Posted on 01/22/2013 5:41:37 AM PST by rawhide
When James Labrecque listed an old safe—to which he did not have the combination—on eBay, the seller warned, "What you see is what you get, no returns, and no money back." A Tennessee man purchased it for $122.93, had a welder cut it open—and found $26,000 inside. The buyer shared the news with Labrecque via a positive review on the auction site, and Labrecque quickly attempted to convince the buyer to give him some of the cash, to no avail. In fact, WMC-TV reports, the buyer quoted Labrecque's own eBay disclaimer right back to him when turning him down.
"I made a mistake, you know, that's what it boils down to. And it cost me dearly," says Labrecque, who adds that he shook the safe and didn't think there was anything inside. "I feel like the stupidest idiot in the world. … I gave away a safe with $26,000 in it." He also insists that if he were in the buyer's place, he would have offered to split the cash 50/50 with the seller. "That's a chunk of change, you know. That's life-altering money."
Well at least it wasn’t Al Capone’s safe. Geraldo must still be pissed
Down payment on a new truck or four months college for your kid. LOL
Question 1: Does anybody find it funny that the owner did not have or know the combination of the safe? Sounds like possible theft to me.
Question 2: How could you own a safe and not know what’s in it? I mean seriously. It’s not like someone passed away and their heirs would have sold it unless they’re complete idiots. They would have paid someone to cut it open too. If it was a safe left behind in a storage unit I would have thought the owner would have taken it with him unless he was a drug dealer and a piddly $26,000 wasn’t with much to him.
Strange overall.
If you could do all that with 26K either you owe virtually nothing on your house or you don’t owe very much and your car is in worse shape than mine.
MEMPHIS, TN -
(WMC-TV) - UPDATE: The seller has added a new comment to his feedback page claiming that the buyer never found any money:
“He was playing a practical joke the safe was empty there wasnt any money in it.”
When one gets free money keep your mouth shut,it’s taxable.
Depending upon how “old” the money is, it might be worth more than face value. I hope the guy doesn’t just take it to the bank and deposit it.
Good point Larry. His first mistake was telling ANYONE about the cash he found. Now he will have to pay tax on it.
You can buy a lot of things with cash: groceries, big screen tvs, etc. What you do not want to do is go out and buy a new car and pay cash. Then they will think you are a drug dealer.
What would you have done?
That would be my take if it were a million dollars. There are all sorts of stories about someone buying a classic painting for a few bucks at a garage sale or money in a safe. That is what makes them kinda fun. It’s a grab bag and you never know when you might strike it rich. And the obvious assumption is that the seller does not consciously miss the valuable item/money.
The only caveat I have is if a young person threw Grandma’s locked box (with Grandma’s life savings inside) up on an auction or garage sale, and Grandma KNEW the money was there and counting on using it, if I were the purchaser and discovered the money, I would return every penny. It’s a subtle but key difference. Kinda like an extra oxygen atom turns necessary oxygen into poisonous ozone.
Second ... $26K isn’t life altering money.
That’s what I was thinking too. It was about 20 years ago that I realized how dumb it is to rob seven-eleven’s. I calculated what I’d probably get by doing it and compared it to what I made at my career.
To keep up my standard of living I’d have to rob a seven eleven every single day. Obviously I’m ignoring the moral problem, but it drives the point home about how petty crime really is “petty” crime.
Hellofa return!
PURE 100% BS!
They need to SHUT UP!
I was wondering about that. It was tax free until he brought it up.
He could have bought a storage locker, or bought it at an estate sale.
I confess that with that kind of money sitting in my lap I’d just use it to pay all my daily expenses and charity giving while my paychecks built up in the checking/savings accounts. I’d also pull out the stuff I thought might have collecter value and maximize its return.
Get as much out of it as you can.
I would have kept my mouth shut. Now the buyer has to pay income tax since he advertised his $26K to the whole world.
If he didn’t know the money was in there, he had no claim to it other than possession, and he was clear about the transference of risk associated with possession.
Given that I would not share the reward after taking 100% of the risk. I also would not have told him anything simply because I think it is mean to do so. It serves no purpose other than making him feel like an idiot.
I would have banked my 26 grand and went back online to see it that doofus had anything else good for sale !
You find cash from an “as is” sale publicly offered? Caveat emptor has a reciprocal.... seller emptor too. The seller represents the product as sold. The seller should have at a minimum opened the safe (who wouldn’t?) before selling. That’s it.
Another big mistake is to announce to the world a “windfall” because of course this is not a blessing but needs to be shared/re-distributed. No way— the law of the mountains... or really any where else. It was a transaction that was completed as sold— keep your business to yourself. Find a gold nugget on your land/property— same thing. And praise God.
On the other hand, another example— find a brown bag with $250K cash in it— you should turn that in— because if you keep it you’ll get a visit from guido or carmine from hoboken- and not be long for it— or maybe pablito or carlito from brownsville. Not all transactions are blessed.
If I buy a security and it makes money I never feel obligated to give any of my return to the seller. Similarly I don’t expect the seller to bail me out when a stock tanks. I don’t see this as any different.
I would have kept quiet and discreetly moved the money in equal portions into my children’s accounts.
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