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Hello All,
Had my shed targeted last night after advertising my bike on Facebook market place. I was suspicious of the 'buyer' at the time. none of the conversation made any sense, and I actually gave him the wrong door number by a door anyway... but it seems they came over from that garden into mine.
My brand new chisel got lifted and also my road bike...funnily enough the hardtail I had listed was in the kitchen as I had ben waiting for someone to come round and look at it.
Be careful on Facebook market place.
Sorry to hear this! Are you insured?
I'm in various bike-related Facebook groups and have noticed there's been a rise in thefts via Marketplace recently, some similar to what you have described. Another common one seems to be people meeting up in a public place to avoid the sellers home and then the "buyer" asking for a test ride then riding off without paying, even offering phones (likely stolen or broken) or house keys as a "trust me bro" safety incentive.
When I was selling my hardtail in January I had one guy who was desperate to buy it but I had a bad feeling about him. He wanted it shipped to London via a courier he would pay for, but his profile said he was in the USA. Then when I checked the address he gave me for shipping it was some shady looking warehouse in London somewhere. I'm aware of the various courier scams so politely declined but he kept messaging me until it was sold. I noticed he was trying it with other people in the for sale groups too. In the end I sold the bike to someone who came up on the train from Glasgow to collect it and met in him the train station, where there's loads of CCTV and usually a BTP officers going about.
To be honest I feel like a total fool - I actually work in the open source int field and his profile is a howler of problems....set up in February 2026 etc. I even told him when I'd be out...
To be honest I feel like a total fool - I actually work in the open source int field and his profile is a howler of problems....set up in February 2026 etc. I even told him when I'd be out...
Ouch.
Police will likely be useless other than giving you a crime reference number, but worth pursuing it with them anyway. If there's been a spate of thefts in the area then it might give them some more info to go on.
I’ve had loads of marketplace folk pull out of sales when I say they won’t be picking a bike up from my house (either work or a supermarket car park 10 mins walk away) appreciate it probably makes me look risky, but whatevs.
never been an issue on other platforms, oddly.
Sometimes you can get your address from the name though. It certainly works for me as I filed patents and they've got my address on. OH also has business registered here under her name. Not sure the average Facebook crimo will go to those lengths though.
I’ve had loads of marketplace folk pull out of sales when I say they won’t be picking a bike up from my house (either work or a supermarket car park 10 mins walk away) appreciate it probably makes me look risky, but whatevs
That's the problem isn't it? I can understand why you woul do that but if a seller said that to me it would sound dodgy as, no way would I be buying from them. Work maybe, but certainly not a car park
I'm fortunate I have a plod shop nearby, so always do business in the car parking spaces out front.
Only been asked by plod once, but she was sound when I explained.
I'm always upfront with buyers that I don't do business at my house for security reasons. Had a few pull out, but most are happy to meet as it gives them security as well.
Yeah, not meeting at sellers place for a purchase would raise alarm bells for me, done it once for a frame off here but otherwise stick to eBay anyway. Can people get location from embedded data in photos on Facebook?
I cruelly judge anybody who messages me about a Facebook sale. I always snoop through their page to see how old the account is and how many friends they have, then I check if I can find them on Instagram or anywhere else. I don’t really sell the kind of full bikes that people would want to pinch; it’s usually just parts, frames, or retro builds. I've never had any issues with people picking things up from my place. I did have a few Sur-Ron Yobs asking about some brakes I was selling but I usually just message people back saying "sorry, think they've sold". I also, tend to give the address on the day they say they're coming.
There was one lad that seemed a bit dodgy so I met him at the petrol station, but he turned up with his dad and just seemed a bit overly enthusiastic in the end.
It’s been the norm selling motorbikes for years. Meet somewhere mutually agreeable, then if all checks out, maybe take them back to your place to complete the transaction, or do it there and then. No way is anyone I don’t know coming to my house to buy stuff.
I’m thinking of selling off a few bikes and came up with the ingenious idea that any buyer could meet me at the local mini sainsburys and then I’d walk and they’d follow me to the house. Loads of houses around so they’d have their work cut out casings hem all.. Giving my address to a stranger when I’ve got a garage full of bikes does give me the eeeby jeebies.
You might be lucky with insurance? Both my bikes were insured as separate items but when the valuer did their assessment I'd under-valued them significantly. The woman on the phone just said "that's ok they were stolen from home so we'll pay out what the valuer advised". This didn't mean much to me as what was stolen was not common and I'd put so much time and effort (and money) into them. (Zaskar LE with full XTR and a Lynskey Summit 650b Ti full susser. Farking gutted).
Sorry you got done, fingers crossed insurance isn't a tight-ar5e.
It’s been the norm selling motorbikes for years. Meet somewhere mutually agreeable, then if all checks out, maybe take them back to your place to complete the transaction, or do it there and then. No way is anyone I don’t know coming to my house to buy stuff.
Same - I've met at Manchester Velodrome a couple of times and once at a mainline train station. I used my LBS once as well.
No chance is anyone coming to my house or having my address.
Sell it Buy It Now on ebay. They pay for it. The money is held by ebay. THEN you can give the buyer your collection address.