I’ve had my tools stolen twice. Both times my truck was broken into. Aside from the initial shock of seeing my truck emptied out the worst part was in trying to remember the tools I had. I was able to replace most of what I had but over the next few months I realized I had tools I didn’t use all the time but were essential for certain jobs. I would go looking for a particular tool only to come to the reality that I no longer had that tool. And then the anger would come back again. So it’s not only the up front costs involved in replacing tools but the time spent in having to go out and spend more money down the road and lost productivity. I would prefer my wallet being stolen to having my tools stolen.
I’m sorry try it happened to you. Imagine how people that have been physically assaulted or raped feel. Reliving being done wrong takes its toll on victims.
Maybe tradesmen like you need to keep an inventory of their tools with serial numbers and photographs of them + save your purchase receipts as proof of ownership.
I had my work tools stolen. I couldn't afford to replace them. I lost my business. Then my house. That stress eventually lead to a divorce. Now I live in a run down house trailer with no realistic hope for the future. As far as I am concerned these thieves should be lock in the self storage facility and left there.
😠 I only lost all my valuables, I didn't earn a living with my tools. So sorry you lost what money can't replace. Stealing a working person of their tools of trade is unforgivable, you take everything from them.
I've had tools stolen from a work truck and work van a couple times. Both times I called the police who basically told me, "Gee, that's too bad. Sorry that happened." and no resolution ever came of it. I just bought new tools and kept working.
That's the problem, everyone says oh you need to report it, well what good does it do, the cops don't follow through with anything...and heaven forbid you find the thief before they do. My home was broken into about a week a go, one thing stolen was my laptop....$2200 to replace it, can't afford to do so, yet with all my personal data on it, both the cops and the manufacturer of the laptop was absolutely no help....you'd think the manufacturer could have done something, actually they can, they do have the software to remote access your devices and fix or purposely wipe the drives yet they failed to do so, so now my laptop is out there somewhere with personal data on it, plus all of my documents that I need. They better hope they find the guy who stole it before I do.
Yes, I have had my tools stolen multiple times, including my truck. The response of the police department was: "Here is your incident number for your insurance claim." When I found my truck, the police officer that I flagged down stated that I probably filed a false report since one of my workers took it. I don't have any workers or employees.
Thank you. I started painting my tools hot pink in graduate school (1970' s). In the laboratory, some of the specialty tools for high vacuum technology systems were $600 or more. Druggers would sometimes hide their stashes above fume hoods and other out of sight and hard to access places in commercial laboratories where I worked. Crazy! Thanks again.
I've seen contractors pick a strange color to paint their ladders, tools and boxes... It might look gaudy however it keeps the low life idiots away.... Stay safe, Tim
Yep, I painted all my beehives (100+ hives) "Raspberry Sorbet" which is bubblegum pink. and have posted a few thousand pics of my hives since 2011. Everyone in the beekeeping community knows what my hives (and content) look like. I've not had hives stolen since doing this, but I have had content stolen and it was immediately reported to me by friends who recognized my pink beehives. I was able to get the imposter accounts shut down.
My van was stolen while I was inside a vacant house installing a furnace and ac. I had a small amount of tools in the jobsite as I was taking out old furnace. I had about $20,000 worth of tools taken that day and never recovered any tools. Police was zero help.
I’m not saying to distrust people you work around, but be aware of them and what they’re paying attention too. I worked for a contractor for a time, they had a employee that would job hop to scope out where the job sites were at. Then “randomly” a home would get stripped over the weekend of appliances, wiring, etc. They figured out he was at the homes before they got hit. The thing is, the guy wasn’t the doing the stealing, he was just the eyes/information for the people doing the stealing. Who knows how many other people are out there doing something similar.
Last year I was in Home Depot to buy a $99.00 Milwaukee tool. It was behind a metal cage, so I had to hunt down a sales rep. When he opened the cage I said thanks and went to reach for the tool. He said I'll walk you to check out. To be truthful I was annoyed. So I chatted up the staff member and said I couldn't believe he walked me over to you. She said we have had millions of dollars worth of tools stolen since the pandemic. Now when I buy a tool I don't mind being walked to check out. Note, this store is in what you would consider an upscale part Buffalo, NY. A place where you normally would feel safe.
Its very annoying, to the point where I no longer shop there, I do so online. Free shipping, and I don't have to chase down a lazy ass employee that might have the damn key to the cage....all their so called security measures do is stop law abiding people from buying stuff....the thieves just walk 2 isles over, grab a pair of bolt cutters off the shelf and go cut the damn lock....and then walk out the front door with whatever they want because nobody has the balls to stop them...that's the problem this country faces, too many sissy lalas out there.
@@jesstapia562 Because scumbags load up their entire cart. If you are just getting one or 2 tools, and spend time on camera with an associate, you are most likely not a thief.
A subcontractor had gone to Lowe’s to get materials. Upon return he was extremely pissed off that he had witnessed someone bypassing checkout with a cartload of tools. Someone yelled at him but he just kept going. An employee explained to him that they were t even allowed to follow thieves out to the parking lot to get a license number. That same sub was bragging about scoring several hundred dollars worth of free tools from his buddy who worked in the business office at Lowe’s. I don’t remember how the scam worked but he was really proud of himself. SMH.
RIDGID has been my best tools, yes, a little less quality but they in-store replaced the broken tool and even a bad battery. no other tool brand have I been able to do that, not sense SEARS closed on my CRAFTSMAN tools.
I've had Ridgid pipe wrenches stolen before, I have a Ridgid Sawzall now because it was too much money to replace the Milwaukee that was stolen on the south side of Chicago.
Unfortunately, seems like it was someone you knew, that knew you had a bum leg and wouldn't be around. May not have been, but often it's someone who knows you and your current situation.
@@dc6233 hay there, yes l know who did the theft a man and woman , but l never met them, they must have known my routine. my son and I are trackers we tracked them down finding some droped tools along the way and showed the cops the tracks and they agreed that it was were the the tools been taken but they abandoned the property and haven't been seen since . The cop said were the tweekers lived they have made some arrest on the property and the male was due to attend court in the near future for stealing a golf cart from the county. I am dumb for not getting insurance . so my grandpa's my dad's ( mine alone are 60 years worth ) and a bunch of my boys tools . but we did find my dads old vice ! Thanks again Tank
Thanks for all the good information that you shared. One thing you can do is engrave your tools with identifying mark like your initials or such. When I was a machinist, we all marked our tools. It helped when more than one person was working on something that your tools don't get mixed up. The same with auto technicians.
I have a contractor friend that keeps his tools in his truck in a tough neighborhood in Queens. He invested thousands of dollars in alarm systems and steel reinforcing of his truck. The alarm goes off nightly 😂
I go into pawn shops all the time and it seems like half their inventory are tools just like this and there is no way they can tell if they are stolen, but it looks like it to me. Many are muddy like it came from a construction site. If I was just selling me personal tools to a pawn shop to get something different, I would clean them up to try and get max dollar out of them. If I stole a ton a stuff, I wouldn't bother and just quickly fence them.
Yup. I’ve lost easily several thousand in tools when I lived and worked in Greater Metro NYC. Twice from vehicle break-ins in supposedly “secure” locations. I use a particular “notch” system for hand tools and “permanently” mark all my power tools with a Logo/Name however this is really just to stop jobsite “drift” and make it easier for me to identify my tools that have been borrowed.
My tip is always keep the paperwork that comes with the tool. It always have the model number and serial number on it, with the receipt. If you don't have the time to do it, but you have the time to call the police and go purchase some more tools. It is part of the paperwork called bookkeeping. Think! God Bless and Stay Safe.
Photos as well, showing the serial number as well as your whole collection of tools that do not have a serial numbers. Engrave or otherwise label as much as you can with your name and or initials sometimes in multiple places including your bags, totes, and toolbox etc in both visible and less visible places.
When I owned my Hardware store 15 years ago, I had a contractor used to come and buy 6 SDS hammer drills at a time, made in china $42 each, once he told me they lasted beyond Hilti, and I said you are kidding, he said no, the Hilti get stolen in 2 days, them cheap ones no one cared about, they break fast but yet did the job without worring when they will disapear.
Ebay, Craigs List, etc. should be required to have a seller publish the serial number on any item being sold. This put an end to a lot of Pawn shops dealing in stolen goods in the past. It does work.
There's a corner near where I work where you can consistently find a guy selling brand new Ryobi tools. Being out in the open, I'm surprised that the police haven't busted the guy...
He "may" be a legitimate seller. Tools Direct sometimes puts stuff on sale so cheap (Ridgid and Ryobi) that they can be purchased and resold to unsuspecting buyers who don't know about Tools Direct. They are sometimes seconds or refurbs, in the box. so extra savings. I bought a Ridgid hybrid table saw from Tools Direct for under $200. That's about a $600 saw.
I saw someone buying power tools at HD yesterday. They were all locked up and walked directly to the checkout by the sales person. Not many being stolen at that store.
Do not know where you are, but here in Minnesota, we have Menard's here. Same as Home Depot or Lowe's. Maybe you do know about them, they are located in Eau Claire, Wi. But very good video. People need to wright serial numbers down. It is work, but at least you may get your own tools back if stolen.
I've had tools and my truck stolen, I actually had Ridgid Bluetooth batteries I never recorded or set up so I couldn't track them, but I did get my truck back luckily...
The storage locker where I work was broken into, with the thief taking tools and lawn maintenance equipment. Unfortunately for him, the idiot left behind a milk crate with his tools of the trade and a warranty receipt with his name and phone number. Also in the crate were a handful of pawn tickets for multiple power tools from several Cash America pawn shops in the area. We never recovered the tools, but the jackass did end up going to state prison in Texas. Despite filling out a crime victim restitution application, the city of Fort Worth never gave us a penny...had to suck it up and move on.
In Chicago, if your tools got stolen, you'll go to the old Maxwell Street Market. There was a high probability that you would find your stuff. I have personally recovered stolen tools there back in the day. After one too many thefts, I basically made it nearly impossible to access my tools and work truck. At the time I was doing electrical and HVAC/Refrigeration service work.
I wait for sales and only buy tools from the store (mostly Home Depot). An electrician friend had his van broken into recently. He had to replace a lot of tools to keep working. Terrible experience.
I was using a metal cutoff saw in my carport. I went inside ONE MINUTE to take a piss. Came back out and the saw was gone! The cops checked the local pawn shops and found it. Fortunately, I had the serial number and got it back.
AN EASY SOLUTION IS TO TAKE CELL PHONE PICTURES OF THE EXPENSIVE STUFF AT LEAST AND HAVE AN TOOLS PICTURE SECTION ON YOUR PHOTO LIST! IF A COP DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR TOOLS, ASK HIM HOW HE WOULD LIKE SOME ONE STEALING HIS WORK TOOLS!!
Buy an engraver and etch your driver’s license number on the tool. If law enforcement happens to recover the tool, at least you have some way to identify yours.
I often see marketplace sellers with new, in the box tools. I have wondered whether these are counterfeit or grey-market. Now, I have a new concern to add to the list.
I have noticed a large number of Ryobi lawn tools + a site whith a whole garage filled with Ryobi boxed items. This reinforces my thoughts of how they may of ended up with their tools...CA
It's a shame that Joe Carpenter had to be a victim not once but multiple times and then had to do his own leg work to get tools back. It is awful that law enforcement and the justice department especially in blue states enables this activity to go on without consequences. This impacts all of us with the prices at the stores, the cost of getting work done, our own safety, and stores having to close because of large smash & grab encounters left unchecked and unpunished. Good on Joe Carpenter for standing up for himself and opening up evidence in this huge crime ring!!
Very similar story on the other side of the pond. In April Police recovered thousands of tools of every kind from shipping containers at a site in Swattenden, Kent in England. Discovered because of a tracker on one of them. They had been stolen from all over the south of England. Police recommend engraving identification on your tools, using Smartwater and recording manufacturers serial numbers.
Great they found all the tools, still doesn't fix the problem that the original owners of those tools are still out thousands of dollars in having to purchase those tools again that were stolen....totally pointless. I had my laptop stolen recently....like other companies, they seem to allow these things to happen, even after calling the manufacturer to let them know about the theft, they don't do anything, they simply could have remotely accessed the laptop and wiped the hard drive at least protecting the victim's personal data....its like the companies themselves seem to be letting it all happen.
I had my lawn care equipment taken from my locked shed. Had video camera footage and it took the police 4 hrs to respond to my alarm company called them several times. Said because it was black and white film they could not identify the perp . Added an 8ft tall fence around the area
Its amazing the excuses they come up with NOT to do their jobs isnt it?? We had a secure area under our deck at the time where we kept our lawn care stuff, mowers, weedeaters & blowers. My fiance had a PT landscaping business on wkends & stored most of his equipment there as his construction tools took up the rm in the truck during the wk. Came home for lunch one day & walked up on dude high out of his mind with a crowbar peeling away the siding that went around it. Hed already peeled away about a 6ft section & was cutting thru the plywood walls underneath w a cheap multitool. When I walked around back (heard the tool running inside our locked 6ft tall fenced in yard & locked gate, knew no one should be there) this fool already had several of the weedeaters & blowers laying in the yard along with the mess hed made . Tried to play if off like he was there doin work & the homeowners had hired him... Idiot didnt realize I had my earbud in w my fiance who heard the conversation & called the police. They pulled up WHILE HE WAS STILL IN OUR YARD complete with all the destruction & holes hed made reaching in to grab stuff. Jerks refused to arrest him for anything other then trespassing because our cameras didnt cover where hed gotten over the fence. Supposedly that must mean hed been "invited" in. SMH. Thankfully the tools were left & but our insurance only covered about half of what it woulda took to fix the damage hed caused. Said we could take him to small claims court. Yea right... Was soooo pissed off they made such excuses when it was obvious what happened & that no one would have "hired" a homeless addict to destroy their property. Within 8 miles of downtown of a major city. It was ridiculous
I had all my tools stolen on a job site in 2000. Brookfield CT. They were stolen from a subcontractor that was hired by circuit city to deliver appliances. The delivery truck came back and took all appliances, lighting fixtures, tile, tile installer tools, paint, along with my tools.
When I drive through the small towns where I live and see tables set up on the front lawn with a lot of Milwaukee, Dewalt, etc. I drive by wondering how many of the tools are stolen. I need to stop one day and see what the prices are.
I filed two different reports for stolen tools and never heard another word and police department. Don’t give a damn where I live at or do they get them back or not but take a report and the end of it sad sad that you never gonna see your tools again you have to buy new ones.
If you have more than a thousand dollars worth of tools, it's time to start thinking about a job box. Not for moving around your tools (if you have the equipment to do so great) but to store them securely.
Additionally there can be cost of the damage to the vehicle. In the UK you see a lot of tradesman's vehicles with stickers "no tools kept in the vehicle over night" so it's definitely a problem in the UK as well. I suppose from the criminals point of view, a tradesman's vehicles containing tools can be a high value target that has minimal protection and depending on poverty levels it might be quite expensive easy to get a low level Crim to do the dirty work. I'm wondering where the tools end up and whether they go for export by the container load.
I had my truck broken into, and tools taken, I run a steel cable through all of them now and lock them into the cargo holds in my truck now. We have also had guys, wearing nail bags walking around the bigger jobsite, stealing them out of the back of trucks, they want to look like they are in the trades so people think that must be their truck.
One tip I use to keep my tools safe is always take the Battery out & don't leave it together with the tool. Another tip is unscrew your device & take a piece of it out. That way if it's stolen it's useless to whoever took it. 👷🏿♂️
From Tulsa, Oklahoma, we’re nothing is ever recovered. I found it if I put old dead tools or electronics in the back of the truck that they will usually just grab that and run, most of which don’t work, but it keeps them from fiddling and digging through my stuff.
Yeah, I had my work truck broken into once, and stolen once- I got it back empty, They cut through the wall behind the seat to get into the back. My new van they use the chipped keys, so harder to steal, and I lined the bulkhead wall with car insulation and headliner fabric. The cab is quieter, and would be thieves don't know what they're looking at, so they don't bother. You're right about preventing crooks from selling online though. This kind of thievery is highly lucrative if they can set up a bogus Amazon Ebay or other online store, so shutting that down is important.
Yes, I have had tools stolen from a job site. They were locked inside a container. Turned out it was an inside job with their security guards and it was done over a 4th of July weekend. I had to take out a small loan to get new tools. The GC's insurance refused to reimburse any of the contractors for their tools stolen from what was suppose to be a secured job site.
I have a 40 buck ryobi router bits set in there somewhere . Pawn shop sold it before they found my other tools . These things don’t get replaced - unless I personally replace them , even though there’s allegedly a victim’s compensation section of law enforcement .
I’m a detective in a large agency on the east coast. I’ve worked on these cases and it’s a massive problem. Organized theft is a sophisticated business and it’s actually interesting to work. One of the biggest problems for law enforcement right now is being short staffed and often overwhelmed. The other major problem is the lack of prosecutions and punishment for what is essentially a property crime. I don’t agree with it, just telling it how it is.
Someone(s) broke into my garage. They tied a rope to the man door and the front wheel of a car to keep me from opening the inswing man door. They tied another rope to the patio door and attached that to my 250 pound drill press. When I got up to go into the garage and couldn't open the man door it took me a moment to figure out what was happening.. The had raised one of the garage doors about 12 inches and turned on a bench light at the back of the shop. When I got access they were gone and my sawzall was next to the partially opened garage door. The police responded and I could identify every stolen tool except for a sump pump. Nothing was ever recovered. I kept checking Craigslist and Fb Marketplace but didn't find any of my tools. I was surprised to learn that the home insurance policy did not cover tools.
Why steal tools only to store them in storage facilities. The real question is where do the tools go from there? No mention of who owned the storage? No mention of charges? Also, if your tools are stolen from your vehicle once why would you leave tools in your vehicle again
I recently had a storage unit broken into and my Dewalt 735x planer and a portable air conditioner stolen. I work part time at Rockler Woodworking and Hardware in San Antonio and we were broken into but they only took one Bosch router.
Yes, stolen from my house around 1983. They were cheap made in Taiwan tools. I replaced them with good Craftsman tools, which in the 80's were really good.
my shop got broken into. everything power handheld was taken. insurance offered a "depreciated"value. new or a few years old,aquality tool can not be replaced by some cheap chinese knockoff. maybe i'm lucky because i ended up with about half the money to replace them. hilti?festool?fein?or ryobi. which are you going to buy to do your job. sucks. thousands of dollars in tools swapped for drugs for a junkie. but it gets better. the same assholes will smash a window in your truck for pocket change and half a pack of cigarettes. yay.
Also weird, is that my son bought tools from auctions, and not many people bid against him. He could get half a garage full of tools for $100. So, people are not that interested in hand tools anymore.
Brother had his trailer cleaned out of his company tools,he had to re buy them again they were stolen again breaking into his locked trailer after buying them again he now has to take trailer home each nite from job sites,law enforcement never caught any one
My tools are my hands!!! I fix them, I maintain them, I clean them, I upgrade them, they are almost like babies to me! I am literally sick in my stomach when I`m even thinking of losing them like that! I once caught an overly tanned bastard in the process of stealing my own tools from my own garage, so I can`t tell what exactly happened to him, but he is permanently out of stealing anything! No one touches my tools without my permission! And I don`t like you for even asking! Get your own tools, ffs!
WTF did they plan to do with all those tools? You can't sell them one at a time on ebay and Facebook. Makes me wonder if the manufacturers have contracted out the theft to spur new sales.
what makes it worth getting a search warrant? i've had my house broken into where they leave other stolen goods there. the police never collected it or any sort of evidence. is it just because they don't want to do it? ive also had two iphones stolen, ten years apart, same useless response from police. "i know we can see exactly where it is but there is nothing we can do about it." huh? like, they can't even ask the person? i'm honestly shocked the cops showed up to help. with me, i track my stolen goods and have them tell me to accept it and go home.
Remember if they can activate your new device they can de-activate it. Thus, pave the way to charge you to rent your device- that’s what they want to do to you. Yes, tool theft is awful but the kill switch is a no go
Sad it took a contractor to lead them to the thieves. Sad that this happens here but rarely in other countries. Obviously one can save costs and lessen the damage by buying from HB, but there are speacialty those tools stolen that could take thousands to replace.
I’ve had my tools stolen twice. Both times my truck was broken into. Aside from the initial shock of seeing my truck emptied out the worst part was in trying to remember the tools I had. I was able to replace most of what I had but over the next few months I realized I had tools I didn’t use all the time but were essential for certain jobs. I would go looking for a particular tool only to come to the reality that I no longer had that tool. And then the anger would come back again. So it’s not only the up front costs involved in replacing tools but the time spent in having to go out and spend more money down the road and lost productivity. I would prefer my wallet being stolen to having my tools stolen.
Exactly 💯 - So sorry. Happened to my good friend twice same thing, stress and anger for years needing special tools
I’m sorry try it happened to you. Imagine how people that have been physically assaulted or raped feel.
Reliving being done wrong takes its toll on victims.
Same here in aus
Maybe tradesmen like you need to keep an inventory of their tools with serial numbers and photographs of them + save your purchase receipts as proof of ownership.
I had my work tools stolen. I couldn't afford to replace them. I lost my business. Then my house. That stress eventually lead to a divorce. Now I live in a run down house trailer with no realistic hope for the future. As far as I am concerned these thieves should be lock in the self storage facility and left there.
Yes. After their hands are cut off.
@@davidgagnon2849 um, only hands? 😉
😠 I only lost all my valuables, I didn't earn a living with my tools. So sorry you lost what money can't replace. Stealing a working person of their tools of trade is unforgivable, you take everything from them.
@@davidgagnon2849 Right hand and left foot!
Wow, that's deep. You should write a book or start a podcast that's the other end of Victimization.😢
You'd never think the tools you buy from Home Depot, Harbor Freight, or Lowes could end up like this. This was incredibly informative. 🤷🏿♂️
I've had tools stolen from a work truck and work van a couple times. Both times I called the police who basically told me, "Gee, that's too bad. Sorry that happened." and no resolution ever came of it. I just bought new tools and kept working.
That's the problem, everyone says oh you need to report it, well what good does it do, the cops don't follow through with anything...and heaven forbid you find the thief before they do. My home was broken into about a week a go, one thing stolen was my laptop....$2200 to replace it, can't afford to do so, yet with all my personal data on it, both the cops and the manufacturer of the laptop was absolutely no help....you'd think the manufacturer could have done something, actually they can, they do have the software to remote access your devices and fix or purposely wipe the drives yet they failed to do so, so now my laptop is out there somewhere with personal data on it, plus all of my documents that I need. They better hope they find the guy who stole it before I do.
Yup. If they can’t ticket you or eat a donut, they’re not interested. Worse than worthless.
@@wildbill23cYup. Keep passwords and very personal documents in encrypted folders.
Yes, I have had my tools stolen multiple times, including my truck. The response of the police department was: "Here is your incident number for your insurance claim." When I found my truck, the police officer that I flagged down stated that I probably filed a false report since one of my workers took it. I don't have any workers or employees.
Fuck the police
That's about par ... JFC !
I have also learned that in my household when hiring handymen and plumbers it is a good idea to secure my own tools. Yes I learned the hard way.
I have had a few $1000 worth of stihl tools stolen and were never recovered; for that reason I am extremely hesitant to buy used tools.
Thank you.
I started painting my tools hot pink in graduate school (1970' s). In the laboratory, some of the specialty tools for high vacuum technology systems were $600 or more.
Druggers would sometimes hide their stashes above fume hoods and other out of sight and hard to access places in commercial laboratories where I worked. Crazy!
Thanks again.
I've seen contractors pick a strange color to paint their ladders, tools and boxes... It might look gaudy however it keeps the low life idiots away.... Stay safe, Tim
Excellent point!
Yep, I painted all my beehives (100+ hives) "Raspberry Sorbet" which is bubblegum pink. and have posted a few thousand pics of my hives since 2011. Everyone in the beekeeping community knows what my hives (and content) look like. I've not had hives stolen since doing this, but I have had content stolen and it was immediately reported to me by friends who recognized my pink beehives. I was able to get the imposter accounts shut down.
I use hot pink
@@lancehiemstra8264 I did also, nobody wanted my tools after that
My van was stolen while I was inside a vacant house installing a furnace and ac. I had a small amount of tools in the jobsite as I was taking out old furnace. I had about $20,000 worth of tools taken that day and never recovered any tools. Police was zero help.
I’m not saying to distrust people you work around, but be aware of them and what they’re paying attention too. I worked for a contractor for a time, they had a employee that would job hop to scope out where the job sites were at. Then “randomly” a home would get stripped over the weekend of appliances, wiring, etc. They figured out he was at the homes before they got hit. The thing is, the guy wasn’t the doing the stealing, he was just the eyes/information for the people doing the stealing.
Who knows how many other people are out there doing something similar.
Nothing lower than stealing a working man’s livelyhood 😡
Last year I was in Home Depot to buy a $99.00 Milwaukee tool. It was behind a metal cage, so I had to hunt down a sales rep. When he opened the cage I said thanks and went to reach for the tool. He said I'll walk you to check out. To be truthful I was annoyed. So I chatted up the staff member and said I couldn't believe he walked me over to you. She said we have had millions of dollars worth of tools stolen since the pandemic. Now when I buy a tool I don't mind being walked to check out. Note, this store is in what you would consider an upscale part Buffalo, NY. A place where you normally would feel safe.
Come on guy…What would be the point in locking up tools if they just handed them over to customers.
Its very annoying, to the point where I no longer shop there, I do so online. Free shipping, and I don't have to chase down a lazy ass employee that might have the damn key to the cage....all their so called security measures do is stop law abiding people from buying stuff....the thieves just walk 2 isles over, grab a pair of bolt cutters off the shelf and go cut the damn lock....and then walk out the front door with whatever they want because nobody has the balls to stop them...that's the problem this country faces, too many sissy lalas out there.
@@jesstapia562 Because scumbags load up their entire cart. If you are just getting one or 2 tools, and spend time on camera with an associate, you are most likely not a thief.
I live in Canada and they also bring it to the check out
A subcontractor had gone to Lowe’s to get materials. Upon return he was extremely pissed off that he had witnessed someone bypassing checkout with a cartload of tools. Someone yelled at him but he just kept going. An employee explained to him that they were t even allowed to follow thieves out to the parking lot to get a license number. That same sub was bragging about scoring several hundred dollars worth of free tools from his buddy who worked in the business office at Lowe’s. I don’t remember how the scam worked but he was really proud of himself. SMH.
Buy RIGID tools, no one will steal them
They stole mine when I was moving out. It did help the warranty allowed me to give the cops the serial numbers but nothing ever resulted from it.
Fix your spelling to Ridgid.
A rigid tool is something else.
@@rudispruell883😂
RIDGID has been my best tools, yes, a little less quality but they in-store replaced the broken tool and even a bad battery. no other tool brand have I been able to do that, not sense SEARS closed on my CRAFTSMAN tools.
I've had Ridgid pipe wrenches stolen before, I have a Ridgid Sawzall now because it was too much money to replace the Milwaukee that was stolen on the south side of Chicago.
I was down with a wounded leg for a week and 2 tweekers cleaned out my shop of 4 generations of tools and hot rod parts
Unfortunately, seems like it was someone you knew, that knew you had a bum leg and wouldn't be around. May not have been, but often it's someone who knows you and your current situation.
@@dc6233 hay there, yes l know who did the theft a man and woman , but l never met them, they must have known my routine. my son and I are trackers we tracked them down finding some droped tools along the way and showed the cops the tracks and they agreed that it was were the the tools been taken but they abandoned the property and haven't been seen since . The cop said were the tweekers lived they have made some arrest on the property and the male was due to attend court in the near future for stealing a golf cart from the county. I am dumb for not getting insurance . so my grandpa's my dad's ( mine alone are 60 years worth ) and a bunch of my boys tools . but we did find my dads old vice ! Thanks again Tank
Thanks for all the good information that you shared. One thing you can do is engrave your tools with identifying mark like your initials or such. When I was a machinist, we all marked our tools. It helped when more than one person was working on something that your tools don't get mixed up. The same with auto technicians.
I have a contractor friend that keeps his tools in his truck in a tough neighborhood in Queens.
He invested thousands of dollars in alarm systems and steel reinforcing of his truck. The alarm goes off nightly 😂
I go into pawn shops all the time and it seems like half their inventory are tools just like this and there is no way they can tell if they are stolen, but it looks like it to me. Many are muddy like it came from a construction site. If I was just selling me personal tools to a pawn shop to get something different, I would clean them up to try and get max dollar out of them. If I stole a ton a stuff, I wouldn't bother and just quickly fence them.
Pawn shops are quite aware of what is stolen especially when they’re buying from the same deadshit.
@@scroungasworkshop4663 So do they report them to the authorities?
Yup. I’ve lost easily several thousand in tools when I lived and worked in Greater Metro NYC.
Twice from vehicle break-ins in supposedly “secure” locations.
I use a particular “notch” system for hand tools and “permanently” mark all my power tools with a Logo/Name however this is really just to stop jobsite “drift” and make it easier for me to identify my tools that have been borrowed.
Mine left my house by way of family.
Hopefully you gave them away and they didn't walk away.
My tip is always keep the paperwork that comes with the tool. It always have the model number and serial number on it, with the receipt.
If you don't have the time to do it, but you have the time to call the police and go purchase some more tools. It is part of the paperwork called bookkeeping.
Think! God Bless and Stay Safe.
Photos as well, showing the serial number as well as your whole collection of tools that do not have a serial numbers. Engrave or otherwise label as much as you can with your name and or initials sometimes in multiple places including your bags, totes, and toolbox etc in both visible and less visible places.
When I owned my Hardware store 15 years ago, I had a contractor used to come and buy 6 SDS hammer drills at a time, made in china $42 each, once he told me they lasted beyond Hilti, and I said you are kidding, he said no, the Hilti get stolen in 2 days, them cheap ones no one cared about, they break fast but yet did the job without worring when they will disapear.
Ebay, Craigs List, etc. should be required to have a seller publish the serial number on any item being sold. This put an end to a lot of Pawn shops dealing in stolen goods in the past. It does work.
There's a corner near where I work where you can consistently find a guy selling brand new Ryobi tools. Being out in the open, I'm surprised that the police haven't busted the guy...
Unbelievable
He "may" be a legitimate seller. Tools Direct sometimes puts stuff on sale so cheap (Ridgid and Ryobi) that they can be purchased and resold to unsuspecting buyers who don't know about Tools Direct. They are sometimes seconds or refurbs, in the box. so extra savings. I bought a Ridgid hybrid table saw from Tools Direct for under $200. That's about a $600 saw.
I saw someone buying power tools at HD yesterday. They were all locked up and walked directly to the checkout by the sales person. Not many being stolen at that store.
Happening everywhere now.
Not happening except maybe by employees.....
That's store policy, but in both Home Depot and Lowes I've had an employee just hand me the tool from the locker and left me to walk it up myself
Do not know where you are, but here in Minnesota, we have Menard's here. Same as Home Depot or Lowe's. Maybe you do know about them, they are located in Eau Claire, Wi. But very good video. People need to wright serial numbers down. It is work, but at least you may get your own tools back if stolen.
I've had tools and my truck stolen, I actually had Ridgid Bluetooth batteries I never recorded or set up so I couldn't track them, but I did get my truck back luckily...
The storage locker where I work was broken into, with the thief taking tools and lawn maintenance equipment. Unfortunately for him, the idiot left behind a milk crate with his tools of the trade and a warranty receipt with his name and phone number. Also in the crate were a handful of pawn tickets for multiple power tools from several Cash America pawn shops in the area. We never recovered the tools, but the jackass did end up going to state prison in Texas. Despite filling out a crime victim restitution application, the city of Fort Worth never gave us a penny...had to suck it up and move on.
In Chicago, if your tools got stolen, you'll go to the old Maxwell Street Market. There was a high probability that you would find your stuff. I have personally recovered stolen tools there back in the day.
After one too many thefts, I basically made it nearly impossible to access my tools and work truck.
At the time I was doing electrical and HVAC/Refrigeration service work.
Thank you, very interesting and informative, this should be introduced all over the world.
Many years back walked out to find my whole toolbox gone. They cut into my truck bed to get to the bolts holding it down.
I wait for sales and only buy tools from the store (mostly Home Depot). An electrician friend had his van broken into recently. He had to replace a lot of tools to keep working. Terrible experience.
I was using a metal cutoff saw in my carport. I went inside ONE MINUTE to take a piss. Came back out and the saw was gone! The cops checked the local pawn shops and found it. Fortunately, I had the serial number and got it back.
AN EASY SOLUTION IS TO TAKE CELL PHONE PICTURES OF THE EXPENSIVE STUFF AT LEAST AND HAVE AN TOOLS PICTURE SECTION ON YOUR PHOTO LIST!
IF A COP DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR TOOLS, ASK HIM HOW HE WOULD LIKE SOME ONE STEALING HIS WORK TOOLS!!
Buy an engraver and etch your driver’s license number on the tool. If law enforcement happens to recover the tool, at least you have some way to identify yours.
I often see marketplace sellers with new, in the box tools. I have wondered whether these are counterfeit or grey-market. Now, I have a new concern to add to the list.
Those heaps of tools hopefully have had their batteries removed and those batteries stored safely elsewhere under a sprinkler system.
I have noticed a large number of Ryobi lawn tools + a site whith a whole garage filled with Ryobi boxed items. This reinforces my thoughts of how they may of ended up with their tools...CA
It's a shame that Joe Carpenter had to be a victim not once but multiple times and then had to do his own leg work to get tools back. It is awful that law enforcement and the justice department especially in blue states enables this activity to go on without consequences. This impacts all of us with the prices at the stores, the cost of getting work done, our own safety, and stores having to close because of large smash & grab encounters left unchecked and unpunished. Good on Joe Carpenter for standing up for himself and opening up evidence in this huge crime ring!!
Very similar story on the other side of the pond. In April Police recovered thousands of tools of every kind from shipping containers at a site in Swattenden, Kent in England.
Discovered because of a tracker on one of them.
They had been stolen from all over the south of England.
Police recommend engraving identification on your tools, using Smartwater and recording manufacturers serial numbers.
Great they found all the tools, still doesn't fix the problem that the original owners of those tools are still out thousands of dollars in having to purchase those tools again that were stolen....totally pointless.
I had my laptop stolen recently....like other companies, they seem to allow these things to happen, even after calling the manufacturer to let them know about the theft, they don't do anything, they simply could have remotely accessed the laptop and wiped the hard drive at least protecting the victim's personal data....its like the companies themselves seem to be letting it all happen.
I had my lawn care equipment taken from my locked shed. Had video camera footage and it took the police 4 hrs to respond to my alarm company called them several times. Said because it was black and white film they could not identify the perp . Added an 8ft tall fence around the area
Its amazing the excuses they come up with NOT to do their jobs isnt it??
We had a secure area under our deck at the time where we kept our lawn care stuff, mowers, weedeaters & blowers. My fiance had a PT landscaping business on wkends & stored most of his equipment there as his construction tools took up the rm in the truck during the wk. Came home for lunch one day & walked up on dude high out of his mind with a crowbar peeling away the siding that went around it. Hed already peeled away about a 6ft section & was cutting thru the plywood walls underneath w a cheap multitool. When I walked around back (heard the tool running inside our locked 6ft tall fenced in yard & locked gate, knew no one should be there) this fool already had several of the weedeaters & blowers laying in the yard along with the mess hed made . Tried to play if off like he was there doin work & the homeowners had hired him... Idiot didnt realize I had my earbud in w my fiance who heard the conversation & called the police. They pulled up WHILE HE WAS STILL IN OUR YARD complete with all the destruction & holes hed made reaching in to grab stuff. Jerks refused to arrest him for anything other then trespassing because our cameras didnt cover where hed gotten over the fence. Supposedly that must mean hed been "invited" in. SMH.
Thankfully the tools were left & but our insurance only covered about half of what it woulda took to fix the damage hed caused. Said we could take him to small claims court. Yea right... Was soooo pissed off they made such excuses when it was obvious what happened & that no one would have "hired" a homeless addict to destroy their property. Within 8 miles of downtown of a major city. It was ridiculous
I had all my tools stolen on a job site in 2000. Brookfield CT. They were stolen from a subcontractor that was hired by circuit city to deliver appliances. The delivery truck came back and took all appliances, lighting fixtures, tile, tile installer tools, paint, along with my tools.
When I drive through the small towns where I live and see tables set up on the front lawn with a lot of Milwaukee, Dewalt, etc. I drive by wondering how many of the tools are stolen. I need to stop one day and see what the prices are.
All my tools have my postcode and name melted into the plastic. Very obvious and easily done with a soldering point.
I like this idea.. any one youd recommend if I wanted to do the same?
I filed two different reports for stolen tools and never heard another word and police department. Don’t give a damn where I live at or do they get them back or not but take a report and the end of it sad sad that you never gonna see your tools again you have to buy new ones.
If you have more than a thousand dollars worth of tools, it's time to start thinking about a job box. Not for moving around your tools (if you have the equipment to do so great) but to store them securely.
Additionally there can be cost of the damage to the vehicle. In the UK you see a lot of tradesman's vehicles with stickers "no tools kept in the vehicle over night" so it's definitely a problem in the UK as well. I suppose from the criminals point of view, a tradesman's vehicles containing tools can be a high value target that has minimal protection and depending on poverty levels it might be quite expensive easy to get a low level Crim to do the dirty work. I'm wondering where the tools end up and whether they go for export by the container load.
I had my truck broken into, and tools taken, I run a steel cable through all of them now and lock them into the cargo holds in my truck now. We have also had guys, wearing nail bags walking around the bigger jobsite, stealing them out of the back of trucks, they want to look like they are in the trades so people think that must be their truck.
I bring my GSD and Rottweiler. My dogs dont like new people without me around them. Bahahahahah. No one steals my stuff!!!!
One tip I use to keep my tools safe is always take the Battery out & don't leave it together with the tool. Another tip is unscrew your device & take a piece of it out. That way if it's stolen it's useless to whoever took it. 👷🏿♂️
Great video, Dave!
Thanks!
From Tulsa, Oklahoma, we’re nothing is ever recovered. I found it if I put old dead tools or electronics in the back of the truck that they will usually just grab that and run, most of which don’t work, but it keeps them from fiddling and digging through my stuff.
Yeah, I had my work truck broken into once, and stolen once- I got it back empty, They cut through the wall behind the seat to get into the back. My new van they use the chipped keys, so harder to steal, and I lined the bulkhead wall with car insulation and headliner fabric. The cab is quieter, and would be thieves don't know what they're looking at, so they don't bother. You're right about preventing crooks from selling online though. This kind of thievery is highly lucrative if they can set up a bogus Amazon Ebay or other online store, so shutting that down is important.
My biggest tip is don’t brag about your stuff and don’t let anyone borrow anything.
Yes, I have had tools stolen from a job site. They were locked inside a container. Turned out it was an inside job with their security guards and it was done over a 4th of July weekend. I had to take out a small loan to get new tools. The GC's insurance refused to reimburse any of the contractors for their tools stolen from what was suppose to be a secured job site.
Mine left me when may work van was stolen. Then my replacement tools left five months later when my trunk was busted open early one morning.
Great video Thanks for sharing
I have a 40 buck ryobi router bits set in there somewhere . Pawn shop sold it before they found my other tools . These things don’t get replaced - unless I personally replace them , even though there’s allegedly a victim’s compensation section of law enforcement .
I’ve had to just live without it I don’t have 40 bucks to spare to replace it . Thanks for asking .
Oh & the bad guys were caught using their IDs at the pawn shop - plus , I knew who it was . Got my drill & router back at least . Petty shtuff .
I’m a detective in a large agency on the east coast. I’ve worked on these cases and it’s a massive problem. Organized theft is a sophisticated business and it’s actually interesting to work.
One of the biggest problems for law enforcement right now is being short staffed and often overwhelmed. The other major problem is the lack of prosecutions and punishment for what is essentially a property crime. I don’t agree with it, just telling it how it is.
Its always the same suspects stealing everything 😂
I knew a guy who took his own life after getting all his tools ripped off ..
Sad.
Step #1 only buy your tools from a store. IF they dont have a place to ssell them they atop
Great Video thank you, 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
My truck and equipment were stolen. Got the truck back but not the tools and equipment.
Nice video Dave!!
Outboard motors being stolen in Ireland are exported to Eastern Europe same applies to uk.
I painted a bunch of my stuff fluorescent pink.
They (some) still walked.
My dog prevented my tools from being stolen more than once. 🐕
Someone(s) broke into my garage. They tied a rope to the man door and the front wheel of a car to keep me from opening the inswing man door. They tied another rope to the patio door and attached that to my 250 pound drill press. When I got up to go into the garage and couldn't open the man door it took me a moment to figure out what was happening.. The had raised one of the garage doors about 12 inches and turned on a bench light at the back of the shop. When I got access they were gone and my sawzall was next to the partially opened garage door. The police responded and I could identify every stolen tool except for a sump pump. Nothing was ever recovered. I kept checking Craigslist and Fb Marketplace but didn't find any of my tools. I was surprised to learn that the home insurance policy did not cover tools.
Tools, guns, valuables stolen. My business loses $250k per quarter. This must stop.
Why steal tools only to store them in storage facilities. The real question is where do the tools go from there? No mention of who owned the storage? No mention of charges? Also, if your tools are stolen from your vehicle once why would you leave tools in your vehicle again
Probably a work van or trailer. I install cabinets and have over $25000 in tools in a trailer
Take photos of them and post on ebay or similar platform.. Or perhaps they were going to send the tools overseas; not sure if it's worth it or not.
eBay and Facebook market place and other platforms need to setup a better protocol for selling the current system is a windfall to thief’s
I recently had a storage unit broken into and my Dewalt 735x planer and a portable air conditioner stolen. I work part time at Rockler Woodworking and Hardware in San Antonio and we were broken into but they only took one Bosch router.
Interesting video. TY.
Good Scoop!!
A couple of times my tools were stolen they were never recovered
Yes, stolen from my house around 1983. They were cheap made in Taiwan tools. I replaced them with good Craftsman tools, which in the 80's were really good.
my shop got broken into. everything power handheld was taken. insurance offered a "depreciated"value. new or a few years old,aquality tool can not be replaced by some cheap chinese knockoff. maybe i'm lucky because i ended up with about half the money to replace them. hilti?festool?fein?or ryobi. which are you going to buy to do your job. sucks. thousands of dollars in tools swapped for drugs for a junkie. but it gets better. the same assholes will smash a window in your truck for pocket change and half a pack of cigarettes. yay.
WHAT happens? they FOR SALE on eBay, FB marketplace, craigslist, my local flea market, aaannd so on, id never use anything from Apple... EVER
One thing that works regarding tools, as well as any other assets ......don't advertise
I lost 5 grand in tools a couple years ago.
Also weird, is that my son bought tools from auctions, and not many people bid against him. He could get half a garage full of tools for $100. So, people are not that interested in hand tools anymore.
Ty ✌️💜
Thanks for watching!
I don’t understand how thieves make a profit if all their loot ends up in a warehouse.
Brother had his trailer cleaned out of his company tools,he had to re buy them again they were stolen again breaking into his locked trailer after buying them again he now has to take trailer home each nite from job sites,law enforcement never caught any one
Don’t give away the way the cops are nabbing these jerks… they need to keep low info so they don’t get hurt and affected adversely…
No my tools were never recovered, as will as the stereo taken from the dashboard of the truck.
My tools are my hands!!!
I fix them, I maintain them, I clean them, I upgrade them, they are almost like babies to me!
I am literally sick in my stomach when I`m even thinking of losing them like that!
I once caught an overly tanned bastard in the process of stealing my own tools from my own garage, so I can`t tell what exactly happened to him, but he is permanently out of stealing anything!
No one touches my tools without my permission!
And I don`t like you for even asking!
Get your own tools, ffs!
WTF did they plan to do with all those tools? You can't sell them one at a time on ebay and Facebook. Makes me wonder if the manufacturers have contracted out the theft to spur new sales.
The real question is who HASN'T had tools stolen
What about the guy in England put a wire charger on his work van?
My Dad's tools were were stolen from his work van in Richmond, VA - never recovered.
It's crazy a small bag of my electrical tools could be way over $1000
How is it worth going to hell to steal tools?
Interesting 😊
what makes it worth getting a search warrant? i've had my house broken into where they leave other stolen goods there. the police never collected it or any sort of evidence. is it just because they don't want to do it? ive also had two iphones stolen, ten years apart, same useless response from police. "i know we can see exactly where it is but there is nothing we can do about it." huh? like, they can't even ask the person? i'm honestly shocked the cops showed up to help. with me, i track my stolen goods and have them tell me to accept it and go home.
I had my jeep Cherokee stolen with 4.500 of tools and law enforcement was no help at all none. I did more to find them.
Remember if they can activate your new device they can de-activate it. Thus, pave the way to charge you to rent your device- that’s what they want to do to you.
Yes, tool theft is awful but the kill switch is a no go
Sad it took a contractor to lead them to the thieves.
Sad that this happens here but rarely in other countries.
Obviously one can save costs and lessen the damage by buying from HB, but there are speacialty those tools stolen that could take thousands to replace.