This points towards those immersed in cycling themselves being involved int he organisation of the crime

Maybe not the organisation of the crime, but certainly in the propagation of it.

I refuse to buy anything 2nd hand from a forum classifieds, including this very forum, unless I know the seller and have a reasonable idea of the bikes etc. they have. Similarly I won’t sell anything either unless I know the buyer (but that’s more for Paypal etc. protection). At least I know I’m not assisting the onward movement of goods with a questionable history.

Since the Police have targets etc. and crime importance is dictated by the Home Office, write to your MP. If enough people do this, maybe something might get done to prioritise it a bit better, rather than allowing insurance companies to prey on fear.

I refuse to buy anything 2nd hand from a forum classifieds, including this very forum, unless I know the seller and have a reasonable idea of the bikes etc.

It’s a good point, and not one I think I had really considered before. I always assumed the sellers on here to be legit (apart from the obvious ones) . Will defo think more carefully about it in the future.

I’ve bought from sellers here several times. I look for people who also have a history of contributing to the forums, rather than just being traders. I’m as sure as I possibly can be they are legit.

But you have no way of guaranteeing that they are, no matter how ‘legit’ they may appear on here. Just because a person seems decent online, doesn’t mean they are 100% honest.

The increase in high-end bike theft means there are more bikes and parts on the market that are stolen. simple logic. So, there’s more chance that you could unwittingly buy stolen goods. it’s possible there are ‘well respected’ forum members who have been here for years, who may well be selling stolen goods and making a tidy profit. unless you have absolute proof of the provenance of the item, then you really can’t tell either way.

Caveat emptor.

I can’t prove it, but I like to assume that if someone’s decent online then they’re decent offline too. The reverse applies too – I wouldn’t buy off someone where the only indication I have of their actual nature is a negative on-line persona. It’s not perfect and it’s open to mistakes/exploitation, but I’d rather be somebody who trusts my own judgement than somebody who trusts no-one.

andytherocketeer, good points, well made.