Reverse image search saved me from buying a stolen $400 bike

Found a screaming deal on a used bike in Denver last week, but something felt off when the seller dodged my questions about the serial number. Took a screenshot of the photo, ran it through Google Lens, and the same image popped up on a stolen bike registry from 2021. Anyone else run listings through image search before meeting up, or am I the only paranoid one here?

2 comments

2 Comments

coleman.christopher19d agoMost Upvoted

Trust the gut over the registry every time, but a quick image search costs like thirty seconds and can save you a whole lot of headache. That dude's just mad he's been lucky so far, not smart.

sullivan.elliot19d ago

Wait, you're the paranoid one? Nah, you're the one who almost got scammed and got lucky. But here's the thing, most people don't have time to run every listing through a registry. That bike could've been totally fine, and you just scared yourself out of a legit deal. I've bought like five used bikes off Craigslist and never checked a single serial number. Some sellers are just weird about questions because they don't know the answer, not because they stole it. Plus, stolen bike registries are spotty anyway, half the stuff on there is old or missing photos. You're basically trusting a random website over your own gut feeling about the guy. If the price is too good and the person seems sketchy, sure, peace out. But missing a good deal because you're scared of a ghost story, that's on you.