Buying second hand — how to avoid stolen bikes?

Obvious stuff really, you just have to be a judge of character.

Why are you selling

Where did you buy it

What's the spec

Have you got the receipt

How much was it...

Etc etc. It's pretty obvious once you talking.

What he said ^

I've bought a lot of second hand bikes, I would add always pick it from their house, don't meet in some car park somewhere (although I met up at a service station last time I sold a frame but I know I'm legit...) I just feel a bit more secure doing that.

When I advertise them on eBay or whatever I always include a photo of the frame number, I don't know if that makes my buyers feel more secure but it won't do any harm, don't be afraid to ask for it if they don't put it in the ad, if they don't give it to you walk away.

Thanks, will keep this in mind.

I've seen conflicting advice here (taken a bit out of context)

Buying

’ve bought a lot of second hand bikes, I would add always pick it from their house, don’t meet in some car park somewhere

Vs

Selling

Meet elsewhere so they can't scope out your bike collection / decline it then burgle you later

I'd say judge of character, but just because I live in a decent area doesn't mean I'm not a scumbag.

Buying on specialist cycling websites is what I've done in the past - retrobike, pinkbike and of course STW. There are of course risks with this as well but it feels a lot less sketchy than Mr V. Dodgy from ebay.

I would add always pick it from their house

I would never sell one of my bikes from my own home , not a chance

That's the issue Funky, I can see why you say that, but as buyer it sounds iffy if the seller wants to meet in a car park somewhere.

It does, that's the conundrum. But if the seller has receipts etc then they issue is more easily solved.  Assessing the bona fides of the buyer is more tricky, hence why I generally meet off premises.

Weirdly enough, I didn't bother with kids' bikes. Which is odd as the only time anyone tried to scam me was some prick who handed over a wad of twenties...... I apologetically stood there and counted it..... When it was one short he immediately pulled out a single note from his other pocket and gave it straight to me without any hesitation, confusion or desire to recount the money.  Stupidly I took it and wished him all the best.  I should have just given him his cash back, took the bike and told him to **** off go tell his son he* was a low life prick and that he didn't manage to get a bike.

As it happened I was too gobsmacked to react. Luckily my sheltered life hasn't put me in contact with too many tools like that

* The parent, not the kid

There are some utter scumbags about aren’t there. Sold a petrol strimmer when I moved house to a place where I had no need for it, just needed it gone. Chucked in a helmet with face guard and ear defenders. After he handed over the cash he was waving the helmet in my face saying ‘you are an idiot you could have sold this separately for £20’ . I was speechless.

I've bought most of my bikes second hand. Usually end up talking to the seller about bikes and riding spots and the like. Very quickly becomes obvious they are a mountain biker. I suppose that doesn't actually stop them also being a scumbag thief but it does seem unlikely. You get a pretty good idea just from the initial email exchange but not always.

That’s the issue Funky, I can see why you say that, but as buyer it sounds iffy if the seller wants to meet in a car park somewhere.

I tend to explain why I won’t sell from my house, then show pics of the bike I’ve taken over the past x number of years/ in places I’ve ridden it. Bought and sold loads from supermarket car parks over the years, no issues.

been ghosted a couple of times when I’ve mentioned the car park, I assume they just wanted my address.

What @snotrag says, pretty easy to spot a dodgy seller from a genuine one once conversation starts rolling

i also wouldn’t sell from my own home for the reasons stated above, I quite often offer to bring the bike to them if they are within a 30 minute drive and have done this numerous times

have had some buyers insist on collecting themselves which is understandable so in those instances I would normally conduct business so to speak, out the front of the house, can normally suggest they take it for a spin up and down the road to check all is well if they wanted

i also think, suggesting to meet in a public spot or letting the buyer lead the transaction / meet up tends to ease any concerns surrounding “yeah, come to my house” and would opt for this if possible more often than not if I was a buyer

Check the serial number