1. Steal a bicycle.
2. Post to Craigslist that you saw an obviously hot bike and bought it so it can be reunited with its rightful owner, like this:
We recovered your stolen Miyata! - $50 (mission district)
My roommate bought this Miyata for $50. The bike is very obviously hot and we'd like to return it to its rightful owner. If this bike belongs to you or a friend of yours, please email me. I'm sure they miss it dearly. We'll gladly give it back for the $50 we paid for it and some sandwiches and/or a case of beer. In order to claim your bike, you must tell me what kind of pedals are on the bike.
My roommate bought this Miyata for $50. The bike is very obviously hot and we'd like to return it to its rightful owner. If this bike belongs to you or a friend of yours, please email me. I'm sure they miss it dearly. We'll gladly give it back for the $50 we paid for it and some sandwiches and/or a case of beer. In order to claim your bike, you must tell me what kind of pedals are on the bike.
3. Receive cash from naive and grateful victims!
Note: It turns out this guy is probably honest. I guess I'm too old and cynical.
See also:
- Confidence trick.
- Street smart.
- Receiving stolen property: "Paying for the goods or intending to collect the reward for returning them are not defenses."
I've seen one other case of this, but the guy posted to the Bay Area Cyclocross Mailing List, hardly a den of thieves like Craigslist :-)
ReplyDeleteI, too, have a lot of trouble with the "probably honest" conclusion ;)
ReplyDelete... even more having seen it and the comments. *Accolades?* For buying a hot bike and then wanting to sell it?
ReplyDelete