VGCollect user motrax had his entire collection stolen. :(

[matt]

Full story here:

http://www.reddit.com/r/gamecollecting/comments/zmiwm/a_plea_for_help/

Collection here: http://www.vgcollect.com/motrax

Everything was loaded up in a U-Haul and the entire truck was stolen. So awful. I'm reaching out to him to get his address and thinking about sending a few of my dupes to him to get things rolling again. I'm not asking for anyone else to toss in, but if you've got some commons or extra and willing to help out, drop me a PM.

Thanks,
Matt

[atariboy]

I feel his pain, a few years ago I got alot of my stuff stolen and it just robs you from wanting to collect again. It took a few years before I was able to buy stuff for my collection. It's not about the value of things, its the things you have collected over the years that can not be replaced. I hope he continues to collect and I will see what I can dig up to donate to him.

[pacpix]

Keep me posted if you get any info...  I think I got some dupes somewhere in my closet.

[desocietas]

Ugh, that totally sucks.  Yeah, keep us posted.  I'm sure I have some stuff to help out with.

[motrax]

Guys, I just saw this thread after Matt sent me a message as outlined earlier in the thread. I will reiterate what I told the Redditors on /vgc/ and what I told him. Please do not feel obligated to do this, but thank you SO MUCH for all your kindness. It is ... Just ... I don't know what to say. If there is anything I can do to help give back to the community, I am onboard. Just the thought that you guys would reach out to me and help in my time of need shows so much caring.

As a sidenote, if anyone has any tips on what to do from here on  out ... As I said in the Reddit post, I am watching Craigslist like a hawk, sent a message to corporate Gamestop in an attempt to get an APB to the local stores, called some pawn stores today, etc. If any of you have been in this situation before and have some advice, I am all ears. Thanks again, guys.

[soera]

Do you have any items that stand out? Keep a watch on Ebay as well for those items. I dont know what else to say. It sucks to lose everything like that. I wish ya good luck.

[jcalder8]

Wow man that really sucks! I hope that whoever stole it gets what is coming to him.

To try and add a bit of humor to the situation at least they stole Babysitting Mama Bundle for the Wii

[disgaeniac]

Man...I really do feel your loss  :'(

Not to be "that one guy that's gotta' be a dick", but...what, exactly were the circumstances here?

The mention of the U-Haul has me *assuming* that you were moving to a new place.

I'm curious why your gaming collection would not be one of the 1st things to make sure you unloaded?!

I mean...compared to furniture/beds/other big & bulky things that need multiple people to move-in/unpack - your ~300 games, or so (I would think, at least)...just by virtue of being higher-value and lighter-weight (simple enough to carry in a few boxes w/o help); I'm wondering *WHY* (of all things) would they be left out on a truck overnight?

Also, did you make sure that all of the doors (including the back door) were all securely shut & locked?
Were the keys left in the truck?

I ask, because your average, 'run-of-the-mill' "smash 'n' grabber"/junkie would not be able to easily break-into (much less, hotwire) a vehicle like that.

I'm also considering that it's (sadly) possible that it was an inside-job...think about people who might have had the knowledge of what exactly was in the back of that truck & when (be it friends, family, and/or U-Haul employees).

Again, because a *presumably* empty U-Haul truck is about as far down the list as you can go when it comes to desired vehicles to steal.

Sorry if I come across as a jerk...I'm not one and/or trying to be one; just trying to give you some new/different ideas & perspectives to think about everything from.

All of that said, I'm sure that I could help contribute a few things to help you get re-started w/ your collecting...and I would be happy to do so!
 

[motrax]

@jacalder8

Ha, you know my girlfriend made a comment like that too ...

@disgaeniac

That's fine with me, I completely understand. To answer your questions:

1 ( Circumstances / moving ) - Yes I was moving. About 5 miles down the road from my apartment complex to my girlfriend's apartment complex in with her.

2 ( Happened where you were loading ) - The theft happened at my old apartment complex where the U-Haul was left overnight since we were not done loading it yet. Figured it would be no big deal to leave it there overnight, load the rest up, then take what needed to go to the storage unit to storage, then the rest to my girlfriend's place.

3 ( Make sure everything was locked ) - Yes, the cab was locked, and the back was padlocked. In the year and a half I was there, no crimes that I know of. If you see my update on my Reddit post, I was not the only one affected here that night. A stolen car was left in the parking lot, and two other cars were broken into. This was an older U-Haul truck ( '99 Ford ) that the cop said was probably "slim-jimmed" ( I had to google this, scary how easy that would be to do on older model vehicles ) then hot wired.

4 ( Inside job ) - We thought the same too ... Maybe people that watched us load ? I don't know, all that stuff was in totes and boxes though, so they wouldn't have been able to make out much of value.

5 ( Presumably empty vehicle to steal ) - Trust me, I did the same thing when it first started to sink in ... Who in the hell steals a U-Haul !? Obviously they're not "blend-in" vehicles ... Bright orange, big, they stand out. Even when I was talking to the lady at the national U-Haul line she said this doesn't happen very often.

Either way, I didn't see you as coming off as a jerk, more someone in as much disbelief as I was and curious as to how or why this happened. I just finished the initial paperwork I had to turn in for the file for the police and am about to head down there now. Thanks again everyone for all the support and wish me luck !

[topspot123]

I am so sorry to you.  Try to have someone on your friends lists watch for your Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles to show up online.  Were they set to auto sign in?  Make sure you don't have a credit/debit card still associated with those accounts.  Recoveries have been made this way in the past.  Can you send a message to your Wii or 3DS?  Phish for information or a response, like a normal buddy question.  I'm just trying to come up with ideas.   

[motrax]

Well ... update to all if anyone is interested. The U-Haul was found Friday night, with both the ignition and the padlock on the back bored out. The trailer was full of stuff ... But none of it was mine. It looks as if they picked up another person's things and were moving or transferring or whatever with them. So the search continues, but at least someone was able to get their stuff back. The person whose stuff it was ( a resident of Bellevue ) was absolutely thrilled.

I know I mentioned it above a million times, but I wanted to say another thanks. Many of you have reached out with your support not only here in this thread, but in multiple PMs as well. It really means a lot to me, and I picked up my first replacement game yesterday night ( Final Fantasy Theatrhythm ) and my pre-order of the Kirby Anniversary set has shipped out, so I am excited for those, even if I still need to replace the consoles. The itch is slowly coming back