Bikes that MAY be stolen.. the moral compass vs a great deal

tavyabe

Hi, I don't want to start a MASSIVE debate on this one but...

I've seen a bike advertised that is way too good a deal to be entirely genuine. In other words I cannot imagine a bike that good would sell for so little unless it was stolen. So the moral compass kicks in and says 'don't buy it as it could be stolen'. On the other hand if I don't buy it someone else will. If it has been stolen then the person who it was stolen from won't be reunited with it and probably has had an insurance claim and got a new one by now anyway. I am looking to buy a bike anyway so should I pass up on this opportunity because my moral compass says it might not be 'right' to buy it?

thoughts on the issue appreciated

nicklouse

if it is stolen and you pay money for it you do not own it.

if it gets identified and seized you lose the money and the bike.

if it is too good a deal then investigate a bit more. receipts etc... as it might be genuine.

tavyabe

I have asked him whether he owned it from new and whether he has the manuals but expect the response to be 'i bought it used a while back so don't have any receipts or manuals'.

He says it has original components and the photos make it look pretty good condition. It had a rrp of £1,899 in 2007 (the year it is from) and he wants £250 for it now?!? that is too good to be honest isn't it?

peter413

It could also be a typo :roll:

Might be wanting 520 for it not 250

MacAndCheese

It's also a crime...

Handling of Stolen goods -
"The accused may be said to know that goods are stolen when someone with first hand knowledge - such as the thief, tells him. Belief is something short of knowledge. Thus an accused will believe that the goods are stolen if his state of mind is such that, with the knowledge he has, there can be no other reasonable conclusion except that the property is stolen. If, despite the circumstances, the accused still refuses to believe what should be obvious, this still amounts to a belief that the goods are stolen."

so basically, if it's that obvious they're are stolen then you can't plead ignorance....

tavyabe

as expected he has responded saying he bought it from the freeads for £500 and he did have the manuals but has lost them. says he is only selling because he has lost his job. I desperately want it but my moral compass has beaten me and I'm not going to buy it, so if anyone else wants it have a search for Cannondale Perp on cardiff gumtree and if your compass will allow you to buy what is more than likely stolen then more for you, but I couldn't do it.

RichMTB

For what its worth I think you've done the right thing.

Its far too cheap to be genuine.

If he split it he could get £250 for the forks!

Plus the spec listing is very basic

Where are my stabilisers?

I've never bought from gumtree, but is there a way of reporting the seller?

That way maybe nobody buys a stolen bike, the genuine owner may get it back and I'd feel better knowing that people if aren't tempted to buy stolen bikes, I'd stand a chance of getting mine back if it was stolen!

mrfmilo

Gumtree is scammer heaven

ilovedirt

It could well be a scam, you get a lot of scammers on gumtree. I messaged a guy about a guitar on there a couple of times, he seemed really enthusiastic about selling it, but as soon as i asked if i could come look at it/pick it up, i never heard anything back, despite numerous emails. Dodgy.

raymc

personallly- your moral compass is out of calibration! There can never be any justification for buying a stolen item, however you try to dress it up.

Wouldn't even consider buying a suspected stolen bike, it is wrong, wrong, wrong.

Anyway Karma would probably bite you in the arse somewhere down the line.

UPdate: Apology- by the time I'd written my OP you had already come to the right decision, sorry if I may hve caused any offence- you have done the right thing.

fletch8928

This is going to come over all wrong but..

If I had my bikes stolen and some f*@#^r put them up for sale at stupidly low price', I would be happy thinking that some proper use would come from them.

I personally would have had an insurance settlement. Got replacements and carried on where I left off. However I would be livid and checking out places like Gumtree, Ebay and local ads.

It always amazes me that the thieving scum take a huge chance and then practically gives the stuff away. If something could fetch £1000 why sell it for £100? I am guessing here but surely they could get a bigger bag of crack and not have to waste their "high time" on looking for a quick fix. Oh hang on thats because they're stupid long haired thieving gypsy barstards.

Like the OP I wouldnt buy such an item as tempting as it may be.

tavyabe

well, I didn't buy it and I have to say I feel good about it. Instead I went on ebay and bought a Gary Fisher that comes with manuals etc (althought the price tag wasn't as nice as the Cannondale) but it is for my girlfriend and I think it is possibly the sexiest women's specific (under £700) I have seen so I am over the moon with it (though the bank balance isn't:()
[img][/img]

Where are my stabilisers?

This is going to come over all wrong but..

If I had my bikes stolen and some f*@#^r put them up for sale at stupidly low price', I would be happy thinking that some proper use would come from them.

I personally would have had an insurance settlement.

:roll: Oh dear

You may well have a nice new bike on the insurance but yours and everybody elses insurance premiums would keep going up and up :shock:

Who say's the stolen bike is gonna get proper use anyway?? Most honest people would stay well clear of a clearly stolen bike. What's more likely is that you'll see some chav riding round Tesco car park on a huge downhill bike they bought for £200 on ebay!

mcj78

Having just had my bike nicked, I have to say if I seen someone riding down the street on it tomorrow, I wouldn't start asking questions about where they got it & could I have it back, they'd be dragged off it & possibly thrashed within an inch of their lives, depending on my mood at the time. And how big/stabby they looked.
Best to avoid the chance of that kind of scenario developing, and your gf has ended up with a rather nice bike too I must say

fletch8928

Where are my stabilisers? wrote:

This is going to come over all wrong but..

If I had my bikes stolen and some f*@#^r put them up for sale at stupidly low price', I would be happy thinking that some proper use would come from them.

I personally would have had an insurance settlement.

:roll: Oh dear

You may well have a nice new bike on the insurance but yours and everybody elses insurance premiums would keep going up and up :shock:

Who say's the stolen bike is gonna get proper use anyway?? Most honest people would stay well clear of a clearly stolen bike. What's more likely is that you'll see some chav riding round Tesco car park on a huge downhill bike they bought for £200 on ebay!

I knew it would come across wrong. Damn my optimism.

llamafarmer

That Fisher's lovely tavyabe, you definitely made the right decision.

fletch8928 wrote:

This is going to come over all wrong but..

If I had my bikes stolen and some f*@#^r put them up for sale at stupidly low price', I would be happy thinking that some proper use would come from them.

I personally would have had an insurance settlement. Got replacements and carried on where I left off. However I would be livid and checking out places like Gumtree, Ebay and local ads.

If you buy stolen goods you help oil the gears of the machine. None of us would like our bikes to be stolen, so we've got a duty to each other to make sure we're not making the criminals' lives easier - if the seller can't prove they own the bike legitimately you shouldn't be buying it imo.