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Businesses that sell used bikes and/or parts clearly have value for communities and the environment. They are a way of reducing waste and reallocating gear that still has useful life, they are a resource for DIY-minded cyclists or tinkerers, they serve populations that might be priced out of mainstream retail shops, and the list goes on. However, they need to get their product from somewhere, and bicycle theft is a major problem in many of the same areas where the legitimate used market is also naturally strong.

If you want to operate such a business and keep a clear conscience, what do you do?

Depending on where you are in the world, there may be various law enforcement agencies to run a serial number with, or independent websites like bikeindex.org to check, but they threaten to be token efforts, as many thefts go unreported. And in the case of the non-LE sites and databases, experience (mine) has shown that the situation can become murky and time-consuming when you do find that the bike in front of you is listed on one, since local law enforcement may not be willing to simply take control of the situation at that point in the same way they would if the bike was officially reported stolen to them.

Parts are their own challenge. Some number of legitimate users of your business will have interest in supplying you with parts for trade or sale, but taking these transactions clearly risks becoming an unintentional fence for thieves. Relying on heuristic discretion (this looks hot, that person looks sketchy) may seem like an obvious answer, but allows bias into the process, is difficult to gauge the effectiveness of, and leads to stressful situations in practice. Reselling used parts can seem impossible to do ethically, which is unfortunate because it is essentially a form of recycling.

What proven models exist that can solve or reasonably mitigate these problems?

Nathan Knutson
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    This is definitely a puzzle. – Daniel R Hicks Jun 22 '21 at 16:42
  • I don't know that anyone here works in the bike industry, let alone this specific niche. This probably limits the perspectives the question can get. I'm still interested to hear thoughts. – Weiwen Ng Jun 22 '21 at 16:59
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    I would be willing to wager a good chunk of people here work in the cycling industry. I fear there is a not a good cut and dry answer to this, although i am also curious to see the results. – Nate W Jun 22 '21 at 17:06
  • @WeiwenNg I've worked in a few different shops that do used and part of what gets me to the question is the feeling that despite those businesses trying in every practical way to be upstanding by using holding periods and running everything possible with LE, it threatens to not be good enough, particularly with parts. – Nathan Knutson Jun 22 '21 at 17:25
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    Dunno if I have a full answer to contribute, but a bit of a frame challenge that buying from walk-ins is necessary for the arrangement to work. Plenty of co-ops that accept donations only for this reason and acquire inventory from police auctions, yard sales, etc. are financially viable and make most money on service anyway. – Affe Jun 22 '21 at 22:40
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    technically, isn't it "reuse", not "recycling"? – Michael Jun 23 '21 at 17:25
  • NAA. but some bike shops simply won't bother with used parts because the profit-margin isn't there. The nearest they come to is "takeoff" parts where a customer wants a part upgraded on a brand new bike, and the parts removed are "new/never ridden" quality, but have been fitted. – Criggie Jun 23 '21 at 19:31
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    Another model might be to not be a business, but to be a charity/volunteer society. If all incoming stock items are donated, then there's no incentive for stolen bikes to turn up. – Criggie Jun 24 '21 at 03:41
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    What @Criggie said! There's a shop a few miles from where I live that sells* used bikes and used bike parts, but they don't buy them. They have plenty in stock just from donations. – Solomon Slow Jun 24 '21 at 19:00
  • * If you convince them you're hard-up for cash, you can have a bike for free. Only catch is, you have to build it from parts. They will teach you how if you don't already know, and they will let you use their space and their tools. – Solomon Slow Jun 24 '21 at 19:01

6 Answers6

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There's a local bike shop that has exactly this model. They buy bikes from walk-ins.

They recently got charged for receiving stolen goods from one guy who turned out to be a convicted burglar, who would bring in a bike a week to sell, but always tried to talk to different staff, and each only saw him once every month or two.

So defence against this could include any of:

  • Requiring proof of purchase, seller has to have original paperwork

  • Seller has to "seem plausible" ie a dad with a 10 year old in tow, selling a 5 year old's bike looks legitimate, but an obviously overweight man selling a fancy carbon road bike claiming "I don't ride it anymore" is less plausible.

  • When buying a bike take a photo of the person who brought it in, and store that. Also ask for a photo ID and get a photo of that too. Tell the seller that this info will be kept and shared amongst all staff and....

  • Build relationships with other shops in the same business. Share that buyer info (securely) but prevent someone doing a honeybee from shop to shop.

  • Buy on consignment, not for cold cash. So you take the bike, get info, and give a receipt. Once the bike sells only then does the seller get their payment. That way if it turns out to be stolen, the seller gets no money for it and the shop has not "traded in stolen goods"

  • Build a working relationship with the local police, especially those officers/staff working in the burglary/theft departments.

  • Set up the shop so the sellers have to bring the bike to the back, in past several cameras that are recording.

All this will work to limit the number of bikes that are brought in. Expand that by:

  • Find and connect with people who don't ride, but do legitimately source bikes. Rental cleanup businesses, and those who clean out storage lockers might reasonably source bikes without knowing anything about them.
  • The police recovery auctions are a good place to acquire bikes with a chequered past, that are now legitimised by the police process.

Train one's staff to smell a problem - if the seller doesn't know a drop bar from a drop bear and their bike is a racey bike then enact more limits and restrictions. Once you know someone, make it easier for them.

Ultimately there will be mistakes, but the shop is in the clear if they've worked hard to limit the risk. And ideally helped the Po with catching some idiots.

Interestingly, here's the real-world:

Newspaper story from the time https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/115199174/judge-calls-on-police-to-investigate-bike-shop-that-bought-seven-stolen-bikes

RLH
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Criggie
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    All good points, however some of them may be hard to implement in certain countries. In particular taking, storing and exchanging customers' personal data is subject to strict laws in EU and non-EU countries. Same applies to CCTV-recording practices — it is quite hard to get a permit for installing and operating a camera in many cases. Just yesterday, a huge mass-transit operator in my country got a hefty fine because of bodywear cameras used by ticket controllers. The cameras stored up to 1 minute of recent footage, but it was deemed too much and that it should be reduced to 15 seconds. – Grigory Rechistov Jun 23 '21 at 06:41
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    Especially the picture taking of the ID card is definitely out-of-bounds in my country. You may require the customer to show you their ID, you may check the picture on it against the person in front of you, and you may write down their name and possibly birth day so that you can tell the police who sold you that bike, but there is other stuff on the ID card that you are not allowed to have, and which you must not copy in any way. – cmaster - reinstate monica Jun 23 '21 at 08:11
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    'obviously overweight man selling a fancy carbon road bike claiming "I don't ride it anymore" is less plausible' - definitely doesn't apply here in the UK. With the exception of the most challenging routes, go to any sportive event here and half the field will be overweight men on fancy carbon bikes. – Andy P Jun 23 '21 at 08:15
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    Overall, something like "get as much ID as you can within local laws" may be more appropriate in an international forum, but those are good examples of methods. Related: here in the UK, scrap metal dealers, faced with a similar problem, can't legally pay cash, only bank transfer or cheque, i.e. traceable methods – Chris H Jun 23 '21 at 08:16
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    @AndyP's right - and many of them save 1kg on the bike by trading up hoping to go faster, forgetting they could save 20kg and some frontal area off themselves. Then they get disheartened and sell the bike. But most of them seem to sell through eBay/Gumtree/Facebook than to a shop that's trying to make a profit. – Chris H Jun 23 '21 at 08:19
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    The local second hand shop (not just bikes, but furniture, farm tools, all sorts of junk) where I get my beater bikes works on a commission basis, so the former owner/thief doesn't get paid until the bike is sold. This protects the shop from being out of pocket unlike if they bought the bike planning to sell it. They also keep records - the commission aspect means they have to or they wouldn't be able to contact the seller to pay them. They do occasionally have some nicer bikes but still no more than about £200 (US$/€200). I passed up the chance for a gorgeous late 70s road bike in my size. – Chris H Jun 23 '21 at 08:24
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    @AndyP okay - here's a great test. Ask the seller to fill in a form, which asks what the colour and brand is, while the bike is behind them. I'd bet that anyone who has to turn around and look to check the colour is dodgy. – Criggie Jun 23 '21 at 10:51
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    Too fat to cycle? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUQNuVPeevo (I know you meant well) – EarlGrey Jun 23 '21 at 12:58
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    Another point: bikes have IDs too. Every one has a serial number, which you shop should register and check against a list of stolen ones. Your shop should have a notice stating this, which will deter bike stealers. Also round here you can take your bike to be chipped, so that is a service your shop could offer. – RedSonja Jun 23 '21 at 13:15
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    @Criggie Is my bike gray or dark blue? Just because I ride it all the time doesn't mean I'm a color expert, but I don't want to write down the wrong thing. Or maybe it's got multiple colors and I want to make sure I don't forget any of them (I've got a bike that is black with yellow and red ... what's it called, livery? This takes up almost half the surface of the bike, but I usually forget about the red until I look at it because it's less noticeable). Or for that matter, if I have multiple bikes I might want to double check which one I'm actually selling. – Michael Jun 23 '21 at 17:32
  • @Michael its not the answer, its the reaction that matters. And sure its not a perfect test, but added to other "tells" should give the buyer a chance to identify the dodgy and pre-react. – Criggie Jun 23 '21 at 19:24
  • @EarlGrey excellent counterpoint - he's doing awesome, and I bet he'd totally bomb the downhills too. Perhaps the telltale is more "someone who's generally awkward with the bike" like getting ankle-tapped by the pedal or carries it in a weird way. Thus, someone who doesn't strike you as a cyclist/rider. (then again it could be a parent/child/relative, there are no absolutes) – Criggie Jun 23 '21 at 19:28
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    @GrigoryRechistov: IANAL, but asking the seller for photo ID and registering their personal details as a condition of sale, in order to allow them to be tracked down if the bike turns out to be stolen, seems likely to be perfectly doable even under EU privacy laws. Of course you should to inform the seller of this in advance, and you'll probably want to have an actual lawyer go over your data retention procedures and prepare a privacy statement, but I see no obvious general obstacle to it as long as it's all done above the board and for legitimate reasons. – Ilmari Karonen Jun 23 '21 at 21:46
  • @EarlGrey here in the UK there's even a bike clothing brand called Fat Lad at the Back (FLAB for short). They're not just plus-sized any more, but there's a clear market – Chris H Jun 24 '21 at 09:46
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    "That way if it turns out to be stolen, the seller gets no money for it and the shop has not "traded in stolen goods"" The bike shop selling a stolen bike is what constitutes 'trading in stolen goods'. They don't have to compensate the person who gave them the bike for it to be a crime. – TylerH Jun 24 '21 at 13:53
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    @RedSonja: "Every one has a serial number" - no many don't. Mine is custom built from parts (including the frame), and it doesn't. At the other end of the spectrum, cheap bikes usually don't. – Zeus Jun 25 '21 at 02:23
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    Another point to add: Hang up a big sign (perhaps with a nice logo) that says: "PRE-OWNED AND SAFE: WE VERIFY SELLERS AND WORK WITH THE POLICE". This should deter illegitimate sellers and may be good advertising, too. (Of course, you should also actually verify sellers and work with the police, too.) – henning Jun 25 '21 at 07:16
  • In North America there are bike registries you can check (https://bikeindex.org/ and https://project529.com/garage). Any chance there's something similar for New Zealand? – LShaver Jun 25 '21 at 16:57
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    Be very mindful of "Build relationships with other shops in the same business. Share that buyer info (securely) but prevent someone doing a honeybee from shop to shop." and data protection policies in your country. In the UK GDPR will likely land you in a lot of trouble by sharing data with another company. – Alex KeySmith Jun 25 '21 at 19:15
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You might also talk with your local law enforcement (and pawn shops) to see what they would recommend as a deterrent against people trying to sell stolen equipment. They deal with a much broader range of stolen item concerns than just bicycles, so might have some good suggestions for you to protect yourself while being safe legally with the seller's data you might want to collect or share.

Milwrdfan
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    Yup, "pawn shop" was my first thought. They've dealt with these issues for decades. OP may even need to "register" as a pawn shop to be allowed to collect the data that would help prove their innocence should stolen goods show up. (I'd imagine that one could even legally be a pawn shop without ever advertising the fact or allowing for the actual pawning of items.) – FreeMan Jun 24 '21 at 13:55
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If you want to operate such a business and keep a clear conscience, what do you do?

In short: That's easy-peasy: you accept only donated parts/bikes, or require for proof of purchase (so you are safe at 99%). Sure, falsified proof of purchase may be produced, however we are discussing about the conscience and good-faith of the buyer, not about a technical way, right? It is still possible that the used parts are coming from upgrading a stolen bicycle, but chances are fairly low. In the past 10 years, the number of people buying online and or taking picture of the receipt on expensive items increased quite a lot, so proof of purchase should be common.

Not so short: please note that clear coscience and law-abiding are not always aligned. For a more philosophical approach: ask Igor Kenk (video is geo-located in Canada, you will need a VPN to watch it) or read his history as an interactive comic.

EarlGrey
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    plus: the strong selling point of used parts is the recycling/environment aspect, right? As long as you try to live car-free or at least car light, you are sparing tons of materials and tons of oil ... how many Deore brakes can be mold instead of the chassis of a Ford Bronco :D ? – EarlGrey Jun 23 '21 at 14:25
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It's an interesting question. There's an inherent risk that anything might be stolen if bought used but often the question never becomes a concern.

One method for a shop is to resell bikes that have been part exchanged against a new bike. You then have the background information on the customer plus the relationship which hopefully extends into servicing and providing parts and accessories. This can be quite a big part of a shop income but getting the value of the used bike can be tough and it has to be in serviceable condition.

I wouldn't bother with used parts unless they are vintage. Newer used parts are often ridden to death or can have defects that are difficult to spot until they are in use. As a professional, you save alot of headaches by not recycling parts off old bikes. Vintage parts are frequently old enough that the original owner has died so origin/ownership is a moot point.

Cycle projects that recycle or rebuild bikes for the community or other projects mostly rely on donation bikes or bikes rescued from the tip which they will strip for parts to rebuild more worthy bikes. I don't see there's much problem there as there's no profit in donating stolen bikes to charitable causes so unlikely to attract career criminals, just Robin Hood.

I don't think that there's much of a business opportunity in buying used bikes to resell as used -- the profit margin and income reliability isn't there to make it a worthwhile proposition.

Noise
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  • Bikes that are donated to projects could still have been stolen then dumped, but aren't likely to be high-end in that case – Chris H Jun 23 '21 at 08:26
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    Regarding "not much of a business opportunity in reselling used bikes", just come to Amsterdam, you'll find a bike shop on every other corner doing exactly that. Together with rampant bike theft. There are two driving forces behind it: 1) your bike is going to get stolen within a few years anyway, no point getting a fancy one, just grab another second-hand when it happens, and 2) lots and lots of students, expats and other "bloody foreigners" keep buying cheapo bikes that they will have to offload a few years later when they leave. – TooTea Jun 23 '21 at 13:09
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I can't find the article to share with you, but there was a single bike store in Toronto maybe 10 years ago that was shut down when the owner was arrested for dealing in stolen bikes. They paid cash for bikes no questions asked and most of them came from street people who spotted unattended bikes, grabbed them and rode to the store as fast as they could. When the store was shut down bike thefts downtown plummeted. So the most important thing you could do is not pay "no questions asked" cash for bikes and accessories.

Most of the ads I see for places that take used bikes offer store credit, not cash. That won't help someone who has decided never to cycle again, but will help most of the people who want a different bike now. If the store runs a charitable program donating bikes to those who need them, they could offer a receipt suitable for getting an income tax deduction. Both of these things are useful to those who you want to bring you their own bikes, and not very useful to a thief who grabbed a bike and hurried to the store with it.

Kate Gregory
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    The history of the Toronto bike shop can be seen here: https://www.tvo.org/video/documentaries/inside-kenk or read here: https://www.insidekenk.ca/ – EarlGrey Jun 28 '21 at 13:53
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    I did find that, but it focused on the store owner and his life afterwards. What I can't find is the surprised articles 6 months to a year post arrest that are like "wow, there's almost no bike theft any more, it seems like essentially all of it was driven by the existence of this store and their procedures." – Kate Gregory Jun 28 '21 at 14:21
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Asking for a proof of ownership doesn't seem practical, as many people do not keep a receipt or even a warranty for ten years, but there can be some solutions.

One point is that a shop selling used bicycles should always include a maintenance/repair business. In this way it can build a long term relationship with people living in the area that will go beyond the single occasional transaction. Then the owner would know how reliable those trying to sell a used bicycle are.

Then anyone who shows up twice or thrice in a short period should be politely sent away. One wrong purchase could be considered a mistake in good faith, two would be more difficult to justify.

Another idea is to always keep up to date with the prices in flea markets and modern online alternatives. Alway offer less than what can be made selling online, and people will show up anyway because the shop would require less hassle. But those who make up a living reselling stolen goods would prefer to get as much as possible.

Community
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FluidCode
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