london police auctions



B

Ben Fitzgerald

Guest
Hi,

I'm looking to buy a second-hand bike in london. I know there are
sources like loot, ebay and stores like "Re:cycling" in Elephant +
Castle. I'm investigating these but I'm also curious about the police
auctions.

I've seen several references to police auctioning of bikes recovered by
the police but not returned to their former owners.

e.g. this thread (admittidly from 1999):
http://groups.google.co.uk/group/uk.rec.cycling/browse_thread/thread/\
71e5c2c59906ca22/53c5f773b9493097?q=bike+auction+london&rnum=3&\
hl=en#53c5f773b9493097

> Have a look at http://www.auctions.co.uk/general/general.htm.
> They run the Met. police auctions.


But this domain name doesn't resolve. :(

Does anyone have:

1. any idea of what the new site might be, if one exists?
2. any tales to relate of going to one of these auctions.

Any other useful info would also be welcome.

Many thanks,

Ben.

--
Registered Linux user number 339435
 

>Does anyone have:
>


>2. any tales to relate of going to one of these auctions.


Yeah, every other Saturday in Amersham/Chesham, Bucks. BUT, it is not
a Police auction, it's an indedendent trader who has the contract to
dispose of recovered goods, and that can range from angle grinders to
videos to bikes. Sometimes there are 5 bikes, sometimes 50, and mostly
are mountain bike/26"- wheel bikes, some good stuff and a pile of ****
too, with a few old road bikes with steel wheels thrown in too. Good
if you want a hack bike, but apart from that...There are plenty of
traders around the place too. If you want something for personal use,
then you'll always bid higher than the traders.

If you're in London, you need to find the guy/gal who has the contract
to sell the stuff. Chances are he/she will have access to stuff from a
particular area, which will include several stations. If it's
anything like the home counties, I'd be surprised that the police
auction these bikes themselves in London anymore. Come to think of it
I booze with a chief inspector every week.....I'll ask him too.

If It wasn't for these auctions, I wouldn't have been able to obtain
the donor bikes and build the four recumbents I've built [only one
worth riding mind!].


Garry
 
On Sun, 09 Oct 2005 22:25:08 GMT, garryb59 <> wrote:
>
>>Does anyone have:
>>

>
>>2. any tales to relate of going to one of these auctions.

>
> Yeah, every other Saturday in Amersham/Chesham, Bucks. BUT, it is not
> a Police auction, it's an indedendent trader who has the contract to
> dispose of recovered goods, and that can range from angle grinders to
> videos to bikes. Sometimes there are 5 bikes, sometimes 50, and mostly
> are mountain bike/26"- wheel bikes, some good stuff and a pile of ****
> too, with a few old road bikes with steel wheels thrown in too. Good
> if you want a hack bike, but apart from that...There are plenty of
> traders around the place too. If you want something for personal use,
> then you'll always bid higher than the traders.


I just need something to get me to and from work. 20 or so minutes each
way. If it were a good bike I'd only worry about it being nicked! Still,
I don't want a total heap. Just a nice road bike that gives a smooth
ride. If I get more into it then I'll dip into my pockets properly! For
now I want to keep the right side of £100.

> If you're in London, you need to find the guy/gal who has the contract
> to sell the stuff. Chances are he/she will have access to stuff from a
> particular area, which will include several stations. If it's
> anything like the home counties, I'd be surprised that the police
> auction these bikes themselves in London anymore. Come to think of it
> I booze with a chief inspector every week.....I'll ask him too.


Hmm. I'd best mail my local police then, as I've exhausted google on
this one. If anyone else knows please do post the info.

thanks,

ben.

--
Registered Linux user number 339435
 

> I just need something to get me to and from work. 20 or so minutes each
> way. If it were a good bike I'd only worry about it being nicked! Still,
> I don't want a total heap. Just a nice road bike that gives a smooth
> ride.


If you phone the county police HQ and ask to speak to someone who can
answer your question or the keeper of recovered property you should be
able to find out out what they do, and may get some idea of how many
bikes are going to the next sale.
In Derbyshire , I haven't been for a while but, there have been 50 or
so almost all scrap bikes.You can make them work if you have a garage
with useful bits in it, as I have .For example I bought a Raleigh
Banana for £15 which was perfect except for a buckled back wheel which
must have hit something very hard.I had a pair of spare wheels anyway,
and it has friction down tube shifters so no problem.It does a lot of
miles now, up to 100 a day.I have also bought ladies shopper bikes in
near perfect condition for a tenner.Nobody else wants them, but my
sister can ride about richmond park on a sunday.To get a real bargain
at these events you have to look for pure practicality, not worry about
looks or style of bike.
Watch out for twisted frames unless your ride to and from work is
circular.That once cost me a fiver.
If you're new to cycling you will be put off by an old knackered bike
with steel wheels.
A more reliable way to get a very basic bike for proper use would be to
look at something like an Optima Stealth (130ish) or Richmond.My son
has the former and it's OK.People say they're made of cheese, but
actually it's mostly steel, and if it wears out throw it away and get a
good one.
TerryJ
 
On 10 Oct 2005 07:16:09 -0700, Dave S <[email protected]> wrote:
> You could have a look at Bumblebee Auctions.
>
> http://www.bumblebeeauctions.co.uk/


Yeah, I looked here. Unfortunately almost all bikes are mountain bikes, but
I'd like a road bike! :(

This is used by +some+ parts of the police but it can't be many as they
hardly have any bikes there relative to the amount nicked + unclaimed (I
don't have figures to back this up but there are 30 bikes online now).

The vast majority of unclaimed bikes must be going elsewhere...

> Bike are found under vehicle and bicycles.
> The areas seemed to be all over the country.


All the same, thanks for the suggestion.

Cheers,

Ben.

--
Registered Linux user number 339435
 

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