So I bought a blacklisted Kindle off Craigslist

kermalou · 09-23-2010, 02:16 PM

Saw on craigslist yesterday some guy selling a Kindle 3 for $120 new in box yesterday, met up with him last night and bought the sucker.

Went into the website to register it and it wouldn't register, told me to call in to support.

I called in this morning and after being put on hold and transferred a couple of times, the rep came back and said that this serial # has been blacklisted and reported as lost/stolen.

I gotta return the thing to the seller or have him contact amazon to get this thing off the blacklist.

I'm trying to get a hold of the guy but he isn't picking up my calls at the moment and after reading around here a bit was wondering,

Do I have to register? I can get books from other stores and load it up.

I see that there is a registration hack for the K2, so thinking that if it gets released for the K3 I can add collections later.

I am just thinking of the worst case scenario if this guy turns out to be scum.

Tiersten · 09-23-2010, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kermalou

I gotta return the thing to the seller or have him contact amazon to get this thing off the blacklist.

Unlikely to happen in either case. The person that sold it to you is most probably not the person that bought it from Amazon or if they did then it was with a stolen account or credit card.

Will2010 · 09-23-2010, 02:31 PM

You got scammed, dude. Sorry.

Didn't the price and the fact that it was new in the box give you pause? I'm guessing the guy stole it from a neighbor's mailbox or front porch. When the real purchaser discovered its delivery status as "delivered," the purchaser would have reported that to Amazon and they would have sent a replacement and flagged this one. I doubt you have any recourse, as you're not likely to find the guy, and even if you did, you've got nothing to show for the purchase (he's not legit, so it's your word against his).

Why wouldn't you just order a legit one from Amazon?

desertgrandma · 09-23-2010, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kermalou

Saw on craigslist yesterday some guy selling a Kindle 3 for $120 new in box yesterday, met up with him last night and bought the sucker.

Went into the website to register it and it wouldn't register, told me to call in to support.

I called in this morning and after being put on hold and transferred a couple of times, the rep came back and said that this serial # has been blacklisted and reported as lost/stolen.

I gotta return the thing to the seller or have him contact amazon to get this thing off the blacklist.

I'm trying to get a hold of the guy but he isn't picking up my calls at the moment and after reading around here a bit was wondering,

Do I have to register? I can get books from other stores and load it up.

I see that there is a registration hack for the K2, so thinking that if it gets released for the K3 I can add collections later.
I am just thinking of the worst case scenario if this guy turns out to be scum.

So you realize you have a "lost/stolen" kindle and you are willing to keep it?

You don't want to see if Amazon can return it to its rightful owner?

Sorry about your money loss......but is keeping it right?

lanfearl · 09-23-2010, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

So you realize you have a "lost/stolen" kindle and you are willing to keep it?

You don't want to see if Amazon can return it to its rightful owner?

Sorry about your money loss......but is keeping it right?

The moral dilemma is on the thief.. not him.

HarryT · 09-23-2010, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lanfearl

The moral dilemma is on the thief.. not him.

I don't know how it works where you are, but in the UK at least, stolen property still belongs to the original owner even if someone's bought it in good faith.

gargoyle67 · 09-23-2010, 02:53 PM

Yeah right so he should just throw the $120 away then, Considering Amazon will just re-sent another out to the original buyer as long as it was stolen straight off delivery, Sometimes doing the right thing isn't always the best solution, As long as kermalou bought it not knowing it was stolen goods of course.
Although I bet when kermalou bought the k3 it wasn't at the sellers residence, Which in of it's self would cause me pause.

SamuraiXSendai · 09-23-2010, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gargoyle67

Yeah right so he should just throw the $120 away then, Considering Amazon will just re-sent another out to the original buyer as long as it was stolen straight off delivery, Sometimes doing the right thing isn't always the best solution, As long as kermalou bought it not knowing it was stolen goods of course.
Although I bet when kermalou bought the k3 it wasn't at the sellers residence, Which in of it's self would cause me pause.

One must always do the right thing even if no one knows about it.

PharaohsVizier · 09-23-2010, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

I don't know how it works where you are, but in the UK at least, stolen property still belongs to the original owner even if someone's bought it in good faith.

Legally perhaps, but ethically, perhaps not.

Will2010 · 09-23-2010, 03:03 PM

OP is out his $120. Too late to fix that, unless he can find the shady seller and the seller suddenly has an improbable attack of ethics.

OP should arrange with Amazon to return it to Amazon with an explanation. Worst case, Amazon gets it back and can sell it as a refurbished unit and OP has a clean conscience and has learned a hard lesson. Best case is Amazon decides to reward OP for being honest and gives him some credit towards Amazon merchandise, even towards a new legitimate Kindle.

It's up to him, but the right thing to do is clear.

gargoyle67 · 09-23-2010, 03:07 PM

I can't understand why you would pay $120 when you only need to put a few more $$ towards a legit one from Amazon, I could understand buying a second hand one for say $50 or $60 but at $120 it isn't enough of a saving to warrant buying a SH one.

desertgrandma · 09-23-2010, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lanfearl

The moral dilemma is on the thief.. not him.

wrong. He has a moral choice to make.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gargoyle67

Yeah right so he should just throw the $120 away then, Considering Amazon will just re-sent another out to the original buyer as long as it was stolen straight off delivery, Sometimes doing the right thing isn't always the best solution, As long as kermalou bought it not knowing it was stolen goods of course.
Although I bet when kermalou bought the k3 it wasn't at the sellers residence, Which in of it's self would cause me pause.

He didn't know it was stolen then....no harm no foul. BUT he knows it now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PharaohsVizier

Legally perhaps, but ethically, perhaps not.

How do you justify this? "Ethically not???

ChaoZ · 09-23-2010, 03:16 PM

I would chalk the $120 as a loss and see what Amazon does when you present them with your situation.

ProfCrash · 09-23-2010, 03:17 PM

Count me in the camp that says he should return the device to Amazon. It sucks that he got stuck with stolen property but that does not change the fact that the right thing to do is to return the stolen property.

If he returns it to Amazon, I would suggest that he lets Amazon know who he bought the Kindle from. It is always possible that the owner reported it stolen, got a new one, and sold the old one online to make some extra cash.

And this is why I wouldn't buy anything like a Kindle through Craigslist. There have been reports of people who have bought Kindles through Craigslist, registered them before paying for them, and then had them blacklisted

emalvick · 09-23-2010, 03:18 PM

Ethically, I would think you need to report it. Heck, the OP already contacted Amazon whom in theory should have suggested it get returned back. The $120 is gone, although I would guess that with a little work, it wouldn't be hard to find the scam artist working again through Craigs List.

09-23-2010, 02:16 PM	#1
kermalou Member Posts: 11 Karma: 868 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: K3	So I bought a blacklisted Kindle off Craigslist Saw on craigslist yesterday some guy selling a Kindle 3 for $120 new in box yesterday, met up with him last night and bought the sucker. Went into the website to register it and it wouldn't register, told me to call in to support. I called in this morning and after being put on hold and transferred a couple of times, the rep came back and said that this serial # has been blacklisted and reported as lost/stolen. I gotta return the thing to the seller or have him contact amazon to get this thing off the blacklist. I'm trying to get a hold of the guy but he isn't picking up my calls at the moment and after reading around here a bit was wondering, *Do I have to register?* I can get books from other stores and load it up. I see that there is a registration hack for the K2, so thinking that if it gets released for the K3 I can add collections later. I am just thinking of the worst case scenario if this guy turns out to be scum.

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09-23-2010, 02:31 PM	#3
Will2010 Member Posts: 16 Karma: 12 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kindle 3	You got scammed, dude. Sorry. Didn't the price and the fact that it was new in the box give you pause? I'm guessing the guy stole it from a neighbor's mailbox or front porch. When the real purchaser discovered its delivery status as "delivered," the purchaser would have reported that to Amazon and they would have sent a replacement and flagged this one. I doubt you have any recourse, as you're not likely to find the guy, and even if you did, you've got nothing to show for the purchase (he's not legit, so it's your word against his). Why wouldn't you just order a legit one from Amazon?

09-23-2010, 02:53 PM	#7
gargoyle67 Addict Posts: 231 Karma: 180249 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kobo Aura	Yeah right so he should just throw the $120 away then, Considering Amazon will just re-sent another out to the original buyer as long as it was stolen straight off delivery, Sometimes doing the right thing isn't always the best solution, As long as kermalou bought it not knowing it was stolen goods of course. Although I bet when kermalou bought the k3 it wasn't at the sellers residence, Which in of it's self would cause me pause.

09-23-2010, 03:03 PM	#10
Will2010 Member Posts: 16 Karma: 12 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kindle 3	OP is out his $120. Too late to fix that, unless he can find the shady seller and the seller suddenly has an improbable attack of ethics. OP should arrange with Amazon to return it to Amazon with an explanation. Worst case, Amazon gets it back and can sell it as a refurbished unit and OP has a clean conscience and has learned a hard lesson. Best case is Amazon decides to reward OP for being honest and gives him some credit towards Amazon merchandise, even towards a new legitimate Kindle. It's up to him, but the right thing to do is clear.

09-23-2010, 03:07 PM	#11
gargoyle67 Addict Posts: 231 Karma: 180249 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kobo Aura	I can't understand why you would pay $120 when you only need to put a few more $$ towards a legit one from Amazon, I could understand buying a second hand one for say $50 or $60 but at $120 it isn't enough of a saving to warrant buying a SH one.

09-23-2010, 03:16 PM	#13
ChaoZ Connoisseur Posts: 94 Karma: 192 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Toronto Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Mini, Kobo Touch	I would chalk the $120 as a loss and see what Amazon does when you present them with your situation.

09-23-2010, 03:17 PM	#14
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	Count me in the camp that says he should return the device to Amazon. It sucks that he got stuck with stolen property but that does not change the fact that the right thing to do is to return the stolen property. If he returns it to Amazon, I would suggest that he lets Amazon know who he bought the Kindle from. It is always possible that the owner reported it stolen, got a new one, and sold the old one online to make some extra cash. And this is why I wouldn't buy anything like a Kindle through Craigslist. There have been reports of people who have bought Kindles through Craigslist, registered them before paying for them, and then had them blacklisted

09-23-2010, 03:18 PM	#15
emalvick Groupie Posts: 166 Karma: 5358 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Davis, CA Device: Kindle 3	Ethically, I would think you need to report it. Heck, the OP already contacted Amazon whom in theory should have suggested it get returned back. The $120 is gone, although I would guess that with a little work, it wouldn't be hard to find the scam artist working again through Craigs List.

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