A few days ago, a BikePortland.org reader noticed his stolen bike listed on Craigslist. Eager for revenge on the suspected thief he contacted the seller. Turns out the seller was a nice guy who had unknowingly bought the bike through the Police on eBay.
Turns out that the State of Oregon maintains a website at OregonSurplus.com that sells “state and federal surplus property”. Here’s more from their site:
“The State Surplus Property Program exists to provide a central distribution point for surplus, seized and\or recovered public property for State Agencies and political subdivisions. While emphasis is placed on reutilization of property within the public sector, the Program has received national acclaim for its innovative use of the Internet in advertising its post-reutilization property to the general public.”
From that website you can click over to their eBay store where they sell seized items, including bikes found in drug busts, home foreclosures, and so on. They’ve got about 20 bikes listed their right now, and bidding starts at just .99 cents!
All the bikes are taken to Salem and are sometimes bundled together and sold in bulk. If your bike has been stolen and you’ve had no luck finding it for several weeks, you should check this store just in case.