[78-L] e-bay question ^

[Jeff Lichtman]

>What am I to do next? Report the theft (eight years after my aunt's 
>death...)? Or report to e-bay, although the seller has withdrawn the 
>items from the list? Any other ideas?
>Kristjan

I don't know Swedish law (that's where you live, right?), so this advice might not apply to you. If I were in your position I would contact the seller and offer to pay for the items, assuming their value to you is worth what he's asking. I would also be careful not to accuse him of anything illegal, as he very well could have bought the items with no knowledge that they were stolen.

I see the following problems with pursuing this legally:

- This case is over eight years old, which means the original theft is probably past the statute of limitations.

- You would have to prove that the property actually belonged to your aunt, and that it was actually stolen (i.e. that she neither sold it nor gave it away). This would probably be very difficult. You and the rest of your family know how your aunt would have treated this property, but how would you prove that in court, or to the police?

- It would be hard to get police and prosecutors interested in the case, considering its age and the relatively low monetary value.

- You might have to prove that the current holder of the property either stole it himself or knowingly received stolen property.

- I'm sure eBay wouldn't want to pursue this, especially since the seller has withdrawn the items.

It occurs to me, by the way, that the items might not be stolen at all. Is it possible that your aunt had them in storage somewhere that your family didn't know about, and that the owner of the storage location eventually got rid of the stuff? It's pretty common in the U.S. for people to rent storage lockers for things they don't want to keep in their homes, and for the contents of these lockers to be sold for non-payment of rent when the renter dies.


                       -        Jeff Lichtman
                                jeff at swazoo.com