bikerescue.org

Agreed, threads about this guy keep coming up over and over again, I've seen this guy's ads and he claims he's got over 150 bikes at the moment, so a few questions seem to stick in my mind:

How can someone who advertises 150 known stolen bikes for sale in Coquitlam not be partnering in some way with the Coquitlam RCMP?

Does each bike come from a different source? Or do the same people keep coming to him with bikes? Cause I'm sure the mounnties would be pretty interested in speaking to sellers who sell multiple bikes to this guy.

What happens if I come across a bike that has been stolen from me and the rider says he bought it from Bike Rescue? I'm not gonna give a shit and I'm taking my bike back. Where does that leave his customer, cause I'll have no sympathy for him/her?

And on and on..

I just don't think buying known stolen items to create business revenue is right.

Weather not you agree with what he does is open for debate, but he is not shady. There is no reason he couldn't just buy and sell used bikes and ignore the fact that some of them are cheaper than they should be or appear to have been stolen. He would still have to give them back to their owners, but in his case he actively seeks out the owners so he can give them back. I talked to him at length about it and I believe he does more good than bad because the bike would just sell to someone else and they would not be trying to return it. The cops are not out there actively trying to find your bikes by checking out suspicious ads either. If you register your stolen bike and they find it in a raid then you will get it back, but that is about it and the raid may have been triggered by bike rescue reporting the crooks in the first place because he does speak with the police on a regular basis. He also gives you a reciept, so if you buy a bike and find out later who's bike it was and return it to them he will refund you your money.

When my bike was stolen the cops basically told me that it was gone for good, so I don't see that what he is doing is negative, and who knows, maybe he will find mine some day.

Weather not you agree with what he does is open for debate, but he is not shady.

Disagree - the business model is based on buying and selling stolen merchandise. That's pretty much the definition of shady in my mind.

Is money laundering shady? It's a similar model.

If he wants you to pay to get YOUR bike back, if he won't give it back without reimbursement, isn't that extortion? Or isn't it a crime to traffic in stolen goods, kind of like a bike "fencing" operation it sounds like to me.

Ken Maude got two bikes back from the guy - at no charge. I think it's legit and he provides a great service. If he didn't buy the stolen bikes someone else would.

Weather not you agree with what he does is open for debate, but he is not shady.
.

I don't think anyone is suggesting the individual is shady, he publicly is very clear about the fact that he buys stolen bikes and why, and publishes his inventory on the net, and he will return any of his inventory back to a proven original owner which is more than the cops do in alot of cases. .

Just sits wierd with me thats all. IMO, the business of buying known stolen merchandise and selling it for profit perpetuates theft, and this guy has a lot (150 plus) of stolen bikes in his corral, thats alot of theft.

I've got a question Chup, and please no offence intended, you're just the only person I've had contact with who has bought a bike from bikerescue (BR).
Lets say someone approaches you, says the bike you bought is his, has an original receipt with the serial number in his wallet and wants it back, now.
Are you gonna give it to him?
Has BR given you any kind of guarrantee that they'll give you back your money because you gave the guy his bike back?

If he didn't buy the stolen bikes someone else would.

Alternatively - if there was no market for stolen bikes would they still get stolen?

I don't think anyone is suggesting the individual is shady, he publicly is very clear about the fact that he buys stolen bikes and why, and publishes his inventory on the net, and he will return any of his inventory back to a proven original owner which is more than the cops do in alot of cases. .

Just sits wierd with me thats all. IMO, the business of buying known stolen merchandise and selling it for profit perpetuates theft, and this guy has a lot (150 plus) of stolen bikes in his corral, thats alot of theft.

I've got a question Chup, and please no offence intended, you're just the only person I've had contact with who has bought a bike from bikerescue (BR).
Lets say someone approaches you, says the bike you bought is his, has an original receipt with the serial number in his wallet and wants it back, now.
Are you gonna give it to him?
Has BR given you any kind of guarrantee that they'll give you back your money because you gave the guy his bike back?

No offense taken. Yes I would give it back as long as they could prove it was theirs. Even if they didn't have the proof on them, I would take their number and give them the chance to prove it. I realized that risk when I bought it and he made it clear that it could happen. He gave me a reciept, and if I can show that it went back to the original owner he will refund my money. If he didn't buy it and then sell it to me, someone else would have bought it, probably not knowing that it was ever stolen, and it would have zero chance of ever being returned.

Ken Maude got two bikes back from the guy - at no charge. I think it's legit and he provides a great service. If he didn't buy the stolen bikes someone else would.

That's great then. My impression was you needed to reimburse him what he paid to get it. If that is not necessary then good on him.

Greg

Alternatively - if there was no market for stolen bikes would they still get stolen?

I see your point, and so does bike rescue, but I believe in the end he does more good than bad because if bike rescue wasn't buying bikes, the market for them would still be there.

That's great then. My impression was you needed to reimburse him what he paid to get it. If that is not necessary then good on him.

Greg

He told me that only a couple of times has he been reimbursed by the people getting their bike back but the program supports itself with the bikes he sells so he doesn't care.

I've sent him one more email. I'm willing to give the guy a shot. Big problem is I'm an idiot and didn't write down the serial number of my bike. I was pretty naive, when I moved to the city.

Call the shop where you bought your bike, they should have a copy of your receipt in their computer and it will have your serial number on it.

I don't get it. My bikes are all insured and if got stolen I'd just get the insurance to pay me to replace them. Sure it would suck just like losing anything you get attached to it. Anyway, if this guy is looking for insurance and you had one, why would you need him in the first place?

But if you find your bike before you get your insurance payout then you don't have a claim against your insurance, nor do you have to pay a deductible (which sometimes you don't have to if you specifically insure a bike). But still, your insurance goes up with every claim you make.

good or bad, right or wrong isn't he buying and selling stolen property, and isn't that against the law?

good or bad, right or wrong isn't he buying and selling stolen property, and isn't that against the law?

He's profiting from fencing stolen goods, not too cool in my books. Why is he allowed to resell a bike just because the original owner can't be identified?

Its not officially stolen untill someone reports it though