So thieves broke into your storage unit again • Hacker News Board

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#301

Post by immibis » Mon, Oct 07, 2024, 12:53 PM UTC

samatman wrote: post #184

immibis wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

This comment is manifestly made in bad faith. I want the police to arrest, and DAs to prosecute, organized theft rings. Someone with several stolen bicycles is not a small businessman, he's a fence, and should do several years of time. It is in fact quite easy to tell that person apart from the guy who bought a bike on Craigslist and oops, turned out it was stolen. You're pretending this distinction is unclear to you…

How do you prove he's knowingly part of an organised theft ring? Simply not checking the provenance of the goods you buy doesn't prove that.

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#302

Post by superhuzza » Mon, Oct 07, 2024, 1:29 PM UTC

PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #113

bombcar wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're likely trying to prevent the situation where the pawn shops become entirely uncooperative, but there's still a tragedy of the commons situation occurring.

This is a periodic public service announcement that there is not, and never has been "a tragedy of the commons situation". Even the author of the concept, Garret Hardin, has acknowledged that he made mistakes in his understanding and research. Resources held in common have historically been subject to significant control via social, civic and legalistic processes. What is typically referred to as "a tragedy of the co…

"there is not, and never has been "a tragedy of the commons situation"

I kindly invite you to visit the kitchens of undergraduate house-shares. I think you may soon appreciate there are "tragedy of the commons" situations happening all the time :)

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#303

Post by positr0n » Mon, Oct 07, 2024, 2:26 PM UTC

smugma wrote: post #293

FinnKuhn wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I could also see seasonal storage for things that you might not want to leave outside for 1-2 months a year.

I was driving in the burbs yesterday and saw a giant skeleton… like 13’ tall and the skull being 2’ wide. I said to my friend “where do they store that stuff? I’m guessing their Christmas lawn stuff is just as extreme.” a lot of people love their holiday decor. Not how much resale you can get on a giant skeleton, but it’s not an easy lift. Seems like a good use case for storage… a few thousand a year to make you happ…

That stuff can easily fit in the attic of most suburban houses I've lived in.

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#304

Post by troyvit » Mon, Oct 07, 2024, 3:39 PM UTC

tshaddox wrote: post #187

istjohn wrote: post #159

The storage unit industry is one of the most awful, customer hostile industries I've encountered. It's impossible to get the local facility on the phone, publicly listed phone numbers are all redirected to a national call center where reps are unable to even accurately quote prices. TFA covers the insurance kickback scam. Then after I moved into my unit, I discovered 75% of the units in my facility could be broken in…

> The paradox is that the monthly cost of a unit will quickly exceed the value of whatever is stored there unless the items have sentimental value or are very expensive. This is a tough one to manage psychologically, although it’s almost certainly also true of nearly anything you are storing in your own home. The difference of course is that home space is bundled inflexibly—you usually don’t have the option of paying…

We call thrift stores "offsite storage" because it's almost always cheaper to buy a thing like a keyboard or furniture, use it until it gets in the way, then just return it until we find we need it again.

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#305

Post by reginald78 » Mon, Oct 07, 2024, 4:14 PM UTC

smugma wrote: post #293

FinnKuhn wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I could also see seasonal storage for things that you might not want to leave outside for 1-2 months a year.

I was driving in the burbs yesterday and saw a giant skeleton… like 13’ tall and the skull being 2’ wide. I said to my friend “where do they store that stuff? I’m guessing their Christmas lawn stuff is just as extreme.” a lot of people love their holiday decor. Not how much resale you can get on a giant skeleton, but it’s not an easy lift. Seems like a good use case for storage… a few thousand a year to make you happ…

These giant skeletons have become sort of common out in my rural area. I had assumed you could break them down easily into manageable pieces but since half of them seem to end up left out year round I think the answer to "where do they store that stuff?" is nowhere!

At least one house the owner seems to dress the skeleton up with current holiday attire and decorations which is an amusing solution.

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#306

Post by s1artibartfast » Mon, Oct 07, 2024, 4:25 PM UTC

js8 wrote: post #296

s1artibartfast wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know if I'd call it a market failure or a regulatory failure, or where the line is defined in the economic literature. The difference between a cap system and a uncapped system is the incentive to increase the base price as well.

There is an incentive for companies to increase prices, regardless of the price cap, aka "profit motive". That we can agree on. My question is about the incentive to decrease prices (e.g. due to competition). Why it should be affected by the price cap? That's what you need to explain.

The competivive effect is not damped by price caps. It still exists (or doesnt), in the market place.

You usually see %profit caps as a failed band-aid in markets with poor competition. For example, customers usually dont have a choice in electric company.

There is also really poor competition in health insurance for a number of reasons. Insurance is tied to employment and both options and mobility are limited. Within those options, it is verry difficult to discern differences. I certainly cant tell if a 10% cheaper plan is that way because it is more efficiently run, or if it provides 10% worse coverage.

Last, while firms may compete on total price, they can collaborate to raise the costs for the industry at large. For example, health insurance companies would want to wholesale price of drugs to rise for everyone.

Im not saying that %profit caps are worse than unfettered monopolies (although they might in some cases). My Point is that profit can have huge market distortions, and economically sound solutions would focus on addressing the fundamental issue of poor competition.

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#307

Post by CatWChainsaw » Mon, Oct 07, 2024, 7:11 PM UTC

araes wrote: post #175

So many of these stories sound like some JRPG. Your reward for being such a diligent and highly achieving collector ... is the thieves target you preferentially. "You gained a Torture++ Level, Congratulations!" You spent so much effort solving the last burglary, and chose such a highly secure location ... that now the thieves view your collection as a high level challenge. ... and are immediately notified of the avai…

"With kindness comes naïveté. Courage becomes foolhardiness. And dedication has no reward. If you can't accept any of that, you are not fit to be a magical girl."

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#308

Post by immibis » Mon, Oct 07, 2024, 10:17 PM UTC

bko wrote: post #142

immibis wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't have to commit a crime to be arrested. You just have to do something the police don't like - like holding up certain signs in a public space.

Read the study > 73% of the prior offenses are violent and 80% are property related (obviously non-exclusive)

Participating in an Extinction Rebellion blockade would fall in both categories.

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#309

Post by linksnapzz » Tue, Oct 08, 2024, 12:34 AM UTC

underlipton wrote: post #248

UberFly wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Property crime is so far down the list on police priorities. Criminals know this. Soft on crime - even if it's due to lack of resources and is "only" property crime - means more crime.

The only effective way to deal with property crime during or after the fact is with increased surveillance. The success of Meta Ray Bans may make the decision for us, but until then, it's fair to point out that this is, in fact, a conversation about how much freedom we want to give up for security. It seems more effective and less intrusive to deal with the upstream socioeconomic causes of crime (too much inequality,…

How much burglary do you think Kuwait City has? How many pickpockets?

"increased surveillance" isn't the half of it.

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#310

Post by linksnapzz » Tue, Oct 08, 2024, 12:35 AM UTC

FireBeyond wrote: post #229

dimensi0nal wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Incapacitation, not deterrence? If someone is in prison, they can't reoffend.

We already have the highest incarceration rates in the developed world - I'm not sure that more people in prison is the right solution.

No, and prison is expensive.

1.) Corporal punishment

or

2. ) Exile to Amchitka, with some camping gear, a knife, and fishing line/hooks.