I think this a very good idea, but i dont think it will work if im honest, the software side of things is just a simple file that changest the serial and generates a new 4 digit code for the RNS-e (by the way if anyone has lost their RNS-e code let me know and i can send the file) and i dont think when people buy and RNS-e from eBay and are pleased with their new upgrade, they're going to want all the agro of finding out its stolen. I'd love to re-unite someone with a lost item, but i think the honest truth is that people won't want to risk losing the money they have paid.
At last, Thank you.
Exactly what I was saying, but in a nutshell.
i said the same thing at first. post #7 reads:
My only reservation is - what if an innocent member purchases a unit and subsequently learns it's another member's stolen one? They potentially could end up out of pocket through no real fault of their own...
i take back the bit about it not being the buyer's fault. we need to take on some personal responsibility. since then we've come up with using some sort of indelible method to mark our units, so that if the unit is later discovered we can identify it. we should:
create a visible database of serial numbers/identifying characteristics of missing units.
try to find the source of the units we're buying, and inquiring about the serial number and then cross referencing it with the database
report units we think are stolen
only use paypal or a credit card to purchase the item so
if we find out it's stolen we can give it back and we're protected.
using these steps we've gotten around aythreee's scenario of a person learning that another member is in possession of their recently stolen unit. let your moral compass be your guide.
it's true that if a seller is asked about a s/n he might refuse to divulge but at that point we refer the matter to eBay. an honest seller should be transparent.
he may well then go on to sell to the next person that doesn't ask, but we're still removing some of his market, and hence some of the saleability of stolen units.
we spend a lot of time trawling through eBay. we could help each other out on this - if a member's unit has been stolen, someone who's in the market could ask suspicious sellers about their items. we know the scum check these websites to find targets, so at the very least we know that we're reducing the chances of OUR units being stolen because they know that we're on the look out for them.
what we're doing doesn't increase the chances of our units being stolen, but it does stand to decrease the chances. the other problems are something we have to resolve between ourselves, but as beanoir rightly points out if a member is known to have another member's stolen unit then legally he'll have to give it back, whether or not the police get involved so there's no question or argument there anyway. if a member is guilty of not protecting their purchase then they have to bear the consequences.