Dumpster dive dilemna

[Captain Awesome]

Alright RRB crew,
Mrs Awesome and I were having a discussion about flip bikes. I find quite a few trash pile, dumpster, and abandoned bikes

Hypothetical scenario -

Found a bike in a "dumpster" and/or obviously with or included in trash. You fix it up (minor repairs, maybe some upgrades, but still invested). Bike gets sold via whatever device you use (CL, FB, Offerup, Letgo....)

Now the new owner is fine with the bike, but somehow somebody sees the new owner with that bike and recognizes/claims it as "theirs". They say it was stolen awhile ago or some other story and want it back

If they get in contact with you what's your stance?


Talking points:
Police report filed if in fact they claim originally stolen?

Do they just realize it's now rideable and way nicer than when they junked it and now just want to scam it back.

Obviously serial numbers come into play.

In most municipalities this becomes a civil matter if no police report and traceability.

Timeframe between sale and this revelation (days, weeks, months)





And discuss........

 

[RustyGold]

Maybe check serials with cops when you acquire it...if it clears, you should be off the hook.

Maybe photo document your finds, not only for RRB, but to show the condition you got it in, and the place.

 

[RustyGold]

I've ran across homeless hordes of what I believe must be stolen bike parts and carcasses. On the Plains of Armageddon I ran across a pile of 50+ bike tires, among other bike stuff. Since I couldn't come to an internal consensus of the morality of looting what I suspect was a looted horde...I just left it. On a family ride early this spring, there were 5-8 stripped frames on the trail, or just off it...and various bike parts strewn around. In this case, I was prepared to snag the frames and report the serials to the cops...make them do their job. However, the family wasn't supportive of taking a break from the ride to scavenge garbage (only one of the frames was at all interesting to me...a Chicago gas pipe Schwinn diamond frame). I think I am going to start doing this in the future. When I've been robbed or vandalized in the past...the first reaction is an extreme feeling of being violated. The second is the extreme frustration of the cops putting out zero effort. So, if by scavenging scrap frames leads to someone recovering their stolen WallyWorld bike...why not, maybe a bit of closure.

I say crappy WallyWorld bike, because that is what I pretty much exclusively see. I don't know if it is the same where you all live, but around here...bums won't ride crap bikes. There bikes may be covered in the worst spray paint job ever, but...they are specialized, giant, bianchi, etc. I once came across a homeless guy raising heck in front of 7-11 because someone had stolen his bike. He was ranting when I drove up, when I went in, and was still ranting when I came out. It was his only way to get around...it was his life...on and on. I said, 'Dude, they have bikes at Walmart for $89... I'll pitch in half if you want to go pick one up.' His response...'I would NEVER ride a Walmart bike!' Alright...have a great day... bye!

 

[sandman]

I was just talking to a neighbor and his friend about bikes . This friend just had two bikes stolen . I told him about another neighbor kid that has a drug issue and has been stealing bikes to support it .As it turns out this friend is a cop in the next town down . He has everything on a home surveillance camera .
This may get interesting ?

 

[el Diablo Guapo]

Hmmm, this makes me wonder not just about "found" bikes, but even about the (cheap) ones I pick up on CL or other local classified ads.

I suppose I could be buying stolen (or otherwise) bikes- or that someone could just change their mind after selling it to me- not much paperwork for these transactions, and a visit to my house would reveal a large pile of similar parts and stripped down, cutup bikes - yikes! Could be "difficult" to explain if the need arose...

I do come across a lot of abandoned bikes though, and a lot of people put obviously trashed bikes out "on the corner" with a sign "take me". I am wierd because I like the Wally bikes, I don't feel bad cuttin' 'em up.

This is an interesting topic!

 

[RustyGold]

If I get a smokin' deal on something and/or the seller is sketchy...I report the serial. Haven't had a stolen one, yet .

 

[el Diablo Guapo]

oddly I HAVE had the opposite happen.

Someone stole one of my (bright yellow) choppers. 2 days later i was on the train in the bike car and there it was in the rack. The train has its own cops so i talked to them, and we confronted the guy on the platform as we exited. After a bunch of Blah blah, the guy goes "prove it is yours! I want to see a picture on your phone of you riding this bike" - which in fact i had.

Truthfully i was so shocked over the entire incident including finding the bike that I just let the guy slink away, leaving me with a tall bike and a very low chopper on a train platform, headed to work - ha

But it made me think, what if someone just started insisting that a bike (or other object) was theirs?

 

[Captain Awesome]

I inquired with a deputy just to see what his take was. He said if I was uncomfortable they would take found bikes and impound them, but he said 90% are never reported and people never come for them so they get landfilled. He said they'd rather not take them and have to store them. He suggested keeping track of where and how acquired just in case. Basically, "we don't want to get involved"

How many people with Wally world bikes know the serial numbers?

 

[Wildcat]

Registration is required in Hawaii when you buy a Wally bike. Also for everyone else but hardly enforced, Walmart won't sell without the extra 15 bucks and form filled out. I registered mine there even though no one ever gets stopped for not having the yellow sticker that I know of. But that would stop someone from declaring your bike as theirs. I have put pieces of paper inside the frame or handlebars that has my info, like name and address in case I find one of mine stolen and need to show proof on the spot. Or someone finds it abandoned and finds the paper while rebuilding it can call to get the reward I offered.
That would also work if someone said I stole their bike. If it's stolen why would I put my name and number in it? Documentation will make the difference. If someone does convince the authorities to get your bike, make sure there's a police report filled out, they will have to show ID and thieves don't like to do that.

 

[sandman]

I live in a little beach town out in the country . Before this Covid dilemma
I never worried about locking anything . My how things have changed

 

[Captain Awesome]

I live in a little beach town out in the country . Before this Covid dilemma
I never worried about locking anything . My how things have changed

This is the truth!!

 

[nosferatu1381]

I bought this right out from under a hobo at the scrap yard for a hundo. I was there selling my aluminum scraps. Called a friend at the department who found a couple of mine when they were stolen to check for a police report and wound up selling it that summer for $750. It was rough when I brought it home. It was just a little to tall for Kate. I don't know about the rest of the guys in here but I have a hard copy of serial numbers written on a photograph of every bicycle I own in the fire safe. I have only had one stolen since I lived here and I got it back six months later. The guy who bought it was looking for info on it and found my pictures of it in a group. It was a little Austral-Asian market rod brake bike with a basket and parts from from Honda. It is sitting right behind me right now actually. He wouldn't even let me pay him what he paid for it. I was weeding my garden and he just showed up. I am not a big fan or big government but I am a supporter of my local first responders and they have a pretty simple set of procedures for stuff like this. A little leg work is the difference between a legitimate property claim and a civil dispute. It's just legitimately no fault of mine if they didn't file a report. as a matter of fact I traded it for two of Kates now favorite bicycles and some cash to one of my favorite wheelmen. I wouldn't have sold it if I was worried about someone making a future claim to it. comically @badideacentral is a division of Dynamis Inc.

I actually pay my taxes on my bicycle hobby capital gains. One year it was a massive write off. Kate and I got married at an event in Vegas. Paperwork is your friend and a detailed inventory is just part of living in a civilized society whether it is anarchocapistan or not. Contract law is really straightforward in Texas and I have been writing them since I was in high school. My second real job was for two of the largest finance companies in North America. Seriously, at 18 I was the number one collector for them in 43 countries. I think my best month i collected a little over 260k

 

[nosferatu1381]

Life is really simple. Don't hurt people and don't take their stuff. Easy rules to live by.

Couple that with brush your teeth wear deodorant and keep detailed ledgers of every transaction you ever make and you are ready for adulting. If you don't want to write it in the ledger you shouldn't be doing it.

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

Bicycle Serial Numbers stay in NCIC for seven years, that is if the reporting agency is thorough and enters them. If it's not in NCIC, the claimed owner is normally SOL.

That said, all of my serial numbers are recorded (pics too) for both my bikes and client bikes. I also have a few other parts ID tricks that I don't talk about in open forums.

 

[nosferatu1381]

Bicycle Serial Numbers stay in NCIC for seven years, that is if the reporting agency is thorough and enters them. If it's not in NCIC, the claimed owner is normally SOL.

That said, all of my serial numbers are recorded (pics too) for both my bikes and client bikes. I also have a few other parts ID tricks that I don't talk about in open forums.

My appliances and tools have a plastic business card hidden inside the cases. I had a a 700 piece toolbox walk out the back of my Dad's wharehouse when I was a kid. I am just never going to let that happen again

 

[Captain Awesome]

This whole dumpster dive/curb scavenged.............It's definitely food for thought

There's very little from keeping the old owner from coming back and if nothing else creating some chaos for you

I had a neighbor give me a mountain bike once because it "wouldn't shift anymore". I tuned it up, gave it a 1x front makeover, and threw on colored tires and grips from the pile. He saw it and said he wanted it back . I gave it back to him begrudgingly and it just sat in his garage. I mean, what recourse did I have?

 

[nosferatu1381]

Tell him to kick rocks.

 

[Captain Awesome]

Tell him to kick rocks.

But similar situation to "finding" an abandoned bike. No paper trail to help my argument

Plus who wants a neighborly dispute. I was kind of hoping he'd ride it and get some enjoyment at least. More people on bikes

 

[RustyGold]

If he wasn't willing to pay for parts and some time...he wouldn't have gotten crap from me.

 

[RustyGold]

I have put pieces of paper inside the frame or handlebars that has my info, like name and address in case I find one of mine stolen and need to show proof on the spot.

I like this

I don't know about the rest of the guys in here but I have a hard copy of serial numbers written on a photograph of every bicycle I own in the fire safe.

Smart. But, no .

...and keep detailed ledgers of every transaction you ever make and you are ready for adulting. If you don't want to write it in the ledger you shouldn't be doing it.

Awesome! Still a child...adulting is overrated .