Posted on 08/14/2005 7:25:52 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A Whakatane couple have created a website that will hinder people selling stolen goods.
Bill Danby and Joanne Cunningham's website www.stolen-lost.co.nz went live a week ago and five days later had received 65,720 hits.
The website can be used to list stolen or lost items for a $3 to $7 fee.
The items stay listed for five years and anyone looking to purchase a second-hand item can search the website free of charge to check that the item is not stolen.
Lost items, such as pets, can be listed as well and rewards can be offered.
Mr Danby, manager of Kawerau Hire and Chainsaws, created the website.
About 12 months ago some of his friends had items stolen from their home and car. He suggested that they try searching the internet because "surely there must be some website that lists stolen goods".
AdvertisementAdvertisement"We couldn't find anything. I don't know why no one had done this before," he said.
"It took us 11 months to get the idea off the ground and develop the website and, after all that time, still no one else had done it."
He said that his company, Stolen-Lost, was "going very well". "We have consulted extensively with the New Zealand Police to make sure that it is all done properly and they are going to be using the site as a resource.
"Second-hand dealers like Cash Converters are using it to check on all of their goods before they buy them and we are in talks with Trade Me about working together with them, as they have a lot of trouble with stolen goods being sold on their site.
"We have already had requests from Australia to start a website there. This is going to be big," he said.
Lost minds, you have a huge known source for signups, DU.
I found 13 chainsaws by searching Keyword "a".
Lost or Stolen:
Hillary's soul, SN 666
If you want to copy them at stolen-lost.com, let me know ;)
Where are they going to report it when some hacker hijacks their site?
Our local police recently busted a meth-head for stealing a lawn mower. He lead them to thirty eight (38) other mowers that he had stolen, then sold; some of which were sold to neighbors of his victimms. He'd pick one up from an open garage or backyard, run it up the street a couple of doors, and sell it for as little as ten bucks.
His sad story was that he had just been freed from prison and had to have a means to "earn" some ready cash.
Really? You can call the police where you live and they have the time to take that kind of call, copy down serial numbers and check if something is stolen? That's amazing. I kind of doubt there are many places left where the police have the time and budget for that kind of thing. Do the local police there have a national database like this web site so they would know if it was stolen in a neighboring city or even state?
Personally I'd much rather enter those kinds of numbers into an on-line database than have to read them and have them confirmed back over the telephone, but I don't think many if any police departments offer even that.
"I work every day with people who's entire mental output is spent on demonstrating to others why an new idea to do a mundane thing simply will not work."
If you think shooting down an idea to do something mundane brings out the passion, try throwing up a breakthrough idea. People will argue their hearts out, then walk away in disgust, muttering how you're crazy, when they fail to dissuade you. Most of the stories we know of success are almost all about the person who said, So what? and then kept going, and saw every setback as a "learning opportunity."
People will never....pay money to ship envelopes overnight; list personal goods for sale on the internet; buy everything they need from a supercenter whose headquarters is in Bentonville, Arkansas; get in the big metal bird and fly to Buffalo!
"When I was younger I thought these people were amusing, today I see them as unutterably weary and tiresome."
And as I got older, I made an effort to avoid these people as much as possible. But I stayed close enough to observe that they were the sole architects of their own failure or mediocrity--even though they always blamed others!
"Sometimes I think there are more of them than those who would move the world." It is the immutable nature of things. There are studies that demonstrate that, say, in any group of 20 people, 25 percent or more are the naysayers; 60 percent or more are open-minded, at least to start; and ten percent or fewer are the "visionaries." The "believers" have a hard battle: not only to sell their idea, but to keep that 60+ percent from listening too hard to the naysayers--thus tipping the critical mass of the group to full rejection of an idea. It's fascinating group dynamics. Then there are, among that 25 percent, the handful of really negative people...and these are the people who are always fired, shed, or "attritioned," because management, in time, realizes what a huge cost they are to an enterprise. They kill spirits, innovation, profits.
"Good post. Spot on accurate."
Well, yes, I agree especially with your last observation.
I can remember myself saying, "People will never pay $100 for a pair of athletic shoes!"
"Are you really going to search through 10,000 Sanyo model A4110 stereo systems to ensure that something isn't stolen?"
This is the age of computers; let them do the search. They would need to have the manufacturer, model and serial number in a standardized format to make it work easily, but that is possible, after all.
I understand how computers work. The point was that you would receive several hundred "hits" and then have to search through those. If the person had the item stolen happened to have the serial numbers, why wouldn't they just report them stolen to the police? Why wouldn't the buyer jus call the police with the serial number to see if it is stolen? This is how it is done today. As far as being a downer, I think I have brought up some very valid points. I am self employed and own several businesses, some of which have grossed in excess of a million dollars per year. I have evaluated hundreds of business ideas for my self. I do know what I am talking about when it comes to ideas like this. I am not someone who has been laid off, unemployed, disatisfied with life. If you disagree with me, disagree with me, but don't throw out speculation about my current employment or financial situation. It only makes you look stupid. This is a free country so spend all your money trying to get people to remember what the serial number on their tv and vcr were and then pay your three to seven dollars to put it on your web site. (I guess they could not post a pic unless they just happened to have one in their home inventory file) Then, once people hear about the buzz you have created, they will naturally remember to check your web site the next time they are buying a used mountain bike or something off of ebay. What if an item was stolen in one city and sold in another? I guess the user could just search his city and the others within a 250 mile radius right? Here are some stats for the Houston area alone for 2002
Houston Robberies 11212
Houston Burglaries 26905
Houston Larceny/Thefts 73445
Houston Motor Vehicle Thefts 23939
The idea is stupid and I hope this makes you mad enough to go spend all of your money trying to prove me wrong. This way you end up proven wrong and broke. Have a nice day.
I would need an enterprise level database to keep track of the reasons why this is a bad business idea. But, to each his own. Prove me wrong and I will invest some money in your ipo. Good luck with your class project. C-
"I would need an enterprise level database to keep track of the reasons why this is a bad business idea. But, to each his own. Prove me wrong and I will invest some money in your ipo. Good luck with your class project. C-"
If I could afford an enterprise-level database, I'd go for it. I don't have to prove you wrong, however. I didn't even say you were totally wrong. Just mostly wrong. Have a good week.
Fun banter. Have a good week as well.
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