General Cycling Discussion - Police Auctions

Have any of you been to the annual bicycle auctions that the police hold?

What sort of bikes do you see there generally? Anything decent? Any good finds? How much do they generally sell for? (I know the police CAR auctions are said to feature mainly abandoned wrecks and cars that have been totalled by drunk drivers.)

Where do all those bikes come from? Are they all reclaimed from convicted bike thieves? Or are they mainly lost-and-found bikes?

Just curious, I've always meant to check out these events but never gotten around to it.

In my quest for a cheap road bike to convert to a fixed gear, I went to a police auction about 2 years ago. (Note: a fixed gear needs horizontal or semi-horizontal drop outs and a lot of older bikes have these) All types of bikes represented. Mostly bikes that had been stolen or otherwise acquired when arresting criminal types.

The bikes are tagged with a number (along w/ everything else in the auction) and you were given a sheet with a basic description. Then you could inspect the bikes and note which ones you were interested in so you could listen for that number to be called.

People were bidding piece of junk Walmart Mountain bikes up to near retail because they had shocks on them. What ever bikes you are interested in, set a personal limit and stick to it.

I wound up with an old Fuji road bike for $2 (you read that right!) because I knew what I was looking at. The bike looked trashed (think Charlie Brown x-mas tree), it had been spray painted while all the parts were still on, one shifter was ripped from the downtube and hanging by it's cable, the chain was solid rust, the handlebars were bent. But, the main thing I needed was the frame (with those horz. drops). Under the bad paint job was a lugged steel frame. Lots of elbow grease, a new set of wheels, and lots of scrounged parts, and I have a cool retro fixed gear road bike.

The operarive words are: Know what you are looking for and set a price limit that you are willing to spend. If you see something you like, try to sit on it to see if it FITS you. If it doesn't fit, it's useless to buy at any price.

It's very rare to find decent bikes at those auctions, but it is possible.

You might have just as much luck tramping around for yard sales.

You might have just as much luck tramping around for yard sales.
I think Yard sales are an excellent place to find bikes.
I know of someone who just bought a Colnago Mexico for
$15.00 yup, thats not a typo, with Full campy SuperRecord.
Bike needed some cleaning, but after that the only thing
was that it needed new tires (had 20yo tubulars, rotted).
There are tons of bikes from the 70's bike boom languishing
in peoples garages, just waiting for the right person to come
along and rescue them.
Almost all of the auctions I've seen have mostly
entry level bikes that get way overpriced, however
sometimes you do find a real gem.

Marty

Originally posted by lotek

I think Yard sales are an excellent place to find bikes.
I know of someone who just bought a Colnago Mexico for
$15.00 yup, thats not a typo, with Full campy SuperRecord.
Bike needed some cleaning, but after that the only thing
was that it needed new tires (had 20yo tubulars, rotted).
There are tons of bikes from the 70's bike boom languishing
in peoples garages, just waiting for the right person to come
along and rescue them.
Almost all of the auctions I've seen have mostly
entry level bikes that get way overpriced, however
sometimes you do find a real gem.

Marty

Ya, the drag about police auctions is that you have to wait around - sometimes all day - for the bidding to start on the bike you are interested. Sometimes the bidding goes way over your price and you leave empty handed after wasting 1/2 a day.

Originally posted by Inkwolf
Have any of you been to the annual bicycle auctions that the police hold?

Any good finds?

I've never been, not that I didn't wanna.

But check out garage sales and thrift stores. You'll be amazed sometimes (and you won't have to wait.)

:thumbup:

The only bikes I see at rummage sales are Dynacrafts and Huffies. This isn't a very wealthy area. ;)

Originally posted by Inkwolf
The only bikes I see at rummage sales are Dynacrafts and Huffies. This isn't a very wealthy area. ;)

Hey, ya know, that is a good point. If you want to find good older bikes, you have to go to the yard sales in good neighborhoods. You rarely find elite machines in the lower and middle class neighborhoods. I found that too.

Its too bad really. The wealthy kids get cars as soon as they get their license and their primo bikes get parked in the shed until the big empty-nest garage sale 25 years later.

I went to a police auction once years ago.

There were a few guys that were obviously dealers looking for the real good stuff. That meant that the best gear didn't go as cheaply as I would have liked but still at very good prices.

The moderately good stuff went very cheaply.

The most expensive stuff was some of the supermarket kind of bikes because they looked new and shiny. Most buyers were simply going on looks so they brought some good looking junk.

I picked up an old bike with a twisted frame for next to nothing. It had about $80 worth of lighting on it so I stripped off the good bits for spare parts and tossed the frame.

Here in the Twin Cities, Minneapolis City has monthly bike auctions during the summer, the third Thursday. My first auction there were some pretty nice bikes, one I was interested in was a black Cannondale R400. I wish I could tell you I nailed it for a song. But it went for more than I was willing to pay, and the bidding was fast. Definately dealers looking for deals they can pass on. There was a mom with her kid and they picked up a Magna for the kid. Some retro Schwinns, and Diamondbacks, Specialized Rock Hopper, among them.
My suggestion, know what you are looking at/for, and what you're willing to pay. I found my self out bid in a number of cases, mostly because I wasn't prepared to bid high on abandoned bikes. I didn't know the C-dale would be there either. The wheels it had would have retailed for what they bought the bike for.

On Ebay in the UK, Surrey Police sell reclaimed stolen bikes, and I picked up a Specialized Fatboy BMX for £60.00 (usual retail is £300).

There are bargins to be had, but wise advice above, know what you're looking for, and set yourself a limit!

Cheers

Rich

I never saw one in our city or if ever they held it close door I mean the police auction sale, and I would gladly go and take a look on the bikes the police has recovered

I went to an auction in East Lansing once. Most of the bikes had been abandoned by college students and had apparantly been left out in the weather for awhile. And most of the bikes appeared to be Wal-Mart type bikes. I did not see any bikes that would have ever been considered "serious" bikes in their prime.

The amazing thing was the prices that the "good" looking bikes went for. They went for as much as the bikes cost new or maybe even more.

Originally posted by ljbike
The operarive words are: Know what you are looking for and set a price limit that you are willing to spend. If you see something you like, try to sit on it to see if it FITS you. If it doesn't fit, it's useless to buy at any price.

It's very rare to find decent bikes at those auctions, but it is possible.

You might have just as much luck tramping around for yard sales. Bike I have been to lot's of yard sales, and no one ever seems to have bikes for sale, I see bikes in the garages, should I ask if they are for sale? :beer:

Yard sales? I don't think that exist in the city. How do you guys come upon a yard sale? Is it advertised? Or do you just have to be at the right place at the right time?

Originally posted by Cadd
Yard sales? I don't think that exist in the city. How do you guys come upon a yard sale? Is it advertised? Or do you just have to be at the right place at the right time?
Well you live in the Big Apple you'll probably have missed a lot of this one try going to the neighborhood

As an Auctioneer (who rides on occasion), we sell mostly Industrial & municipal equipment and have started to sell Stolen & Recovered bikes for the local Police department. Some things to keep in mind 1) Spring auctions the bikes will be more expensive. 2) Be prepared to spend the whole day, 3) Inpect the bikes and WRITE down any repairs that are needed, do not rely on your memory 4)Do your homework at the veiwng and BEFORE the auction... Know what you are bidding on and their values, even if it is over priced the AUctioneer will still take your bid 5)Do not expect to buy a Marin, Cannonade or Minelli for $10.00,... everybody wants to buy the best biek for cheap! 6) Even if you do not buy anything...keep track of the prices, so that you can be better informed for the next auction. 7) have fun, what else can the auctioneer say. thanks CalvinB

As a retired P.O. I can tell you that for the most part anything that is good is not going to make it to the auction. For the most part all you will find are Pacifics and Roadmasters.

I went to a police auction this past weekend to see what they had. Over the two days they auctioned off about 1000 crap bikes and two or three middle range bikes that would have only been good as a commuter or for parts. I didn’t stick around for the auction, as I had better things to do with my time.

how do you find out about these auctions?

I read about the auction on our local cycling association website and in the newspaper, which had the dates wrong.

Originally posted by barkingdog
how do you find out about these auctions?

Depends on the police department - Some around here have auction dates posted on their website (Hamilton Police even have a listing of items being auctioned on their website). They also post an ad in the paper a couple of days before the auction. I've bought 2 bikes at Police Auctions over the past 10 years and spent an awful lot of time not buying anything at them. There have been some real bargains (either out of my price range or not my size). There are a lot of factors - Timing in the auction is one, bikes early in the auction usually go higher than similar bikes later, but the main thing is check the bike over very carefully before bidding.

In 2007, I went to the Madison Police auction looking for road bike for my wife. I didn't find one for my wife but I came home with 4 bikes. Raleigh hybrid for $75 for my wife's friend, a trek 24" MTB for $80, a Quest 24" MTB for $12, and a $2 20" Bike for my daughter. The Raleigh needed a new tube and the rusty chain cleaned up, and new grips on the 20" bike. When I was at the auction, my wife saw a new story on the auction and they said that in 2006 they had a record sale price for a bike. It went for $600 but it was an $1800 bike. When I went there were several bikes that hit $300 and one that went for $400. I think I was there for 5-6 hours. I got there before the auction started then it was 3 hours for the general auction items then it took about 3 hours to sell the bikes.

David

I went to an auction last fall. Mostly Wallyworld type bikes and they sold for $5 or $10. I think there was one Trek that sold for $50 or so.

I think what happens: Somebody steals a bike on a whim, rides it 10 miles, throws it in the ditch. Owner never reports it, it gets picked up by the city, and goes to the auction.

There are some auctions like this online, but you'd still have to go look at the bikes if you're interested in anything much.

went to the local auction last nite, it was the last live auction they were having as they are goin to do it all on ebay from now on.
couple of good pieces....specialized, iron horse, etc...not alot of them. they all went for between 100-160 bucks. the big seller i saw was a green trek step thro (ugly as heck) for 200 bucks.
i ended up with 2 20" x-marts for 30 bucks total for the grandkids. add one tube and a set of grips and away we go.

You DO realize this is a five year old thread, right?

I justed checked out the local PD's web site:


Please Register your bicycle: The department receives hundreds of found bicycles each year. If the owner of the bicycle cannot be located or the bicycle goes unclaimed, the found bicycles are then donated to the local toy mission.

Guess that means no auctions. :(