Camera gear registry, what do you think?

[Tin Can]

I just was sent this.

http://petapixel.com/2013/07/14/lens...nd-lens-theft/

I can see some downside and some upside.

What do you thinK?

[Leigh]

Just somebody trying to gather information for targeted marketing.

They plan to sell the info to advertisers.

- Leigh

[Winger]

One of the steps is to take a picture of the serial number for each item you're registering. How long would it take the average member here to do that (while keeping track of which pic goes to which piece of gear)?
It would be nice to have a central list - I had to do mine over again when my PC crashed and I bought my first Mac. All the recent thefts have reminded me I need to update mine, too.

[Tin Can]

I have fears of loading up another data bank that could be hacked and used by thieves.

It's like a gun registry. In Illinois they wanted to make FOID card holders public knowledge, giving thieves the name and address of gun owners.

Brilliant stupidity.

I think the idea of quickly disseminating thefts is great, but until a theft we are better off digging holes in the backyard.

Never advertise.

[Greg Miller]

The privacy policy that is available on their web site is shockingly sparse. There should be text there that states that your data will not be shared for any other purpose than to facilitate recovery of stolen equipment. As it stands they can sell your data, publish it publicly, or anything else they chose to do. I would avoid that site like the plague.

[Terry Christian]

I've made a spreadsheet of all my gear, with serial numbers, in Google Drive. Simple and easy to be viewed and updated from anywhere I am.

[polyglot]

I've made a spreadsheet of all my gear, with serial numbers, in Google Drive. Simple and easy to be viewed and updated from anywhere I am.

This. And then you post it here and to the police when someone decides to borrow your toys.

A central registry is completely pointless unless pawnshops are watching it, and they are already bound (at least here in AU, I've no idea about the USA) to hold gear for a certain time before making it available for sale.

[Leigh]

Here in the US, if the theft has been reported, the serial numbers are already in the NCIC database.
Pawn shops are required to check that before they accept merchandise.

- Leigh

[Scott Davis]

Here in the US, if the theft has been reported, the serial numbers are already in the NCIC database.
Pawn shops are required to check that before they accept merchandise.

- Leigh

Whether they do or not is an open question, though. I had a Walker 4x5 stolen, that should have been very easy to identify if anyone walked into a pawn shop with it - the serial # was 098. I reported it to the police the same day as the theft. It has never turned up. But then, this also assumes that the police bothered to enter it into the NCIC database, which given the abysmal case closure rate (of any kind) here in DC, is an open question.

[ataim]

The privacy policy that is available on their web site is shockingly sparse. There should be text there that states that your data will not be shared for any other purpose than to facilitate recovery of stolen equipment. As it stands they can sell your data, publish it publicly, or anything else they chose to do. I would avoid that site like the plague.

But, just because they have a policy does not mean that an employee cannot sell the information behind their back. IF I have to give my email out I have several junk email accounts. The name I use is linked to who I gave it to. For instances, I'm on the email list for Chili's. The name I used when filing out the form was Paul Chill. If the Chili's data base is hacked I know from where it came from. Not that I can do anything about it, but at least I know who not to trust anymore.