how to catch an ebay thief??

Y

Yazid M

New member
lets say i suspected an ebay seller of auctioning off stolen bike parts, how would i go about getting the guy?

my last bike got stolen a year ago. the very day after, i found parts of it on ebay. i kept a watch on the guy for a number of months, and as time went by, more and more parts of my bike appeared in his auctions.

i reported it to the police and to ebay to no avail. i even sent the guy a question to try and trace his ip address using a simple ip tracking program, but he was behind a firewall. i stopped watching the guy until recently, when a friends' ducati got stolen. the guy only did japanese bikes in the past but suddenly ducati parts started appearing in his auctions!?

what to do? is there a special police unit one can contact? is there a way to get past the firewall to try and get to the location from where this guy operates from? (i'm no computer guru unfortunately). even if the cops don't catch this guy it would be good to know where to go look next time a bike is stolen around here. anyone have any smart ideas of how one could trap this guy? (i am purposely leaving a lot of information out for obvious reasons).
 
he does not divulge that information. he states specifically that he will not do pick-ups. interestingly he will also not ship to my state - go figure right?
 
Well, it may take some doing, but :

1) first off - can you positively identify any of the parts as yours? (e.g. serial numbers, VIN numbers, etc.) If not, you won't really be able to ever prove that they in fact were your (or your buddy's) parts.

2) If yes to #1, try to enlist the help of a friend in a different state. Have them purchase the parts and request tracked shipping (fedex, UPS, etc);

3) When the part is recieved, you can backtrack it through UPS or fedex to the shipper's location and possibly even an acct. #;

Assuming you now have a stolen, serial numbered part originating from a specific location, you can then contact the local police department in the shipper's area. They should help you from there.

Of course, there's always a chance that any ID marks on the parts will be removed before shipping, or that tracking down a "small-time" theif is not a priority for the PD.

Good luck, man.
 
Try to send a PM to Jules771 here on the Spot and see if he can help. He is our resident internet spy. He may be able to help you. Good luck, I hate thieving pricks.

Cpt DB
 
Ah, wish I could but eBay poses a lot of problems. But post the eBay link here and I'll take a look at it, not saying that I can crack anything but these guys sometime leave breadcrumbs.

One thing I can suggest is buy a small piece off him, chances are it's paypal and either he or his partner will have to have their info listed.

Just be aware however, if the police will not get involved, you are in a pretty tough spot. Your alternatives are pretty much limited to you breaking the law yourself (which of course I can't recommend).
 
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