Some miserable low down thief cut the cable lock and stole my bike in front of Chase bank on Broadway between Union and Pike, Saturday afternoon (yesterday) in broad daylight, with pedestrians everywhere. Clearly this is what they do for a living. It’s a bright orange Scott SUB, hybrid bike. I am going to file a police report, and I will check to see if my homeowner’s insurance will cover it. I called 20/20 Cycles and Play It Again Sports to alert them in case someone comes in to sell it. I registered its theft on bikeindex.org. I checked Craigslist and Ebay, and set up alerts on those sites for Scott bikes.
I would appreciate kind advice on any other steps I can reasonably take to get my bike back. I commute daily by bicycle, and while a friend has loaned me her bike for the time being, I need to get my bike back or replace it before long. I will get a stronger lock next time, for sure. Is it worthwhile to go to local pawn shops to check? Where else do stolen bikes go when a professional thief steals them?
Thank you for any help.
Hang in there! I’ve recovered three stolen bikes. Two took over a year though.
http://blog.mattgoyer.com/archives/2013/07/22/how-to-recover-your-stolen-bike/
Hey, thanks for using BikeIndex – if you’ve filed a police report and registered with us, the info’s in the right places.
Here’s a couple of hints that come from recent recoveries I’ve worked on in the Seattle area in the last month:
1) You should also monitor OfferUpNow, it’s is a bit of an app-ized Craigslist knockoff, but more and more stolen bikes have been popping up there. We just found one that went Seattle -> Portland and was sold to an unsuspecting buyer on OfferUpNow. So make a note to check them every 2 days or so for the next 2 months.
(My hope was that OfferUpNow, unlike Craigslist, would take an active role in fighting this kind of thing but my communications with them so far don’t lend much hope to them doing anything helpful about the stolen property showing up in their listings…)
2) Every flea market within 50 miles is a potential place this bike could be sold. We just had one from Seattle show up at starliteswapmeet.com in Lakewood, but it could pop up anywhere.
Either way, I hop we can help you get your ride back,
-BikeIndex
Matt and Bryan, thank you for your advice. I am happy to say I got my bike back! It was posted on craigslist this morning, and with the help of my husband, friend, and the Tukwila police department, I have it back. It’s minus $200 of accessories, but that’s a lot better than no bike. Guy I took it back from claimed he had no idea it was stolen – and cussed me out plenty, even in front of the cops. He said he bought it and another bike from someone else. Just now I looked at OfferUpNow, and lo and behold, my bike is still posted on it, still with the accessories in that photo. At least accessories are not as expensive as a whole new bike. I appreciate your help.
I would be extremely curious to hear what OfferUpNow has to say about that seller. Please email them and attempt to engage them to assist. Please email me directly, if you’d like, because I’m kind of sick of chasing stolen bikes on their service.
Congrats, that is great news! So happy for you.
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