Stolen bike found on Ebay

purcel

My hubby's bike has been stolen about 4 months ago from his workplace. Police report completed, the local police just told us we have no chances of recovering it, as they are usually stolen for scrap metal.
Yesterday evening my hubby was just looking through Ebay and ... surprise!! His bike for sale !!! It is listed about 50 miles away from us and it is definitely our stolen one as it was custom made! there's no other the same! We have contacted the local pd, given the details, but i have read that Ebay can take 15 days to release seller's details, by that time the bike will be sold:(

Now, I have read somewhere that you can bid on it and go and collect with some mates, but due to the distance it is not an option for us.
I was hoping someone else has been in the same situation and the police helped them recover their bike? Thank you.

theonlywayisup

The police should be your first port of call.

I would not advocate 'going round with mates' in any scenario.

You could ask the seller if they would take cash in person and ask if you could inspect the bike first, that may lead to them giving their address.

The person sellng, may not be aware the bike is stolen, if of course, it is your stoken bike in the first place.

purcel

It definitely my hubby's as he's build it himself and recognised the parts in the photos.

theonlywayisup

purcel wrote: »

It definitely my hubby's as he's build it himself and recognised the parts in the photos.

But as I say, that doesn't mean the seller knows it might be stolen.

If you are sure then go back to the police and ask for an update on what they have done.

Or, contact the seller to see if you can obtain an address.

Or buy it back.

I am not sure what you want me to say.

Fire_Fox

I'd be inclined to ring the police on a daily basis, reminding them of the urgency. Even if the bike is sold, the seller and eBay will have the buyer's address so it can still be recovered, then the buyer will have to claim back from the seller through Paypal. eBay might suspend the listing if you supply the crime reference number and reference for your latest report, but that will obviously alert the seller.

I don't see why it's relevant whether the current 'owner' knows the bike is stolen, it's still handling stolen goods. Pretending you want to go round to inspect is a good idea, but if they are criminal and have any sense they will not let you know where they live but will meet you away from their home.

purcel

theonlywayisup wrote: »

But as I say, that doesn't mean the seller knows it might be stolen.

If you are sure then go back to the police and ask for an update on what they have done.

Or, contact the seller to see if you can obtain an address.

Or buy it back.

I am not sure what you want me to say.

I only wanted to see if anyone has been in the same situation and had been succesfull recovering their goods. We know what the options are and if you read my post we had already contacted the police. Thanks

sham63

I would be tempted to ask the seller a simple question, just to establish whether they will be likely to disclose the address - ask somthing like, "Hi, interested in your bike, can you post or is it collection only?"

See what response you get.

C_Mababejive

Ebay dont mind selling stolen goods...

theonlywayisup

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I don't see why it's relevant whether the current 'owner' knows the bike is stolen, it's still handling stolen goods. Pretending you want to go round to inspect is a good idea, but if they are criminal and have any sense they will not let you know where they live but will meet you away from their home.

Firstly, it was relevant as the OP was querying if they should go around 'with mates'. This infers it was to intimidate the seller. The seller may be wholly unaware.

Secondly, you do not understand the law regarding handling stolen goods. The person who has the goods has to 'know or believe' the goods to be stolen. So as I said, the seller may not know the goods are stolen, if in fact they are.

This is however, somewhat moot, as the point is not to have the seller arrested per say but to recover the bike.

heman2012

exact same thing happened to a friend, exept it was a seller 200 miles away.

The police recovered it and handed it back.

pinkshoes

I would win the auction for whatever amount, then arrange to go and collect it.

THEN... call the local police, and get them to turn up with you at the address.

Even if the seller isn't aware it's stolen, they are indeed handling stolen goods, and it is NOT their property to sell.

Given it was only stolen 4 months ago, then chances are that they do know it was stolen, as why else would they be selling it on so quickly?!