Holy Cow!
Just came across an article elsewhere about the stolen skis! I thought I'd check if now to see if it was ever posted on pugski, and just seeing this thread now.
I followed this seller on ebay and bought 3 pairs of skis from the thieves - one pair of new skis and two used all with high quality demo bindings.
The skis I bought (all via ebay auction process)
Used Head Total Joy skis for my wife: $132.50 that were in great condition
Used Kastle MX89 skis: $346 - almost looked brand new: like they had been used about 5 times or so
New Kastle FX 85 skis: $395
All prices above exclude an additional flat $35/pair for shipping.
After three great experiences I started follwowing this guy on ebay figuring going forward he would be one of my go to sources for skis. I was raving to my wife what a good source for skis at great prices and what a crazy good deal in particular her skis were. She commented they're probably stolen. I was like, nah, looks like he's been on ebay a long time. Auction prices relative to what you could buy did generally seem low, but I figured it must be some kind of grey market deal rather than outright theft. And it was auctions rather than absolute pricing.
One day he just disappeared from ebay, and I thought, hmm, maybe he's going full retail rather than on ebay anymore. So I emailed the guy's address that I had on record (he used the name DJ, which I now know is short for Derek Johnson). Anyway, I emailed to ask saying I noticed he wasn't on ebay anymore, and if he was still in business via other means such as a direct retail store or something. Never heard anything.
Just happened to come across an old article today about it and I thought HOLY COW! My wife was so right. The skis were stolen!!
Crazy. Anyway, I can confirm I bought 3 pairs of skis from this guy. Might have been more if I'd have discovered him earlier.
EDIT: Like some others on this thread said, it wasn't that obvious they were stolen. Looked like some sort of high volume professional thing going.