Originally Posted by
retswerb
I found myself in this situation recently. Bought a bike off Craigslist for a good price, came home happy. Rode it a couple of times and then thought about registering it in case it ever got stolen... followed by the sinking feeling that I didn't know whether or not it was already stolen, I hadn't bothered to think about it or to check. Made the quick check - relief! No hits, so I registered it myself.
Not saying it was the smartest way to do things (and I'll remember to check BEFORE the purchase next time), but I see how OP ended up here. Some of us have bought and sold a handful of bikes in our day, not dozens.
I think a lot of this comes down to your gut feeling about the seller and specific circumstances of the sale.
How expensive is the bike? Does the seller look like someone who would own this kind of bike? Is the asking price a bit too good to be true? How and where was the bike advertised for sale? Does the seller have a purchase receipt? Is there a shop service history?
I think it's fairly easy to get a good feeling for whether or not a bike for sale is likely to be stolen.
In your case, I presume the circumstances of the sale didn't raise any alarm bells?