Wightbay is a very popular place to buy and sell bikes. Though we work hard to ensure that our site is safe to use, we are aware that some bike thieves use classifieds to sell on their stolen items. The vast majority of the adverts on our site are completely genuine and advertising legitimate bikes that are up for sale. However, we have some safety advice to ensure that you avoid buying a stolen bike.

  Make sure that there is an actual photo of the bike in the ad.

  You should also ask the seller to show you the original receipt for the item or if they have the bike frame number.

  If they do supply you with the bike frame number then you can use ‘bike-check’ websites, like Immobilise and Bikeregister, to ensure that the bike is not stolen.

  If you do go ahead with the transaction you should ask the seller to provide you with a receipt that includes a landline phone number or an address.

  If the price is far too cheap for the model you are looking at then there is usually a reason for this.