I'm bidding for my own cycle on ebay - smart ?

beegee

My bike was stolen a couple of weeks ago. So I started checking the internet for it. And I found it on ebay. So now I'm bidding for it. I've been to the police and they said to call them when I go to collect it and they'll come with me. I'm quite nervous about this. I wonder if he'll smell a rat when a police car or van turns up. I'm sort of temporarily living in Belgium. I don't know if the British police would do anything different. The trouble with ebay is that none of the personal details need to be correct so I really have to meet him. The police said that they couldn't phone the guy (he does have his mobile number on the ad) - I guess that would be like entrapment. I bet there's quite a few people that would like to 'meet' the person that stole their bike but, as I say, I'm not looking forward to this. My colleagues think it's great. They all want to watch when (a) the thief is collared or (b) I get smacked.

daniel_b

Sounds like a good plan, but I would be inclined to ask the police to attend the meet themselves, acting as you - they can then call you in to identify the bike.

Only potential downside, I guess, is that these scum know where you live, and might come back.

Eat My Dust

similar thing happened to my dad years ago, the police pounced on the guy and arrested him before they had seen him do anything illegal. End result was he got charged with nowt!

cee

Do you have insurance that would cover the theft? I know that my household insurance covers my bike when it is locked up properly.

Maybe it would be wise to write it off as a loss and claim your insurance because as Daniel says, these muthas know where you live.....

Even if you and a couple of mates give them a bit of a tickle :evil: , it is easy to speculate on the repurcussions.

meanwhile

cee wrote:

Do you have insurance that would cover the theft? I know that my household insurance covers my bike when it is locked up properly.

Maybe it would be wise to write it off as a loss and claim your insurance because as Daniel says, these muthas know where you live.....

Even if you and a couple of mates give them a bit of a tickle :evil: , it is easy to speculate on the repurcussions.

We're talking about bike thieves here, not the Medelin cartel. Anything is possible, but I wouldn't think a vendetta campaign is likely.

If the OP is really worried he/she might contact ebay and ask them to arrange to send incorrect contact details at the end of the transaction. God knows they are incompetent and lazy, but they might be stirred into doing something.

JoeSoap76

beegee wrote:

I don't know if the British police would do anything different.

Was left a £100s short a couple of years back when a (non-bike related) purchase failed to be delivered. Quickly found that there were about a dozen likewise poorer people out there. Went to the local police station with the details where I was met with some confused looks but very little help.

beegee wrote:

I found it on ebay

You sure it's yours? What if you're busy bidding away for it and the serial numbers don't match? :oops:

Gussio

Send some crack fiends round on your behalf, furnished with gaffer tape, boltcutters and a blowtorch 8)

There's no justice like mob justice....

ekimq

How about asking for a trial - to check if it fits etc.?

No need to part with any money then and you can confirm that the bike is really yours (and not just a close match).

Just an idea

attica

So when does the auction end?

robmanic1

Its a tough one, first impressions I would like to go and meet the seller, they shouldn't be allowed to get away with it, BUT chances are, if they do get nicked, a slap on the wrist and 5 days picking up litter along a canal bank in the sunshine is all they'll get and you'll be left with all the stress of them finding you. Could you just p*ss them off a bit by bidding and then not buying (as someone else, of course)? Or arrange to meet somewhere miles from where they live and not turn up.

ademort

Have you asked the police just what punishment this person will receive when caught, i think you are in for a shock. If this person is unknown to the police, ie first offence and claims to have bought the bike from somebody else (in good faith)you will have to buy the bike from the thief at a reasonable price, it,s the law. It is the same in the Netherlands where i live,a bloody joke. If this person is known to the police and admits stealing your bike he may get a fine of €50. In your shoes i would love to meet the thief, however my motives would not involve police. Charles Bronson eat your heart out. Greetings Ademort

JavaBob

I understand your fear. I reported a juvenile breaking into cars. It is natural to worry about all the things that could go wrong. I imagined coming face to face with him and his gang but nothing arose. He got a supervision order and that was that. I find the Police can be very confrontational without good cause but I will agree that they brave and necessary.

NorwegianBlue

Surely you shouldn't have to bid on and win the bike for the police to take action?

Consider the following scenario:

Your bike is stolen and a few days later you see one of your neighbours riding it. You report this to the police.

Would the police:

a) send an officer round to visit the neighbour.
b) tell you to go round and confront the neighbour yourself.

The answer would of course be (a). Why should the fact that the bike is on ebay make a difference?

Are you 100% sure that this is your bike? You'd better be. If you win it and it turns out not to be your bike you will be obliged to pay up. What if you pay over the odds? What if the bike's a pile of junk?

Report it to the police and let them deal with it. Claim the insurance. Walk away.

aidansweeney

I saw a friend's bike on the Gumtree and we arranged to meet the seller. I'd never seen it but was relatively sure it was hers from the description as it was kind of unusual (hybrid with hub gears). I took a bit of advice from other cyclists before going ahead.

The seller's choice of a meet was at a London tube station in which there turned out to be a small police station, as I found out. We had minimal contact with the seller and the mate he'd brought along, as the police were there in plain clothes (well, one of them took his jacket and helmet off) watching with us. My friend identified her bike, and the seller was nicked. He claimed he'd bought it down the pub from a bloke he'd never seen before or since, etc etc etc - which may or may not be be true, I dunno. We found out later he'd been let off with a caution as he didn't have any previous for bike theft.

It was worth doing, I guess, as she got her bike back, and nothing particularly nasty happened, but I guess there's always the chance of that, which was why we decided to get the police involved rather than just take the bike back - we would have been on dodgy ground legally, and though that sounds absurd I suppose it's logical that people can't just go around pointing to other people's stuff and claiming it's their own...

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

Eat My Dust

I'd be inclined to go around with a van to pick it up and make sure the van was full of people. As you're counting out the money, ask him "to throw the bike in the back" I'm pretty sure he'd forget about any money whe he saw your "crew". While you were at it you could kidnap him and perform some torture on him to teach him not to steal bikes. You could cut off his thumbs.

snooks

OK, first off, you don't know the person who bought the bike IS the thief, they could have bought it (in good faith) and decided to sell it on...

IF it is your bike, then you'll get it back...and don't have to pay for it ...If it isn't, you might have to pay for it, or come clean with the seller when you find out it's not yours.

Have you done the old, "whats the serial no. so I can check the year?" question?...You did take a note of the original serial no. did you???

I know someone this happened to, their bike was an pretty rare older Klein, distinctive, and not too many around...He told the police, bid for it on Ebay, won it, went round with the police. Got his bike back, this guy bought it from that guy, who bought it from a bloke in a pub, not enough evidence to do anything...but he got his bike back.

Make up a new identity on Ebay and put a silly price to make sure you win

beegee

I was sure it was my bike from the photos. I didn't think to ask about the serial number to work out what year it is - that's a clever idea. I was trying very hard not to spook the guy so I wanted to be careful about the questions. But the customisations I had made were visible in the photos. Anyway I bid for the bike and won it. Then the next day I arranged to meet the guy. The police then picked me up from work and drove me to the guy's place. They were plain clothes in an unmarked car. One came with me pretending to be a friend. He told me to say "it's a nice bike" to him if I was certain it was mine. I had a photo of my serial number to be absolutely certain. It was mine. They took him to the police station and I drove to the police station to sign the statement about the events. So there you go. I've got my bike back, horray. About the guy. He was selling 11 bikes on ebay when I saw mine. I think he's one of these guys that buys second hand bikes, no questions asked. But even if he didn't steal it, by buying it he creates a market for stolen bikes.

snooks

Result! Well done

NorwegianBlue

Nice one. Good to get a result for a change.

As has been said plod may well have trouble finding evidence of his being involved in the theft, they may have trouble he was knowingly selling stolen goods. But if he is bent then hopefully this experience will make him realize he's not bullet proof and scare him enough that he will stop doing it.

Lets be fair though, how many of us can be sure we've never bought (or even sold) stolen goods? Ever bought a used bike? Did you ever consider the possibility of it being stolen? You used the phrase "no questions asked" but what questions do you ask? It's not like they come with a V5 document, old MOTs and a service history. In part that's the worst bit about it. Bikes are hard to trace and so easy to steal.

The act of stealing cars or motorbikes to strip for parts to sell on is well known, but for some reason the same thing happening to bikes doesn't seem to get much publicity. I'm always wary of people who deal in loads of used components on ebay, escpecially when they never seem to sell frames. When buying such bits on ebay I always avoid people who have sold loads of used bits and little else. I'm not saying they're all nicking bikes to break for bits, but if you don't buy from anybody who could be dodgy in that respect then you can be pretty sure you're not furthering this trade.

This isn't a criticism of ebay. No matter how much publicity (deserved or otherwise) ebay, Loot or anything else receives for the sale of stolen property most buyers will ignore the possibility that they could be buying stolen goods in the interests of getting a bargain.

Oh and I'm always wary of the phrases: "I don't know anything about bikes" and "I'm selling this for a friend".

beegee

One thing that did surprise me about both the police and my colleagues - it seems to me that not many people actually know that bikes all have a unique frame number, even the police. The receipt for my bike didn't have the frame number on it and whenn I bought it there was no sticker saying 'caution, before use, please note the serial number'. Perhaps it's a stupid place to put the serial number, on the bottom of the bottom bracket. It should be on the top of the of the cross bar, maybe.

NorwegianBlue

They really need the serial number in more than one place on the frame, just like they do with car VIN numbers.

ddraver

must remember to write down the frame numbers on my bikes.....must remember!!

zaynan

Eat My Dust - you have hit the nail on the head!

Redmog

NorwegianBlue wrote:

They really need the serial number in more than one place on the frame, just like they do with car VIN numbers.

They do this so you can check that the front and back ends of the chassis are from the same vehicle and it's not some cut & shut death trap :shock: .

It would be good though to get an owners card or something with the frame no. on and details of all the standard kit (groupset etc.) so you can file it till you need to make a claim!

paulintheforest

There is somewhere on line where you can save all the details of your bikes. This site here https://www.immobilise.com/ you register then you can put all of the details of your equipment on it. It even allows you to upload a scan of the receipt and a couple of photos. I think you can even report the items lost or stolen via the site. It's funded by the mobile phone companies but all of our bikes are registered on there. One day I'll load up the pictures and receipts.

Cunobelin

May seem silly - but has anyone informed EBay?

I am sure they will not be entirely happy if they know stolen goods are on the site.

saveswalking

Cunobelin wrote:

May seem silly - but has anyone informed EBay?

I am sure they will not be entirely happy if they know stolen goods are on the site.

I'm sure they know stolen goods are on the site
sw

don_don

If this person is unknown to the police, ie first offence and claims to have bought the bike from somebody else (in good faith)you will have to buy the bike from the thief at a reasonable price, it,s the law.

Codswallop. Property owned by a person never ceases to be their property unless sold or otherwise disclaimed. If you buy stolen property in good faith and the real owner comes to claim it, you will be left out of pocket and have no redress except against the person you bought it from.

Exactly the same scenario happened to a colleague of mine last year. His MTB was stolen at Cwmcarn and turned up on eBay 3 weeks later. He arranged to go and meet the seller 'to check if it fit" etc, taking a mate who happened to be a Police officer with him. It was the right bike. The theif had a garage full of nicked MTBs and was arrested.

I appreciate beegee might not have a Police buddy! However, I would agree with Norwegian Blue. If you can identify the bike reasonably positively you should be entitled to expect the Police to follow this up. However, I see you live in Belgium, where the law and old bill are completely different. I take it the bike is in Belgium as well?? If not, that's another matter altogether

don_don

Just re-read ademort's post and realised this is Holland and Belgium we are talking about! And there's me saying the law there is different from here :roll:

So maybe that is how the law works over there. Seems a bit harsh if it is though.

Sorry for any offence caused by my use of the word 'codswallop' :oops: :oops: