OK, so the new MBR arrived today and there is an article about the Police in Hampshire breaking up a bike stealing/breaking ring that sold almost a £250,000 worth of parts through ebay, parts taken off bikes stolen.
Clearly, tracing components is easier than bikes with frame numbers etc. A pair of fox forks looks pretty much like any other fox fork?
So the motive for stealing bikes, perhaps more so for organised gangs, appears for the parts to sell.
The article does include tips on securing your bike and trying to recvover it but how about parts.
Realistically, what can be done about the parts selling?
I will hold my hands up here having bought a few bits of ebay, including a second hand but mint complete rear wheel that seemed a good buy at the time. It was regular auction not a buy-it-now so it wasn't an obvious cheap "too good to be true so it musn't be" price.
Should we be looking to interrogate the seller a bit before buying or is that assuming they are guilty?
There are a few sellers on ebay that I have come across selling parts and they do appear to be in business selling second hand parts. Should they be avoided?
I have also bought parts off STW and the general assumption I make is that a like minded person would be legit. I will keep that view until somethng goes wrong or I hear to the contrary but I am a bit more mindfull about ebay now.
