How to tell if a tool is stolen

[RC3]

I been wanting to pick up another milwaukee 1/2 impact and 3/8 impact for use when I am home and I keep finding great deals on "used" ones ( As in new, but no box and yada yada yada). I would love to buy them, but do not want to run into the issue that if something happens and I send them in for the warranty, I get screwed because turns out they are stolen. Anyone have any experiences or ideas with this?

[Ski]

I would definitely be suspicious of "new" tools with no box.  When I worked in retail an old trick was to remove the power tool from the box, put it into a mailbox, and buy the (much cheaper) mailbox (which contained a couple of expensive tools at that point.  It was a frustrating feeling to find empty tool boxes on the mailbox aisle.

 

[DWARREN123]

Only from a store/pawn shop or person I trusted. 

Edited August 8, 2018 by DWARREN123

[peejman]

How would a tool manufacturer know if they were stolen?  Does the warranty cover anyone other than the initial purchaser with proof thereof?

[Garufa]

Not sure how their customer service is but near as I can tell Milwaukee warranties are only extended to the original purchaser.

[RC3]

1 hour ago, peejman said:

How would a tool manufacturer know if they were stolen?  Does the warranty cover anyone other than the initial purchaser with proof thereof?

I figure the store turns them in. So they get logged in the system. And Im talking about power tools.

[Grunt67]

11 hours ago, RC3 said:

I been wanting to pick up another milwaukee 1/2 impact and 3/8 impact for use when I am home and I keep finding great deals on "used" ones ( As in new, but no box and yada yada yada). I would love to buy them, but do not want to run into the issue that if something happens and I send them in for the warranty, I get screwed because turns out they are stolen. Anyone have any experiences or ideas with this?

You could have your local PD run it to see if it's been reported. Sometimes is, sometimes not.

Worth a try, other than that you're pretty much on your own.

[peejman]

1 minute ago, RC3 said:

I figure the store turns them in. So they get logged in the system. And Im talking about power tools.

Tools aren't serialized and tracked. They've no way to know which tool came from where. That's why they want you to have the receipt and the box.

[RC3]

8 minutes ago, peejman said:

Tools aren't serialized and tracked. They've no way to know which tool came from where. That's why they want you to have the receipt and the box.

I have yet to have one fail, but I no longer have the boxes and am pretty sure I tossed the receipts out too. The place where I got them from has a record, so I wasnt worried about it. 

[Ronald_55]

1 hour ago, peejman said:

Tools aren't serialized and tracked. They've no way to know which tool came from where. That's why they want you to have the receipt and the box.

Lots of pro power tools my previous employer had came serialized. We recorded it for depreciation, disposal, and theft reporting. Some that did not got one engraved on them with our name after purchase. 

[RC3]

1 hour ago, Ronald_55 said:

Lots of pro power tools my previous employer had came serialized. We recorded it for depreciation, disposal, and theft reporting. Some that did not got one engraved on them with our name after purchase. 

I used to manage inventory and all the tools were in the system, so when someone lost or stole them, i went and filled a police report and got replaments on their way. So yeah, tool tracking is done and I just dont want to shoot myself in the foot

[Ronald_55]

Would the manufacturer even check the serial number when repairing under warranty for more than manufacturing date and previous repair?

Not that you want to buy a stolen one anyway, just wondering. 

I wonder if part of these are ones that the retailer reported defective and destroyed. I know they caught a guy doing that with electronics once. He reported new items defective and then resold them personally. Costs too much to get then shipped back, so the manufacturer just wants them tossed a lot of times.

[peejman]

I was thinking more tools from Lowes rather than the Snap-On truck. 

While shops may track tools, I highly doubt the tool OEM does on relatively inexpensive stuff. $10,000 test benches?  Yep. $500 impact wrenches?  I doubt it.