Anti Theft- How do you protect your collection?

[palmer6strings]

I'm kind of SOL when it comes to storing stuff in my basement. My house was built in the late 1920's early 30's. The basement and attic are unfinished. So I don't store important things in those areas of the house. I'll figure something out at some point, but not right now.

Best thing to do is, as sheep said, insurance.

I actually need to up my contents value because right now it's only at around $15k and that would only barely cover my music equipment...

Guns, alarms, bars and wild beasts might stop a burglar, (or make it clear you have something worth stealing) but they won't stop flood or fire.  

I was burgled 3 times within 3 months when I still lived in London (around 2002) - pretty much cleaned me out.

My advice is to Just insure it (properly), take regular photos of the collection (and store the photos online).  Insurance companies are slippery bastards - but if you get a proper policy, with a proper valuation for your collection, you should be good.

You can insure it by taking photos and posting online? Which sites to post?

Reread it Einhander... He didn't say you could get insurance by posting pictures online...

He said after you take pictures of your collection, store the photos online. (Like a hidden photobucket folder for example) that way they don't accidentally get lost or some shit.

Edit:
I actually just got off the phone with my insurance agency, and omg, it like you have to jump through hoops of fire and land on your tippy toes just to get them to add extra coverage to your personal property values.

She told me, anything I want included in the value of my home, I need to have appraised. Who in the funk is going to appraise video games at their actual value? Or movies? Or musical equipment? Or custom build items for that matter? You honestly can't...

[TDIRunner]

Edit:
I actually just got off the phone with my insurance agency, and omg, it like you have to jump through hoops of fire and land on your tippy toes just to get them to add extra coverage to your personal property values.

She told me, anything I want included in the value of my home, I need to have appraised. Who in the funk is going to appraise video games at their actual value? Or movies? Or musical equipment? Or custom build items for that matter? You honestly can't...

I've heard this as well.  We currently have a personal articles policy on my wife's engagement ring, but that is very easy to appraise.  I don't know who would appraise a video game collection.  There was a long discussion on Nintendo Age a while back about whether insurance on a video game collection was worth it or not.  In my opinion, it isn't.  Like I said, all of the things I listed that help to protect my collection are really there to protect my family.  At the end of the day as long as they are safe, that's all that matters.  I have enough insurance to keep me from becoming homeless in case of disaster and enough to protect me in case of liability, but otherwise, anything more is just a waste.  Even our personal articles policy is a waste.  I've considered dropping it.  My biggest concern was my wife loosing the ring, but she has had it long enough that the fear of that is gone now.

Anyone can be burglarized at any time.  However, if you live in an area where you are likely to be robbed, I would save your money and focus more on finding a way to move to a better place then spending more on insurance.

[monjici]

My insurance covers personal sutff (everything besides the house) for the same amount as the value of the house. As long as you have proofs (pictures, listing, etc) that you owned what you declare after an incident, games, cds, books, furniture, will all be covered. Now, I don't know if there is a special clause for what is considered as a collection and if it becomes not insured.

[hoverboots]

Thanks for all the replies! It's good to know I'm not alone in my endeavor. I've considered such things as security cameras and building a secret room. I've had almost my entire collection at the time, about 150+ titles stolen from me before, and it was a terrible feeling. Luckily, I had kept a catalog of every title and photographs of the whole collection. This was back in the Gamecrazy days, and I had some friends who worked there, as well as in our local Video Game Exchange. I gave them the list and the story, and they said they'd keep an eye out. Sure as shit, two days later, about 30 or so games popped up between both stores. The best part is that they require some personal information when you trade in games, be it for cash OR credit. The guy gave them a fake name, BUT GAVE HIS REAL PHONE NUMBER AND ADDRESS. Cops found him, returned another 50 or so games to me that they found (COVERED in fingerprinting dust, but whatever.), also reported that they found a sawed off shotgun as well as a ton of other stolen shit in his house. They connected him to over a dozen other burglaries in the area. I didn't get my PS3 or about 70 games back, but luckily my parents (I was 17 at the time) had property insurance, so I repurchased most of them.

I'm glad I've found this community. I really feel like I've found some kindred spirits here. Someday I'll actually post my collection lol...

[hoverboots]

Edit:
I actually just got off the phone with my insurance agency, and omg, it like you have to jump through hoops of fire and land on your tippy toes just to get them to add extra coverage to your personal property values.

She told me, anything I want included in the value of my home, I need to have appraised. Who in the funk is going to appraise video games at their actual value? Or movies? Or musical equipment? Or custom build items for that matter? You honestly can't...

I've heard this as well.  We currently have a personal articles policy on my wife's engagement ring, but that is very easy to appraise.  I don't know who would appraise a video game collection.  There was a long discussion on Nintendo Age a while back about whether insurance on a video game collection was worth it or not.  In my opinion, it isn't.  Like I said, all of the things I listed that help to protect my collection are really there to protect my family.  At the end of the day as long as they are safe, that's all that matters.  I have enough insurance to keep me from becoming homeless in case of disaster and enough to protect me in case of liability, but otherwise, anything more is just a waste.  Even our personal articles policy is a waste.  I've considered dropping it.  My biggest concern was my wife loosing the ring, but she has had it long enough that the fear of that is gone now.

Anyone can be burglarized at any time.  However, if you live in an area where you are likely to be robbed, I would save your money and focus more on finding a way to move to a better place then spending more on insurance.

The place I'm moving to is in a pretty safe neighborhood, it's also tucked away in a culdesac, so I think that helps.
Maybe.

[palmer6strings]

Ya I need to post my collection too, but I've got other things a little more important ATM. Plus my house is a mess.

I'm going to go talk to my insurance agent sometime soon and see what he says. If my collection was only worth about a grand it wouldn't bug me to much but considering that my collection is worth around $10k (or more...) it's kinda hard to not want some reimbursement in case something bad happens.

I've got way too much money wrapped up in my hobbies... Lol *sigh... 

[wiggy]

Insurance.

A plastic case isn't gonna stop anyone. In fact, it'll just make it easier to haul a bunch of stuff at once. Or just smash open with a hammer.

If they want your stuff, they'll get it, no matter what.

[wiggy]

Edit:
I actually just got off the phone with my insurance agency, and omg, it like you have to jump through hoops of fire and land on your tippy toes just to get them to add extra coverage to your personal property values.

She told me, anything I want included in the value of my home, I need to have appraised. Who in the funk is going to appraise video games at their actual value? Or movies? Or musical equipment? Or custom build items for that matter? You honestly can't...

I've heard this as well.  We currently have a personal articles policy on my wife's engagement ring, but that is very easy to appraise.  I don't know who would appraise a video game collection.  There was a long discussion on Nintendo Age a while back about whether insurance on a video game collection was worth it or not.  In my opinion, it isn't.  Like I said, all of the things I listed that help to protect my collection are really there to protect my family.  At the end of the day as long as they are safe, that's all that matters.  I have enough insurance to keep me from becoming homeless in case of disaster and enough to protect me in case of liability, but otherwise, anything more is just a waste.  Even our personal articles policy is a waste.  I've considered dropping it.  My biggest concern was my wife loosing the ring, but she has had it long enough that the fear of that is gone now.

Anyone can be burglarized at any time.  However, if you live in an area where you are likely to be robbed, I would save your money and focus more on finding a way to move to a better place then spending more on insurance.

The place I'm moving to is in a pretty safe neighborhood, it's also tucked away in a culdesac, so I think that helps.
Maybe.

Actually, there tend to be higher instances of burglaries in those types of areas simply because there are less people around to potentially see a burglar. Less armed robbery, more houses broken in to

There are appraisal services, but they ain't cheap.

[Einhander]

Edit:
I actually just got off the phone with my insurance agency, and omg, it like you have to jump through hoops of fire and land on your tippy toes just to get them to add extra coverage to your personal property values.

She told me, anything I want included in the value of my home, I need to have appraised. Who in the funk is going to appraise video games at their actual value? Or movies? Or musical equipment? Or custom build items for that matter? You honestly can't...

I've heard this as well.  We currently have a personal articles policy on my wife's engagement ring, but that is very easy to appraise.  I don't know who would appraise a video game collection.  There was a long discussion on Nintendo Age a while back about whether insurance on a video game collection was worth it or not.  In my opinion, it isn't.  Like I said, all of the things I listed that help to protect my collection are really there to protect my family.  At the end of the day as long as they are safe, that's all that matters.  I have enough insurance to keep me from becoming homeless in case of disaster and enough to protect me in case of liability, but otherwise, anything more is just a waste.  Even our personal articles policy is a waste.  I've considered dropping it.  My biggest concern was my wife loosing the ring, but she has had it long enough that the fear of that is gone now.

Anyone can be burglarized at any time.  However, if you live in an area where you are likely to be robbed, I would save your money and focus more on finding a way to move to a better place then spending more on insurance.

The place I'm moving to is in a pretty safe neighborhood, it's also tucked away in a culdesac, so I think that helps.
Maybe.

Actually, there tend to be higher instances of burglaries in those types of areas simply because there are less people around to potentially see a burglar. Less armed robbery, more houses broken in to

There are appraisal services, but they ain't cheap.

Where do you post it online?

[wiggy]

Where do you post what?

[Einhander]

Where do you post what?

You say to post photos of collection for insurance

[palmer6strings]

Dude, read what I fucking wrote.

It's for your personal security so you know what you got.

[hoverboots]

Edit:
I actually just got off the phone with my insurance agency, and omg, it like you have to jump through hoops of fire and land on your tippy toes just to get them to add extra coverage to your personal property values.

She told me, anything I want included in the value of my home, I need to have appraised. Who in the funk is going to appraise video games at their actual value? Or movies? Or musical equipment? Or custom build items for that matter? You honestly can't...

I've heard this as well.  We currently have a personal articles policy on my wife's engagement ring, but that is very easy to appraise.  I don't know who would appraise a video game collection.  There was a long discussion on Nintendo Age a while back about whether insurance on a video game collection was worth it or not.  In my opinion, it isn't.  Like I said, all of the things I listed that help to protect my collection are really there to protect my family.  At the end of the day as long as they are safe, that's all that matters.  I have enough insurance to keep me from becoming homeless in case of disaster and enough to protect me in case of liability, but otherwise, anything more is just a waste.  Even our personal articles policy is a waste.  I've considered dropping it.  My biggest concern was my wife loosing the ring, but she has had it long enough that the fear of that is gone now.

Anyone can be burglarized at any time.  However, if you live in an area where you are likely to be robbed, I would save your money and focus more on finding a way to move to a better place then spending more on insurance.

The place I'm moving to is in a pretty safe neighborhood, it's also tucked away in a culdesac, so I think that helps.
Maybe.

Actually, there tend to be higher instances of burglaries in those types of areas simply because there are less people around to potentially see a burglar. Less armed robbery, more houses broken in to

There are appraisal services, but they ain't cheap.

Guess it's a good thing I'm a hermit and never leave my house lol... All the more reason to create a safe space for my family.

[amiga1200]

^^ and there it is! 
tool up, baton down the hatches, peace of mind...at least as long as you're aware, armed and capable. 
all the best on a near guaranteed sanctuary. 

[wiggy]

Where do you post what?

You say to post photos of collection for insurance

I said no such thing.