Have I inadvertently won some nice kit? Please read and help!

Yesterday, I was on an auction website (no, not that one!), and I saw the items below (in the small picture) listed for sale.

The forks on the right hand side of the small picture caught my eye – as did the kit attached to them.

So, me being me (ie. acting before thinking!), I placed a bid on them without thinking and without knowing exactly what forks/brakes they were, let alone what condition they were in. I knew that they were Fox forks, and I knew that the brakes LOOKED to be Hope Tech M4s.

Anyway, I ended up winning said auction and, upon closer inspection, I think I’ve figured out what forks I bought. I’m pleasantly surprised if I turn out to be right because they look a lot like the forks in the picture on the right – a set of 2011 Fox 36 TALAS FIT 160s.. 🙂

What do you guys think? Also, would you say that the brakes are Hope Tech M4s? The front rotor looks like a 200/210mm so I thought that it might also be a Mono T6..?

The stem is a silver Thomson and the bars are Easton Carbon BTW. The other 2 frames and the rest of the bits will be going in the bin!

Erm.. nice kit. But photos look a bit dodgy. Are you sure this stuff is legit? Hmmm..

doesnt look remotely legit, so ill congratulate you on being a moron and aiding the scum that nicks this stuff that there is a market for people who clearly dont care where the stuff comes from 🙁

you make me sad

Unless it was a Police auction, I’d suspect this was all nicked.

posted in a bag marked “SWAG” ? ….goodness me.

no_eyed_deer – Member
Erm.. nice kit. But photos look a bit dodgy. Are you sure this stuff is legit? Hmmm..

The auction website was http://www.bumblebeeauctions.co.uk – the official Police auction website. They auction things that have either been reported lost, or which have been recovered but not claimed.

The reason it looks like it does is because the Police Force bundle items together to sell them off. That’s why there’s a Carrera and a Claud Butler frame in with a set of £900 Fox forks 😉

So no, it’s not dodgy!

If you’re having to pay for it I cant see how you could possibly think you’d won it.

well it is dodgy yes – the fact its all stolen, still some poor bugger may be 900quid worse off as long as you got a bargain then alls good isnt it!

As above, depending on how much you paid, i’d be amazed if that stuff is not stolen goods.

The days of picking up bargains on auction sites have pretty much gone (for decent cycling gear anyway) so i’d be amazed if any rightful owner of decent Fox/Hope kit would sell it in this way.

Without some form of proof that it’s rightfully owned i’d walk away as buying stolen goods is what fuels the thieves in the first place.

I do hope i’m wrong though and you’ve just stumbled onto a bargain.

Edit – just seen your post. So it was stolen goods (more than likely) but recovered and then sold on by the police so i guess you’ve gotten lucky (and legally so) at somebody elses loss. Not your fault though i guess.

Shhhhh, ZC. The mob were looking quite happy there, sharpening their scythes and rooting around the back of the settee for their flaming torches.

Also:

Unless it was a Police auction, I’d suspect this was all nicked.

❓ *If* it was a Police auction, I’d suspect it was all nicked.

LOL, nice ownage ZaskarCarbon.

Oscillate Wildly – Member
doesnt look remotely legit, so ill congratulate you on being a moron and aiding the scum that nicks this stuff that there is a market for people who clearly dont care where the stuff comes from

you make me sad

Would you like to apologise for your comment, now you have seen that I have bought it from the official police auction website? I fail to see how I’m “aiding the scum that nicks this stuff”…?

Or would you like me to provide you with the receipt I received from the police station, just to further prove that it’s all above board.

People like you, who jump to conclusions and presume the worst before knowing the truth, make me sad.

So all this kit should be thrown away and not used to fund more policing?

EDIT: Maybe if you’d said it was a police thing at in the OP people wouldn’t rightly flame you.

He’s already said it was a police auction, I don’t see what he’s done wrong. If they are what they look like then well done that man!

ZaskarCarbon – Member

Oscillate Wildly – Member
doesnt look remotely legit, so ill congratulate you on being a moron and aiding the scum that nicks this stuff that there is a market for people who clearly dont care where the stuff comes from

you make me sad

Would you like to apologise for your comment, now you have seen that I have bought it from the official police auction website? I fail to see how I’m “aiding the scum that nicks this stuff”…?

Or would you like me to provide you with the receipt I received from the police station, just to further prove that it’s all above board.

People like you, who jump to conclusions and presume the worst before knowing the truth, make me sad.

im glad its actually from a police auction – however it doesnt make it any better that those are still stolen items, may now officially be legit, but some poor bugger may well be without their 900 quid forks and not have replaced them, yet you manage to grab a bargain, how is it really any different from buying from the theive himself exactly? (other than you can have peace of mind you cant get done for it)

Oscillate Wildly – Member
doesnt look remotely legit, so ill congratulate you on being a moron and aiding the scum that nicks this stuff that there is a market for people who clearly dont care where the stuff comes from
you make me sad

[applause]….Judgemental, just love to siund superior, STW at it’s best [/applause]

Seems like you may owe the man an apology 🙄

So, I’ll ask again, now that we’re all nice and clear about the fact that I BOUGHT THESE ITEMS FROM THE POLICE and HAVE THE POLICE RECEIPT WHICH SHOWS THAT THESE GOODS ARE NOW RIGHTFULLY MINE AS THEY HAVE NOT BEEN CLAIMED.

Do you think I’ve got a set of 2011 TALAS FIT 160s, or not?

Funny as hell! You guys crack me up! How much did you pay Zaskar?

however it doesnt make it any better that those are still stolen items, may now officially be legit, but some poor bugger may well be without their 900 quid forks and not have replaced them, yet you manage to grab a bargain, how is it really any different from buying from the theive himself exactly? (other than you can have peace of mind you cant get done for it)

that is the most irrational post I’ve seen in quite some time.. 😯

what size are the frames and kit that you’re binning..?
I’m trying to source some budget lightweight parts to complete a build for my other half if you’re interested in selling..?

Not seeing the problem that these items may have been stolen in this case.

They were won from an official police auction (bumblebee auctions), so due diligence should have been done by the police to return them to their orginal owners in the first case, if this failed, they would have kept the until claimed / whatever the prescribed time is for them to be disposed of.

If buying from that other well know auction site, and they are listed like this, would be concerned.

ok congrats of getting a bargain stolen item! there you go, feel better now!?!??! FWIW yes they do look like a set of talas

its not irrational at all, i wouldnt touch it with a barge pole, i wouldnt like to think i was riding around on somebodys stolen forks thats all, if its legit its legit, still in my mind its stolen….if your happy with them then good for you….

All flaming aside, what would be the legal position if the original owner saw this thread and could prove the kit were his?

I understand you’ve legally bought it from the police but surely the original owner could have a case to claim the stuff is still legally his property?

Just curious to know.

Oscillate Wildly – You sir, are an idiot. Unfortunately, my work computer won’t let me swear otherwise you would have been called worse.

yunki – the frames are both 18″. If you pay for the cost of postage, you can have them and all of the other kit, besides the Fox forks and the bits attached to them.

jimc101 – thank you. I wouldn’t have touched them with a bargepole if they were listed on eBay in this way!

its not irrational at all, i wouldnt touch it with a barge pole, i wouldnt like to think i was riding around on somebodys stolen forks thats all, if its legit its legit, still in my mind its stolen….if your happy with them then good for you….

so the police should bin it perhaps..!?

hmmmmm.. your morals are suspicious.. and fruity

I may well take you up on those frames zaskar.. can I email you later today..? I just have to nip out for an hour or two

oooh, I wonder if my Pikes + wheel + xtr front brake will turn up at the same auction site! I wonder if the police ever think to check off the stolen stuff they collect against stuff that’s bee registered stolen with them. When my gear was stolen I got a letter dated the very next day telling me they’d closed the case. So guessing nothing more will be done.

I say congrats ZC on getting a bargain. ANd I shall be monitoring it to see if any of my gear shows up!

MrTall – Member
All flaming aside, what would be the legal position if the original owner saw this thread and could prove the kit were his?

I understand you’ve legally bought it from the police but surely the original owner could have a case to claim the stuff is still legally his property?

Just curious to know.

I’m fairly certain (although not 100%) that once the items have gone beyond the claim period, and the police have auctioned them off, then it would be very difficult for the original owner to claim them back.

Also:

Unless it was a Police auction, I’d suspect this was all nicked.

*If* it was a Police auction, I’d suspect it was all nicked.

OK, poor choice of words on my part, if it’s a Police Auction it’s almost certainly nicked, but legit. That’s what I should have said, legit… And it turns out it was a Police auction so it’s all OK.

Go on then, make us jealous. How little did you pay for them?

yunki – Member

its not irrational at all, i wouldnt touch it with a barge pole, i wouldnt like to think i was riding around on somebodys stolen forks thats all, if its legit its legit, still in my mind its stolen….if your happy with them then good for you….

so the police should bin it perhaps..!?

hmmmmm.. your morals are suspicious..

i wouldnt buy stolen items thats all im saying, from a police autcion, ebay or anything that rang dodge….yes you can rest easy knowing you cant get done for it, and it ticks the right boxes to clear your conscienous….

BUT

to me it wouldnt clear my conscienous knowing i was riding around on someone elses hard earn cash and joy…why is that so hard to understand? buying them from the police auction is like ebay, they are still stolen regardless of how you build it up…

id personally prefer to save up work hard and buy my own or from somebody i know has owned them before….

you makes your choice i’zzz makeszzz mine

ZC, are you from bristol, also Cheesy Riders? Might be interested in some of that kit but hard to tell what you’ve got from those pics, happy to collect…

I understand you’ve legally bought it from the police but surely the original owner could have a case to claim the stuff is still legally his property?

I wonder if it’s a similar system to lost property, I turned a camera I found on the road into the local cop shop. The paperwork said I could collect if unclaimed after X months, but that the owner could still ask me for them back for X plus Y months. After X plus Y months, they would be totally mine. Guess it was to reduce the storage load on the polis.

(I had no intention of claiming, it was a rubbish camera.)

Bargain! I’ll be adding bumblebee auctions to my favourites 😀

Oscillate Wildly – Member
to me it wouldnt clear my conscienous knowing i was riding around on someone elses hard earn cash and joy…why is that so hard to understand? buying them from the police auction is like ebay, they are still stolen regardless of how you build it up…

OK, well we’ll agree to disagree on that point then.

In my mind, if I see something on the police auction website, being listed by the police because it hasn’t been claimed for over 2 months, then it’s fair game. Especially when the other option is that it ends up being destroyed so that it’s no good to anyone.

GaryLake – Member
ZC, are you from bristol, also Cheesy Riders? Might be interested in some of that kit but hard to tell what you’ve got from those pics, happy to collect…

I live in Penarth which is about an hour away from Bristol (junction 33 M4).

The kit pictured consists of :

Claud Butler 18″ frame, forks, pedals, cranks
Carrera Vulcan(?) 18″ frame
Another set of forks

The Fox Forks, brakes etc might also be up for sale unless I can find a bike to put them on! As I said, they were a complete impulse buy. Once I’ve seen what’s what, I’ll start a for sale thread and will expect the same kind of abuse I had at the start of this one 🙄

Well again, as above, a lot of people will now be watching the Police auction site for future ‘bargains’ so you may have got the one of the last decent finds on there!

Hope you don’t run into the previous owner out on a ride as he may not believe your story!

And come on, i’m as nosey as everbody else, what did you pay for that little lot?

I’d imagine the kit would have passed to orignal owners’ insurance company/ies?

ZaskarCarbon – Member

Oscillate Wildly – Member
to me it wouldnt clear my conscienous knowing i was riding around on someone elses hard earn cash and joy…why is that so hard to understand? buying them from the police auction is like ebay, they are still stolen regardless of how you build it up…

OK, well we’ll agree to disagree on that point then.

In my mind, if I see something on the police auction website, being listed by the police because it hasn’t been claimed for over 2 months, then it’s fair game. Especially when the other option is that it ends up being destroyed so that it’s no good to anyone

i do take back the original you make me sad – i was gonna say if thats an ebay listing or whatever you cant help but notice its dodge, if its from a police auction then at least its ‘legit’ in the eyes of the law, im just still saying i couldnt buy a bargain like that and happily ride around on somebody else 900quid forks…..just me by the looks of it…anyways now that they are at least going to a good home i hope you enjoy them!

To anyone interested, there’s another auction lot on there at the moment. It’s for a bundle of 15 bikes, 14 of which are useless, but the 15th one has a set of Fox 36s on it and looks lovely.

HERE

£27 last time I looked. No, I’m not bidding on them 🙂

MrTall – Member
And come on, i’m as nosey as everbody else, what did you pay for that little lot?

Enough 😉

neninja – it is the parts stripped from a nicked set of bikes. I’m guessing that the original owners have either given up wanting them back or just didn’t to contact the police to see if they’d been recovered.