the charger for gamepad as well as sensor bar, I don't care if the person gets caught, I just want my games, fuck the cash, and smokes, years of hard work getting a collection like that, just to come back to broken empty shelves is the shittiest feeling ever, thank you though for looking it means so so much to me.

Man, that is just the worst.  You said it happened last Wednesday, so like a week ago right?  Hopefully since it has only been a week there are still some leads the cops can jump on since the trail is still pretty fresh.

You're lucky that whoever did it left some prints.  Not sure about Canada but in the US they print everyone once arrested, so if there is a prior record at all then the perp will be in the database and you have a chance of finding them.

[neutopia6]

Oh yeah, should be prints, shitheads out here get finger printed, the fact they left the crowbar though means either they're very very very stupid, or they had gloves on.

[handyman907]

I am sorry to hear about that. I hope you recover all of it.

[cr8zykuban0]

damn dude, that shit sucks! I'm very sorry to hear this tragedy had to happen! I hope karma comes to bite that asshole in the ass! I''ll keep a look out if I happen to see anything suspicious online from vancover area and I've been looking to get my collection insured. Anyone know what I need to do about insuring my collection?

[madboom0522]

Renters in insurance with detailed pics, video and replacement cost list. That is what I did. Lot's of work if you have a lot to list.....

[technozombie]

Sorry to hear about this incident. I often worry about something like this happening to me. Not to make light of your problems but, I don't think I've seen a 1 letter typo change a meaning so much.

When I go pick up games, I usually come back with 50-100, take a photo, post on Facebook, most people don't realize this is expensive stuff.
Not many people that I've opened up with about prices or anything, I don't enjoy people much so I'm extremely picky with who I open up with, so that narrows it down a lot.
I don't have any kind of insurance, just renting from a new place the past several months, never thought anyone would break in and steal games, or at the very least if it did happen, I never thought they'd go for TurboGrafx, its quite the obscure, unheard of system.
Nothing has popped up yet and its been nearly a week.
With my Super Nintendo games there was an ogre battle game with a torn piece off the label, secret of mama, demons crest, earthbound, mega man x3, tons of great stuff, NES had all mega mans, castlevanias, Zelda's, dragon warriors, even an English translated final fantasy 3, Bucky o hare, just too much to list, great collection though, if I saw it in the wild I'd recognize it, thanks for all the well wishing, I hope I catch this fucking cunt and regain my passion.

[cr8zykuban0]

Renters in insurance with detailed pics, video and replacement cost list. That is what I did. Lot's of work if you have a lot to list.....

I bet it is a lot of work but it's worth it to keep your collection safe from robbery or anything that can happen. any good companies you can recommend?

[grache]

My parent's live in a very low crime area, even so they foolishly didn't have an alarm or safe. About 10 yrs ago they had their house broken into. Fortunately the thief was amateur and left a lot of the higher dollar items, except for my dad's Rolex. Unfortunately their home owner's insurance would only cover $2500 for jewelery, which the other smaller items nearly added up to.

So my dad was out the ~$12,000 the watch cost. Just like TG16 games, my dad's Rolex wasn't very common. Instead of the typical gold or stainless it was rose gold. My dad went to pawn shops in the area looking for it. At one of them the pawn broker said an unknown guy had come in trying to sell him a watch that fit the description, but he didn't buy it because he thought it was fake. However, another customer who was in the store bought it directly from the fence for $500.

The other customer was a regular, and the pawn broker knew his name and number. He's a tenured professor at a state university. When my dad called him he nearly shit his pants. The professor drove immediately, from his home an hour away, to give the watch back. He didn't ask for the $500 either. (If you haven't caught on as to why, it's because he knew the watch was hot and didn't want a receiving stolen goods charge.)

It would have been a lot less likely for my dad to have got his watch back if it wasn't rose gold. It was obscure enough that it stuck out in the pawn broker's mind. So hopefully the obscurity of the TG16 will be enough to trigger some alarms when the thief tries to move your collection.