[bdrm0321]

Hello all, my name is Brock. I'm a US service member, currently stationed in Okinawa Japan.

Okinawa is a very small island south of Mainland Japan.

I Purchased a Brand new Pentax K-1 mark II the day it was release a few months ago. I had to have it flown out here by family because you cant ship lithium batteries here and its not available for sale here yet.

On Thursday August 2nd my car was broken into and my entire camera bag was stolen. I notified police and they dusted for fingerprints etc. the grand total of items stolen was over 5,000 US dollars. later on that day a member of the Okinawa Photography community notified me that a camera matching the description of mine, was posted on Yahoo auctions Japan at 1PM on August 3rd. originating from here in Okinawa.

???!?PENTAX K-1 Mark?/??? HD D FA 24-7... - ????!
I scoured these photos and found this:
The Camera was a Pentax K-1 Mark II with under 2,000 shutter count
It Had the lens that was stolen with the camera (24-70mm)
It still had the cheap UV protector on it to (that im sure the seller wasn't aware of because i purchased it specifically because of how low profile it was.
it still had the screen protector on the back.

The seller would not meet me in person to check out the camera. He also would not send me the serial number for verification. (it still had the box and serial numbers for both)

The Police in here did nothing to stop this auction so i attempted to purchase it myself.

Unfortunately i was not able to win the auction.

My Auto insurance wont cover it, my renters insurance wont cover it. I've called 8 lawyers, the US consulate to try to motivate the police. I've emailed Yahoo Auctions.

I still have a personal loan out for this camera that i will be paying on for the next 2 years.

Attached are pictures of me with the camera. and some of the photos i took with it.

this is not a job for me, photography is part of my life. I don't make money taking photos. photography is truly my passion. Please help.

Thank you everyone for reading.

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Last edited by BigMackCam; 08-07-2018 at 12:09 AM. Reason: Link removed

[MarkJerling]

The same seller lists some other cheap stuff for sale. I'd suggest you buy one of those cheap items and show up with the Police when you go to collect the item. Good luck!

[Cerebum]

Have you recorded the serial numbers on the database? There is always the possibility it will turn up in an eBay auction and make its way from Japan to north america. Theft like this is soul destroying! The worst part, well one of the worst parts is that you cannot gain any kind of closure. I sincerely hope you either get your camera back or at the very least get hold of the thief so you can punch his lights out!

[BigMackCam]

Hi Brock... I'm terribly sorry to hear about this

Please let us know the serial numbers of the camera and any other equipment you have them for, and register them in our serial number database. Assuming you bought this from an authorised dealer, they will have the serial number recorded in their systems for warranty purposes (it's probably listed on the sales invoice too). This should help to provide evidence for your discussions with the police.

NOTE: I've had to remove your crowdfunding link for now, as this is something we don't typically allow on PentaxForums - despite my genuine sympathy for your situation.

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Last edited by BigMackCam; 08-07-2018 at 12:35 AM.

[UncleVanya]

Lenstag is another place you can register the gear.

[ChipB]

That really sucks - like others, I hope your either get your gear back or have the opportunity to kick the guy in the ____s!!!

[gaweidert]

Sorry for what has happened. If you used a credit card you may still be protected.

[Alex645]

Hello all, my name is Brock. I'm a US service member, currently stationed in Okinawa Japan.

On Thursday August 2nd my car was broken into and my entire camera bag was stolen. I notified police and they dusted for fingerprints etc. the grand total of items stolen was over 5,000 US dollars.

I still have a personal loan out for this camera that i will be paying on for the next 2 years.
Please help.

Brock, first of all, thank you for serving our country. Years ago, I too lost all my cameras and lens from theft. From my own experience, I wouldn't spend any more energy and time trying to bring the thief to justice as much as it seems the right thing to do for yourself and others.

Without going into details, I finally got financial compensation when I found an attorney that specialized in "insurance bad faith" who worked on my case for free (pro-bono) with an agreement that the attorney would include his cost to the claims, so that if you won, the attorney would get some compensation, but not out of your pocket.

I would guess an attorney would pursue your auto insurance company or the web-site that did nothing to stop the sale of stolen goods. It is trickier in Japan that is less litigious than the US, but I would start asking any local attorneys, especially those that may help servicemen, and if they say "no", then ask them for any referrals or leads.

[j0n4hpk]

Being in a similar situation, too, My Pentax ZX-5n and Tamron 28-80 zoom lens were stolen from my car in NE Ohio. But insurance paid for it minus deductible (did I ever mention that I hate deductibles?). And since our family priorities changed somewhat, I was never able to replace it. So, as a movie character states: "I feel your pain",

[pakinjapan]

Police should have given you some advice or you should ask them for advice on what can you do to make them make a move on the seller in question.

IMHO, If you (somehow) can get an image from the Auction page with either Lens or camera Serial numbers that match with the serial numbers on the box which you still have with you. It could be a very convincing evidence of your ownership to show the cops and Yahoo Auction.
Maybe ask/trick the seller to show 360 view of the product including the bottom part (which is where serial number usually printed) because you want to check out the wear, etc.
or if you had inputed a copyright on your K1 (your name, your email address) so that the camera automatically encrypts those info’s into every image it takes, and the seller somehow show sample image taken from the camera without remove your copyright info’s. That could be convincing evidence too. Try to save every sample image the seller claim it was taken from the questionable camera (if it is any) and go to image properties to see if your copyright info is there?


I guess, the cops and Yahoo Auction didn’t make a move because they can’t yet find a convincing & hard evidence to do so.

[West Penn]

Have you contacted the Provost Marshal's office on you military post/base? It may be worth contacting them to see if they can elicit a more cooperative response from the local police or from the auction site.