Stolen bikes on ebay

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
HJRW
Posts: 56
Joined: 17 Mar 2008, 10:14am
Location: Angus

Re: Stolen bikes on ebay

Post by HJRW »

Hi Crazidavid - yes, you're right, & your theory about being wary of folk swapping bits on a bike to disguise hot property is worth bearing in mind. Never thought of that before. eBay's like any other market - there are the good, the bad & the ugly. It's a shame that stolen stuff turns up there, it's also a good source of some interesting stuff. By and large someone with good feedback has earned it, and will not want to tarnish it. I did get one annoying 'negative' from someone who didn't read the description of an item I sold- it happens.

All the best.
KEEP CALM AND PEDAL ON -1999 Cresswell Fold-it, 1997 Pashley Tuberider, 1997 Raleigh Special Products Pro-Line M-Trax 300 MTB, 1982 Raleigh Royale, 1951 Robin Hood Sports, 1936 BSA Clubman, 1912 Swift Loop Frame, 2019 Boardman HYB 8.8
crazydavid
Posts: 45
Joined: 17 Nov 2009, 5:55am

Re: Stolen bikes on ebay

Post by crazydavid »

Hi Hugh

Can't take credit for the swapping parts comment, someone else came up with that.
I have not (yet) bought any secondhand bikes or secondhand bike parts off ebay, but have bought other goods with mixed fortunes :oops: Now older and wiser and I will only buy (secondhand) stuff after physical inspection.

Regards

Crazydavid
Jonty

Re: Stolen bikes on ebay

Post by Jonty »

I would have more confidence in buying a bike or parts of a bike from a CTC member as listed in the For Sale section of this Forum or even from an advert in a shop windown rather than from ebay.
Ebay had created a world-wide market and there are millions of satisfied customers. Many bikes which formerly might have been scrapped are now bought and brought back into use. I would imagine that the vast majority of people who use it are honest and upstanding but there will be some rogues. You can reduce the risk by adopting the procedures recommended above by CTC members but if you use ebay you will inevitably expose yourself to some level of risk.
It's a personal decision. I've decided that it's not worth the candle.
jonty
JohnW
Posts: 6667
Joined: 6 Jan 2007, 9:12pm
Location: Yorkshire

Re: Stolen bikes on ebay

Post by JohnW »

Jonty wrote:I would have more confidence in buying a bike or parts of a bike from a CTC member as listed in the For Sale section of this Forum ...............Ebay had created a world-wide market and there are millions of satisfied customers...............I would imagine that the vast majority of people who use it are honest and upstanding but there will be some rogues.................if you use ebay you will inevitably expose yourself to some level of risk.
It's a personal decision. I've decided that it's not worth the candle.
jonty


Absolutely - I'm with you Jonty.
Tonyf33
Posts: 3926
Joined: 17 Nov 2007, 3:31pm
Location: Letchworth N.Herts

Re: Stolen bikes on ebay

Post by Tonyf33 »

Got to say i agree and disagree with the comments on here in equal amounts.
If a deal seems too good to be true 99/100 it is and will likely be a wrong 'un. However the odd one slips through the net especially if the seller is new & doesn't do any research on what they have for sale or describes it very poorly & may not even photograph the bikes so well. So someone wanting a quick sale with a low BIN price can often mean a real bargain without the hassle of it been stolen etc. Mine was about 5 years ago, I bought my Raleigh Titanium with Dura Ace 9 speed throughout, Mavic ceramics on Dura Ace hubs and all for the princely sum of £300 BIN. no photo, poor decription & low amount of feedback. He raced Cat 1, had more money than sense and didn't know about selling & much less about ebay.

Not all bike owners are going to keep their original receipt, after the first year or after the warranty expires why would you feel the need to? Some bikes pass hands many times over the years and often to inexpereinced hands who just need a bike to ride, nothing more. Just because they aren't knowledgeable about the bike or its history doesn't mean the're hookey, nor does the fact that parts may not be original, that's just ludicrous to make that assumption :o

If a person isn't willing to allow a viewing of the bike & says so then fine, keep on walking. However if they haven't replied have you thought they may not always be on the internet every day, messages do get lost and it's worth following up with a second request. At the end of the day you can always ring the local police station and ask if such & such a bike has been stolen. If you collect a bike then you can always walk away if you sense something is not quite right, I'd personally always want to collect from the persons address and try to get a phone number. Unless they are a dealer when ringing say you're calling about the bike. If they say which bike is that then you'll know something might not be right.
HJRW
Posts: 56
Joined: 17 Mar 2008, 10:14am
Location: Angus

Re: Stolen bikes on ebay

Post by HJRW »

Sound advice - it's buyer beware ... anyway I've put the Ladies Falcon Town bike on ebay for collection only - without alteration of bits ! Being 'oop north' may have a limited market - think this topic's exhausted now !
KEEP CALM AND PEDAL ON -1999 Cresswell Fold-it, 1997 Pashley Tuberider, 1997 Raleigh Special Products Pro-Line M-Trax 300 MTB, 1982 Raleigh Royale, 1951 Robin Hood Sports, 1936 BSA Clubman, 1912 Swift Loop Frame, 2019 Boardman HYB 8.8
iconoclast
Posts: 3
Joined: 25 Jan 2010, 12:58pm

Re: Stolen bikes on ebay

Post by iconoclast »

I bought a Dawes Sardar at a very good price on Ebay (why the derogatory term?) from someone with little feedback 200 miles from where I live and a Dawes 1 Down for my son this was some 150 miles from where I live. Why is it that you're all so sceptical/cynical about buying secondhand bikes? It's always a case of CAVEAT EMPTOR wherever you buy unless it's from a someone you know or a retailer. If you want to avoid bike theft be more proactive with security measures, don't skimp on your locks and be diligent when using them, that way your bike won't end up on Ebay.
User avatar
matt2matt2002
Posts: 1126
Joined: 25 Oct 2009, 7:45pm
Location: Aberdeen Scotland UK

Re: Stolen bikes on ebay

Post by matt2matt2002 »

Just jumping in here coz I also bought a 'new' Dawes Sardar from ebay
The guy had good feedback and pictures of the bike in his back garden.
He said he was a fireman - but when I asked politely where he got it from, he declined to comment.
Fair enough I guess - but I would have liked to know.
This did make me a little suspicious and I hesitated before parting with £400
But the bike came through well wrapped and as described.

My fingers and toes crossed worked!
:wink:
2017 Ethiopia.5 weeks.
2018 Marrakech 2 weeks.
2023 Thailand 8 weeks.
Always on a Thorn Raven/Rohloff hub.
thirdcrank
Posts: 36776
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Stolen bikes on ebay

Post by thirdcrank »

I suppose there's a fine dividing line between not accepting everything at face value and not suspecting everybody of pretending to be someone else (I presume Matt2matt2002 is not a gaz impersonator, lookalike or a ringer :? )

A lot of bikes are bought by people who think that buying a bike is the main bit and everything after that will be easy. They may not have much more idea when they sell it than they had when they bought it, especially if the bike remains unridden for a decade or two.

If somebody bent is flogging a bike, then I suppose the first problem is that even if it belongs to them, the basic principle is 'buyer beware.' You have no real comeback if the bike is a disappointment unless they made clear false representations.

If it's not theirs to sell, then I don't think you normally ever become the owner, even if you bought it in good faith. There are some exceptions but marché overte * which was probably the most notorious has been closed. That would not turn an innocent purchaser into a "fence" if that's the term they use on telly(?). OTOH, buying a very obvious bargain on an "ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies, nudge, nudge, know what I mean, Squire?" might do.


* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March%C3%A9_ouvert
sandytracker
Posts: 34
Joined: 11 Dec 2009, 8:01pm

Re: Stolen bikes on ebay

Post by sandytracker »

Why would you want to use ebay anyway?
Wesh-Laurence
Posts: 372
Joined: 10 May 2009, 8:00am

Re: Stolen bikes on ebay

Post by Wesh-Laurence »

Can ordinary members of the public check the "Immobilise" database? If we can then publishing the frame number of bikes for sale on EBay would allow us to check the ownership of the frame before bidding.

One of the main issues that hasn't been addressed is that there is no single system used for registering bike ownership. I have had 2 of my bikes chipped but even that isn't a universally used system in the UK.

Unfortunately bike theft is not a high priority for the police, however they could at least all use a single system like Immobilise.

Bike manufacturers could do more to discourage bike theft by building chips into the frames and supplying paperwork to go with the chip.
GrahamNR17
Posts: 2828
Joined: 15 Nov 2009, 6:31pm

Re: Stolen bikes on ebay

Post by GrahamNR17 »

We already have a system in place. Why not just use the DVLA system and each bike comes with a V5, using the frame number as the unique reference? It's easy enough to issue bike makers with a number range of their own. If that number was on a chip too, then even better. When the bike gets nicked, just get DVLA to flag the fact on the database. When/if the rozzers find a bike they think might be stolen, a quick database check as they do now for cars would tell them all they need to know. Cheap to do as it all exists already. However, I suspect the will to do it doesn't exist with the manufacturers.
Tandem Man
Posts: 233
Joined: 22 Jun 2007, 9:14pm
Location: Wakefield,West Riding of Yorkshire

Re: Stolen bikes on ebay

Post by Tandem Man »

matt2matt2002 wrote:He said he was a fireman - but when I asked politely where he got it from, he declined to comment.


That would have put me off straight away.If he refused to comment then in my book it was come by dishonestly,if not then why cover it up.

Generally if people didn't buy stolen goods,from bikes to car radios, then there would be no market for them and less would get nicked.Most thieves want a quick no questions asked return on their loot and I for one am in no mind to give it to them.

Ian
Ian From Wakefield
sandytracker
Posts: 34
Joined: 11 Dec 2009, 8:01pm

Re: Stolen bikes on ebay

Post by sandytracker »

I stopped using ebay about a year ago mainly because of a growing dislike of their philosophy. I could no longer justify its use it for the sake of saving a few measly pounds.
Around a third of my buying experiences on ebay were unsatisfactorary, mainly as a result of incomplete and inaccurate descriptions relating to the particulars (dimensions, state of repair etc.) of items.

Until very recently I have never had a problem using the classifieds of cycle forums (but I think this particular incident is the exception which proves the rule).
AndyK
Posts: 1498
Joined: 17 Aug 2007, 2:08pm
Location: Mid Hampshire

Re: Stolen bikes on ebay

Post by AndyK »

sandytracker wrote:Why would you want to use ebay anyway?

Well... If you're selling, it gives you a big potential market and the opportunity to maximise the value of your sale, which might be more than you thought. I sold two bikes on eBay last year: my old 531 tourer fetched £100 when I'd not been expecting anything above £40 for it. (And yes, I was very careful to describe all its faults!) On the other hand I sold a well-used children's bike for the starting price of 99p. The buyer still hasn't bothered to collect it, even though they paid up their 99p promptly...
Post Reply