There was a former eBay seller who parted out a lot of mid range bikes and did a nice photo presentation of the items. This seller had professional connections with police departments throughout the Western US.
I got the impression that he somehow obtained abandoned and/or unclaimed recovered bikes from those police departments.
In some locales, the police have periodic auctions to get rid of the unclaimed bikes they've gathered up. Bikes can take up a lot of storage space and it seems that police don't like dealing with them.
I was surprised to see some of the bikes that were in local "police custody"!
Apparently, many owners don't go to much effort to try to recover their stolen bikes!
In 1981 I had my 78 Colnago Super and a custom off road 700c bike stolen in San Francisco. I checked all of the bike shops for months! I still occasionally check out used bikes that look familiar.
I was told by several folks at local SF shops that good bikes like those get shipped out of town and were probably sold in different areas where tracing them was unlikely.
So does buying a recovered, unclaimed bike erase the karma?
I remember seeing a small cardboard sign hanging from a parked Hell's Angles' chopper. It read something to effect that a thief would be putting some "Red Hot Karma" between their legs. That always stuck with me but in the case of the "hog" I would be more concerned with "Instant Karma"!
Chas. Colerich Oakland, CA USA
Andrew R Stewart wrote:
> Jim- This is a tough subject. When does a stolen item (bike, art) not
> have the stigma or obligation for the original owner? My late wife was
> in the museum business and had some strong opinions. How many "owners"
> after the crime is it ok to have an item? How about generations? What
> about after the item has gone through some institution like Good Will or
> VOA (or sold from museum to museum over hundreds of years)? What about
> finding no crime report (if a recovery system is in effect)?
>
> I know that I've bought a very few questionable bikes over my years. A
> couple either directly or indirectly from a community group that helps
> the unfortunate. I've also have a few bikes stolen from my ownership.
> I've directly helped recover 5 bikes through the shops that I've worked
> at. So I'm pretty at ease with my Karma.
>
> Just the same, what are your thoughts?
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "jim abt"
> Subject: [CR] Colnago on eBay
>
>> Ok, call me a paranoid disgusting old fool but when I see a cycle of
>> this caliber with the way that it is advertised I just can not help
>> but feel that the rightful owner may be out there somewhere looking
>> for their stolen relic. Check out item #160431259205 and see what you
>> all think. I sent the seller a "come on get with it" email that I am
>> sure I will get a nice reply for (deserving). I am probably all wrong
>> and if I am a sincerely apologize. Seeya
>>
>> Jim Abt
>> Wausau, Wi. USA