Fence (Oblivion)

Fences, for lack of a better description, are merchants that WILL buy stolen property (as marked by a red hand over the icon in your inventory). For each stolen item sold, you have "fenced" gold into the guild coffers. This is an extremely important thing, as in order to continue with the quests, you much have fenced at least 1000 gold total.

Though, fencing is still necessary throughout the game if you plan on stealing alot of items, so don't forget where your fences are.