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I think the reasons for this are: (1) People buy fewer used items in physical stores, i.e. fewer people buy stuff at pawn shops etc and a typical thief will nev
by drcode 13y ago
I think the reasons for this are: (1) People buy fewer used items in physical stores, i.e. fewer people buy stuff at pawn shops etc and a typical thief will never go through the effort of building up a decent eBay seller reputation. This makes it harder to monetize stolen property. (2) It's a self-perpetuating statistic, in that less crime means more resources/attention is given to the remaining crime (by the police and by the vigilance of citizens) which leads to even lower crime.
- thejteam 13y agoAnd, expanding on this, people carry less cash both on their person and in their homes.
- toomuchtodo 13y agoVery much this. I sold my motorcycle yesterday for ~$7K cash. Immediately afterwards I went to the ATM to deposit it. Who still keeps items of large value at home?
- marknutter 13y agoYeah, but they carry $500 smartphones with them now instead.
- drcode 13y agoRight, but how much would you get for that smartphone if you brought it to a pawn shop? Assuming you properly reset its data and convince the pawn shop owner it isn't stolen I bet you could get $30 at most. (And if the phone is locked down and the thief can't jailbreak it it essentially has a value $0)
- jseliger 13y agoOn the other hand, you could probably make a lot selling on Craigslist. I've been selling my family's old phones and computers for years, and the market is robust. Not $500 robust, but two-year-old iPhones go for about $200 (which, probably not coincidentally, is the upgrade price for a new phone).
- marknutter 13y agoI sold my iPhone 4s for $500 last December.
- csomar 13y agoI guess it's much harder to sell a phone without its charger and box. I'd suspect that the property is stolen. Please anyone buying old phones/property ask for the purchase invoice. It's possible that it's a stolen property and you can get in trouble later.
- adrr 13y agoCriminals moved to doing fraud. How many us have been a victim of credit card fraud? There's over $190 billion of it a year in the US alone. That is over $600 per person. Imagine someone broke into you house every year and stole your TV or you are mugged 6 times a year with $100 in your wallet. Crime is still there, its adapted to the times.