Reseller protection

[Kessel33]

What is the name of your state? TN

Up until recently I worked at a store that dealt with buying and reselling new and used multimedia; primarily DVDs and video games. That store was recently closed and everyone laid off. Having done it for a couple years already, I thought I would try doing a similar but smaller scale operation from home. So now I buy things from people in my area (through the newspaper, craigslist, etc.) and sell them online. Basically I need to know what I need to do to ensure I am protected in case someone falsely represents themselves and sells me stolen property.

At the previous store I worked at, we had a very simple form where the customers would fill out their personal information then sign at the bottom beneath a statement that basically read, "By my signature I declare that all property I sell is not stolen," or something very similar to that. Obviously anyone who wanted to could sign a form like that regardless of whether it was true or not. Is a simple form like this protection enough so that if I ever did unknowingly come into possession of stolen property I would be legally protected from any criminal prosecution? And if not, what protection should I have in place?

This is my first time on these forums. Thanks for any help!What is the name of your state?

 

[Kessel33]

Nobody has any ideas on this? I really need some advice. Maybe even direct me to somewhere that I can actually find out what I need to know?

 

[seniorjudge]

There is nothing you can do to protect yourself in this kind of business.

 

[clueless3]

What do you need to do to ensure that you're protected?? From whom? From your customers? Or from the DA??

If you want to protect yourself from your customers:

1) Get a good insurance policy
2) Get a good lawyer

Hope you make enough money off the DVDs to justify the lawyer. No wonder why your ex-employer closed its business!

If you want to protect yourself from the DA:

3) Buy your products from trusted sources only. There are plenty of RELIABLE sources from whom you can buy your products; why resort to Craigslist and the Internet small time sellers for such products??? You're risking A LOT for small profits.

Another thing: If you have been in this business for "a couple years", wouldn't you know if the sellers and the items smell suspicious?

 

[Kessel33]

Thanks for the replies.

Yes, its easy to tell many of the fraudulent sellers and obviously I stay away from them. I just assumed there had to be some way to safeguard yourself since so many nationwide chain stores are doing the exact same thing. EB Games, GameStop, CD Warehouse, Game XChange, Planet Replay and SunCoast are just some of the stores in my area that buy product from customers to resell on a daily basis. And I know there are stores like them everywhere. If its such a risky idea then why do so many stores do it?