I hope you don't make the same mistakes I did. I had a bike stolen from my garage but since I knew it was less than my insurance deductible, I didn't bother reporting the theft. I also misplaced the original sales receipt, and didn't record the serial number. Well, a few months ago, I found my bike for sale at a local bike shop. There's absolutely no doubt it's mine, but the police say I don't have the indisuputable proof they need to recover it. The detective was able to trace it back to a pawn shop. If I had reported the theft, there's a chance I could have recovered it back then.

Lesson learned!!