Yes. I'd say at a price of $60, you should definitely double-check to make very sure the laptop isn't stolen, because there is a pretty good chance that it is.

Given that the laptop was "messed up" and needed to be "fixed", even more so. Who "fixed" it btw? Not her, probably.

I've had stuff of mine stolen often enough (bikes, mostly) that I don't really care whether the law would say I should have known or not, but morally, I just think it's disgusting to profit off theft of other people's property and I think it's just the right thing to do, to consider the possibility.

That said, even though I'm of the opinion the women was definitely in the wrong and should have known better, the police also definitely crossed the line the way they handled those photographs.

Also, a kid at an "alternative high school" probably isn't the most reputable of sellers.

Working laptops of what age? And - on eBay you might be able to get a good deal if no one else bids / is interested. Did you find 'Buy immediately' offers of a reasonable laptop (I assume from the article that we're not talking netbook here) for that price range?

And - wouldn't you think that _those_ offers would be shady? I mean.. There's a reason why people check eBay after their gadgets were stolen...

The search was for immediate buys from $50-$90. You can easily see for yourself.

As for shady, no, the depreciation of electronics never surprises me. Plus, the article said the laptop needed repairs.

I'm not saying she didn't know it was stolen. I'm saying that the price, alone, is a 0% indicator in my books.