Problem with this sort of crime, is proving someone stole/knew the bikes were stolen. Very often, in cases like this, the seller won't face any criminal charges at all. All they have to do is say they bought it in good faith, and without any proof,the worts that happens is that they lose the bike. Plenty of people have lost out like this; a mate lost out like this after buying what he thought was a legit bike off a neighbour. The neighbour denied all knowledge of course, when police came knocking. No receipt, mate's word against his. Mate lost his money, but didn't get charged with anything. Lesson learned; check provenance first. Caveat Emptor.
I've no doubt loads of parts are shifted via Ebay etc, but as stated, how can you tell? You might even buy something off a regular off here, someone you imagine to be trustworthy. I mean, there are loads of folk on here who have a large turnover of gear (not suggesting for a moment there's anything dodgy), but you just can't tell. As long as you believe it to be kosher, then that's all you can do.
Sadly, as cycling has become more popular, so has the trade in stolen bikes and bits. And it's 100% certain, I'd say, that this very forum, and all the others, are used by organised bike thieves to fence stuff. Think about theft of bikes from trail centres etc; opportunists don't visit these places, so how would yer average inner city scrote know to drive out to them to nick stuff? And stuff getting nicked from people's garages? People getting followed home from rides? Sorry, but the reality is that some people will take advantage of a situation for their own ends, without much thought for those they steal from.
It's not just scrotey chavs what do crime. Plenty of 'respectable' types will have you over soon as look at you. The best criminals are people you'd never suspect as being a criminal. Think about it.
