If a guy is selling 5+ bikes on craigslist...

[Ricemarine]

What are the chances there isn't something fishy going on?
*links removed*

Update: I'm interested in buying the Scattante so I called the #. The guy didn't pick up and doesn't have a voicemail set up. I asked the local detective I worked with before to check the database of stolen bikes in the area. He said he needed more info before he can be 100% if it's in there.

 

[BudAshes]

What are the chances there isn't something fishy going on?

http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/bik/2266112810.html
http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/bik/2263412496.html
http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/bik/2266115344.html
http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/bik/2263423577.html
http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/bik/2260933038.html
http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/bik/2257255223.html

call the cops, I wonder if they would check it out?

 

[Ricemarine]

call the cops, I wonder if they would check it out?

Notified one of the local detectives that works with bike theft before making this thread. Hopefully he'll respond soon to see if they're in the system or not.

The deals are good... too good. I'd love to bite.

 

[Crono]

With spelling and grammar that good, he must be legit.

 

[Skitzer]

There's a guy who lives down the road from me who does that for a living. He buys old bikes, fixes them up like new and resells them. He has numerous ads in the local paper and online. I see nothing wrong with it.

 

[QueBert]

Hummm I read 3 of the ad's and in 2 he mentions "a bike you can't lose" but he doesn't say anything about not getting it stolen. Who the fuck has ever "lost" a bike any ways?

 

[iGas]

Depends on the condition of the bike, but
the first bike seems to be cheap for 105 parts.
second bike have Ultegra for $350 is too good to be true.
third is a great bike Specialized Allez Comp (I have an Allez Comp steel frame bike for 20 years with 105) with Ultegra for $450 also way too cheap pending condition.
last bike is a Giant 3 with Durace crank, and if chain rings, hubs, cassette, derailleurs are Durace, it is definitely is a stolen bike.

 

[iGas]

Hummm I read 3 of the ad's and in 2 he mentions "a bike you can't lose" but he doesn't say anything about not getting it stolen. Who the fuck has ever "lost" a bike any ways?

<-- sis took my Kona hei hei for a ride to town and only lock the front wheel, and I ended up with just the front wheel when I came back from my 6 months travel.

I also lost a Rocky Mountain Stratos at first year college because I locked it up with a cable.

 

[TridenT]

There's a guy who lives down the road from me who does that for a living. He buys old bikes, fixes them up like new and resells them. He has numerous ads in the local paper and online. I see nothing wrong with it.

The problem here is that these are newer bikes and quite nice. (105 and Ultegra gear... these are definitely $1k+ new)

 

[Ms. DICKINSON]

Must be a hoarder. A friend has 6 bikes that he doesn't even use.

 

[airdata]

Do people hoard high end bikes? and do they type craigslist ads in all caps?

 

[DJK Frank 16]

HAHA... Hot bikes!!!

 

[DingDingDao]

Do people hoard high end bikes? and do they type craigslist ads in all caps?

Yes. I have cyclist friends who probably own $30K+ in bikes.

And no, they don't type like that. I think the CL seller in the OP is probably a thief.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I don't know about you guys but all my bikes are the same size.

 

[Ricemarine]

I don't know about you guys but all my bikes are the same size.

Yeah, that's what is definitely throwing me off: the Allez Comp being an XL size (60cm perhaps?), the R-560 54cm, and the rest unknown.

It could be the guy is hoarding. However, most people usually put a more accurate description and pictures with their ads.

The guy wants me to call him and see them in person. Looking at what I scrounged up from the internet however, I don't think this guy is really a bike enthusiast if I found the right guy.

 

[bobdole369]

Maybe he fixes them or buys busted ones.

 

[Drako]

I don't know about you guys but all my bikes are the same size.

I don't know about you, but my wife and kids bikes are different sizes.

 

[classy]

Do people hoard high end bikes? and do they type craigslist ads in all caps?

My dad had two high end bikes, sold one. One of them he paid $600-700 for.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I don't know about you, but my wife and kids bikes are different sizes.

My money is on thief. You don't generally clear out your entire family's bike collection all at once...generally.

 

[MegaVovaN]

Thief imo. No pics, no details, MUST SELL NAO!!! Is definitely marks of theft. He does not want to hold on to hot stolen merchandise for long.

No pics either because that can get him busted (when original owners find out).

Re: hoarder - no! Why would he hoard different sizes, and more importantly, be in such hurry to sell? Hoarders are attached to their stuff.

 

[Drako]

My money is on thief. You don't generally clear out your entire family's bike collection all at once...generally.

You may be right, but selling a family's bike collection makes a whole lot more sense than selling 5 of your own personal bikes.

 

[JulesMaximus]

My dad had two high end bikes, sold one. One of them he paid $600-700 for.

I have two high end road bikes worth thousands of dollars each. I have another bike that is an old racing bike from the 70s I bought a few years ago but haven't fixed up enough to ride. I may end up parting that one out on e-bay. I'm never selling the other two though.

 

[Patranus]

I don't get it.
Its not your job to play police.
Either buy the bike or not.
If it is YOUR bike then you can report it stolen.
If you are reporting someone to the police with no evidence to back up your claim you are simply a douche.

 

[JulesMaximus]

You may be right, but selling a family's bike collection makes a whole lot more sense than selling 5 of your own personal bikes.

These are all adult sized bikes though and unless the entire family are avid riders with very particular tastes why would you have all these different brand bikes? I've seen couples buy bikes together and they both end up with the same brand usually because they go to a bike shop which carries 2 or 3 different brands.

This guy is selling a couple Giants, a Specialized, a couple Cannondales, and a Scattante (which is a Performance bike store brand). Kind of an odd mix of brands if you ask me. I know for a fact that Performance Bike doesn't sell Specialized, Giant, or Cannondale bikes. I think they used to sell Specialized brand but that was years ago.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I don't get it.
Its not your job to play police.
Either buy the bike or not.
If it is YOUR bike then you can report it stolen.
If you are reporting someone to the police with no evidence to back up your claim you are simply a douche.

Wrong. Bike theft is one of the most unreported and unpunished crimes. Hundreds of thousands of bikes are stolen every year and sold or parted out but Police rarely catch these scumbags because they treat it as a petty crime.

Not to mention the fact that if you're caught riding a stolen bike you could be mistaken for the thief or at the very least have the property you paid for taken away from you.