Make a bargain…
Brick Lane’s Sunday market could turn into a chance for making good money yourself, with a little bit of nerve and business acumen.
The market is in fact well known also for the trading of stolen bicycles that operates in the area.
According to a publication from the Transports for London, in Greater London about 80,000 bicycles were stolen last year.
Fewer than five per cent of these were returned to their owners.
Professional racing bicycles with “Advanced Aluminium Design”, carbon forks and plenty of accessories are sold for a ridiculous percentage of their real price.
Lorenzo, 26, who has been living in the Brick Lane area for more than one year and has a passion for bikes, goes there every Sunday looking for bargains, and made several good ones.
“I bought for £60 a semi-new Specialized racing bicycle that on e-bay was sold for more than £1000!”
“It is so cool I will use it for a while, but then I can sell this bike on Internet for much more money than I paid, and then buy another bike with what I gained.”
“This stolen bikes trade is kind of well known, but not so much. That’s why it still exists, I suppose,” he says.
Lorenzo says that he would never go on Brick Lane to sell one of his bicycles, because there he won’t get any profit.
By choosing another marketplace, he can really make good money.
And for sure there is no lack of demand.
…and save the planet
In fact London could be on the way to turn itself into a city of cyclists, according to mayor Boris Johnson’s wish to make it “greener, cheaper and cleaner at the same time“, although he has been recently deeply criticized for planning cuts to London cycling funds.
Many people that work in the City do travel to work by bike.
Lorenzo has been recently offered a contract from Microsoft and says that while travelling to their branch office in Soho he didn’t expect to see so many people in business outfits on the two wheels.
A cycle-hire scheme in central London seems also to be in the plans of the Mayor.
related background feature: ‘Green’ plans for London
