Hot Deals!

They say that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  This is especially the case when you're buying goods that seem to be at an incredibly low price.

Someone you know is selling brand-new TVs (which normally retail for $800) for $200.  A friend tells you that he has a line on the newest Big Bertha golf club for half the retail value.

You wonder if maybe the goods are hot (stolen), but you have no way of knowing.  Should you buy the goods?

Possession of stolen property is a criminal offence if you knew or ought to have known that the goods were stolen.  It is not enough that you did not actually know the goods were stolen.  If you were wilfully blind (meaning that you were suspicious, but did not want to know the answers, so you'd decided not to investigate), you can still be found guilty.

But what if you bought the goods at a garage sale, were the prices are naturally very low compared to be retail selling price?

The interesting part about stolen goods is that the person selling them does not have title to the property to sell.  You cannot acquire the right to property from someone who does not have the right to sell it.  That means, even if you can't be found guilty of a criminal offence, you could still have the property confiscated and you would not receive any compensation from the police for losing the property.

Buying stolen property exposes you to the risks of being criminally punished and of having the property confiscated and losing your money.  So, before you buy that great deal, factor in the risks of the property being stolen and ask yourself this: "Am I willing to take the chance that I might lose my money if it turns out this is stolen?"

On top of that, deals like this generally don?t come with warranties and customer service.  What if the TV doesn?t work or breaks soon?  Not only that, what if it is a fake?  That Big Bertha driver could be nothing more than a cheap imitation.  Do you really think you?ll get your money back?

The more compelling argument is this: if you buy stolen property, you are helping to create and sustain the market for stolen goods.  That means that you are keeping thieves in business and encouraging them to continue to steal. 

It is easy to forget this, because we are so far removed from the actual victim.  Think about it: that TV might be from someone?s house.  That someone came home to find their private castle violated by thieves.  What if it was your house that was ransacked?  How happy would you be to know that scores of people are rejoicing in the great deals they got on your property?

The bottom line is this: Is that ?great deal? really worth it?