Road Cycling - Auction

It look like our police dept is going to be auctioning off stolen goods in the near future. I understand that there are over 50 bikes. If only I knew a lot on mechanics. I don't think you can take them for a spin, but they will be out for display before the auction begins. I have never really participated in any auctions. My only strength is in knowing the retail costs of the bikes.

The problem is that I am not familiar about which year this bike had this & that. I am assuming that the police dept won't know either. Has anyone ever gone to an auction such as this?

P.S. I gotta say I feel kinda strange buying stolen property even though it is on a legal basis.

My friend goes to them, they sold them at the one he went to in bunches, he got 5 bmx cruisers (thats what he's into) for like 500. they were worth much more, the really good ones sometimes go so high in price from so many people bidding that its not that much of a deal anymore.

I went to a police auction this past spring and everything they had was crap. If you are not knowledgeable in regards to doing repairs, components, quality and price, you may consider looking for a bike in the classified pages, that way you can Google the bike for information before you buy. Actions are fun and if you know what you are biding on, a good deal can be had.

I was hoping that I could get a preview a few days in advance, where I could have used google. No way, could cause problems for someone not connected to tamper or see evidence. They still haven't seperated everything as of yet. I figure a lot of it is probably crap. I would also safely assume that there are folks who are very knowledgable about this stuff. Who can pick up these items, and perhaps resale or use the parts. It pays to be mechanical, which I really am not. 2 left thumbs you know. :(

Mechanical knowledge is a big help, but some auctions don't let you have a good look at the bikes. Usually you can spin wheels to check for bent rims, bad bearings, etc. wiggle the crranks to see if they're loose or worn but there's no way to check derailleurs for shifting, etc. You might get a quick look at the frame for cracks bends and kinks. This is why prices are usually cheaper at an auction. You're not sure what you're getting. Ya pays yer money and takes yer chances.
I was at a sparsely attended police auction on Saturday, picked up an 80's Bianchi road bike for $3 (Put 60 km on it last night) and a mid 90's Raleigh MTB for $22 with fair components. At these prices just the parts are worth far more than I paid, but the bikes don't need much work so I'll keep them together and ride them - but I wasn't sure until I got them home and checked them over.
The key ingredient is how many people are there and what they're looking for. Shiney new X Mart bikes sometimes go for almost new prices, whereas somewhat ratty looking quality bikes can be had very inexpensively, depending on who else is there and what they want