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Finding a Lost Ring...

fogcity

Elite Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2010
Messages
4,149
Location
Houston, Texas
After unsuccessfully searching for a guys class ring a couple weeks ago he asked me if someone had picked it up and kept it, what they could do with it to turn it into cash, and how he could possibly try to track it down... (His name was engraved inside the band).

I told him my guess would be that someone wanting cash for it would likely remove his name from the inside and then sell it as their own at either a pawn shop or eBay or CL. As far as him possibly tracking it down I told him along with reporting the loss to his local law enforcement he could check the "for sale" ads on eBay & CL and to go & look around at what's for sale at his local pawn shops.

I hadn't thought of it till now but was wondering, if he contacted places like ARA or Midwest Refineries, could they tell him whether a ring with his name on it was turned in for melt, or do they not record identifying info on the "scrap" they receive???

:?: :?: :?:
 
That sounds like searching for a needle in a hay field.

I feel for the guy, but I would imagine he will not likely retrieve the ring. Or if by some miracle he could locate it, since he lost it he would likely have to buy it back. I would not imagine ARA checks items they recieve from other buyers that ship to them.

I would be sick if it were me that lost it.
 
Yep --

He wasn't happy... only graduated last year. We drove out to College Station but just couldn't find it where he figured it was....

:(
 
You tried, and that's all anyone could ask of you! Did you find anything else?:grin:
 
I found a gold ring a few months ago and finally returned it but it was not a great experience.
I am sure the next one will be.

I did learn a few things.

If this ring was from Jostens, they have a 4 year replacement warranty automatically and you can extend it for a few bucks up to 10 years.
I assume other ring companies will do the same.

To get a replacement you just have to fill an online form out with the original info that was used to order it and they have the records to make another one.

You can do this one time only.

Replacement cost is pretty cheap compared to the original price.

For instance, the one I found was made in 2002, and the guy that lost it said he could have gotten it replaced for about $75 when he lost it a few years later but never tried because he thought he needed the original paperwork, which he did not have.

This price was before gold went up so high.

Today, that same ring I found had a $200 replacement cost plus $9.99 for insured shipping due to the higher price of gold today, but that is still several hundred dollars less than the guy paid for the ring when he bought it in high school in 2002.
That should give you an idea on the original markup from these ring companies.

I also know I could have gotten almost $400 from Ara if I had sent it in at the time, and I am pretty sure it would have been a very smooth transaction since they are just looking to melt stuff down and process it and probably don't care much about returning any lost rings to anyone..
 
Yep --

He wasn't happy... only graduated last year. We drove out to College Station but just couldn't find it where he figured it was....

:(

It's been my experience that an item is usually NOT where the person thinks they lost it. Could be that ring is still there and you (to quote Don Adams) "missed it by THAT much". I know that the gold buyer I went to is reputable and honest, but no proof of ID was required for me to sell my "beach finds" to him. Do you monitor the Facebook Metal Detecting pages? I just saw a post in one that was a cut-and-paste of an emailed lost item report on the Melbourne Fl ring. It was on the Florida Metal Detecting Society FB page.
 
I hadn't seen it until you mentioned it... I'm sure when people do that their intentions are good, but posting Lost Item Reports is not a good thing, since it puts up the person's contact information for everyone on the internet to see. I did send an email to the person who posted it and requested it be removed.
 
I hadn't seen it until you mentioned it... I'm sure when people do that their intentions are good, but posting Lost Item Reports is not a good thing, since it puts up the person's contact information of everyone on the internet to see. I did send an email to the person who posted it and requested it be removed.

It's still up there as of this minute. I think it should be one of the rules that we (as members) NEVER repost any personal info in these LMS emails. And if someone does, they should be removed from the mailing list. I wonder how Julie feels about this? Since her phone number that she gave to LMS is now on FB...
 
It's still up there as of this minute. I think it should be one of the rules that we (as members) NEVER repost any personal info in these LMS emails. And if someone does, they should be removed from the mailing list. I wonder how Julie feels about this? Since her phone number that she gave to LMS is now on FB...

I agree 100% Robby!! People don't seem to realize that once it's out there on FB or wherever, it's out there forever!!
 
The person who posted it on Facebook removed it as soon as I contacted them about the situation.

When this sorta thing occurs I always assume the person who posted the info made an honest mistake just wanting to help someone with their lost item.

If I later find out otherwise or it happens again, then at that time the person get's removed from the Group.
 
You can rule out pawn shops taking it. As far as I know, this is from watching Pawn Stars. A guy tried to sell them a ring that he was given as payment by a friend. The engraving inside was worn down or something. By law he wasn't allowed to accept it based on that fact. So if the pawn shops in the area play by the rules granted the laws are the same then they wouldn't be able to take it.
 
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