I started off at my local beer store "beers of the world" talking and befriending the employees found myself in conversation and low and behold ya we have a stack of stainless kegs we sell them to various people, brewers, body builders, ect. for the cost of the deposit 30 bucks each I walked out with the m-stars in great shape. Good luck and it pays to spend a little time getting to know people.
Like it or not, you are in possession of stolen property. Only the company whose name is embossed on the keg has the right to convey ownership of a keg. Retailers are required by law to return kegs to distributors, and distributors are required by law to return kegs to their rightful owners unless the rightful owner provides written permission to dispose of a keg. The deposit doesn't cover the replacement cost of a keg. The replacement cost of a keg is well over $100.00 in large quantity. Breweries and keg leasing companies do not have control over how much a retailer can charge for a keg because deposits are set at the state level. It is part of the three-tier beer distribution system that was put into place after the repeal of Prohibition. From what I understand, breweries are lobbying congress to change the law, so that they can change how kegs are leased due to high loss rates.
With respect to misappropriating Microstar kegs. Well, each Microstar keg theft hurts breweries that can handle the loss the least; namely, startup breweries that cannot afford to purchase kegs. There's zero doubt in my mind that keg theft results in higher rental rates.
In the end, while the major source of keg loss in the distribution system is outright theft by thieves who sell stolen kegs for scrap, homebrewers who naively believe that a keg deposit conveys ownership are part of the problem. There are legal ways to acquire kegs. Breweries and leasing companies sell culled kegs from time to time. These companies supply proof of sale in the form of a receipt or written authorization to sell in the case of a distributor (a legally culled keg will often have a stamp over the original embossment). To the best of my knowledge, retailers are never authorized to sell kegs. Anyone who is purchasing a keg from a third party should ask for the paperwork from the brewery or leasing company whose name is embossed on the keg that conveys ownership; otherwise, one is dealing in stolen goods. Misappropriating a keg is a crime punishable by a fine and/or jail time. Converting a keg on which a deposit was made can be considered to be willful destruction of property, which is also punishable by a fine and/or jail time.
http://www.craftbeer.com/brewers_banter/kegs-youre-renting-not-buyingThe website linked below will help anyone who has "found" a craft brewery keg return it to its rightful owner.
http://www.kegreturn.com/ For "found" kegs owned by a mega, contacting the mega whose name is embossed on the keg can result in the mega conveying ownership due to recovery costs, that is, if the mega is not Anheuser-Busch (AB). As I mentioned above, AB never sells culled kegs, and the scrappers with whom they contract are not allowed to sell culled AB kegs. I know that AB monitors Craig's List, eBay, and YouTube because I contacted them about a large AB keg sale on Craig's List.