Seized property sold through government auctions and police auctions are a treasure trove for bargain hunters. There is a vast array of goods, new and used, sold at way below retail, sometimes less than 10% of market value!
Exactly what is seized property? This is property that has been taken through state or federal “seizure laws”. These laws allow certain government agencies, such as US Customs, the IRS, DEA, even local police departments. to seize property that was used or acquired illicitly, such as a car or truck used to transport stolen goods or illegal drugs, or property imported improperly.
If a drug dealer uses the money he acquires from drug trafficking to buy a car, truck, boat, even a house, they come under the “seizure law” and will be confiscated. Furniture, jewelry, art, electronics all can be seized.
The scope and quantity of seized property offered at government auction is staggering. You can buy aircraft, boats, cars, trucks, vehicle parts and accessories, clothing, computer equipment, recyclables like copper, iron, steel, aluminum and paper, houses, farms, acreage, antiques, collectibles, jewelry, hardware, tools, medical equipment, household furniture, boats, the list goes on and on. Anything you can imagine can probably be bought at these government auctions or police auctions, usually for pennies on the dollar.
Some of these auction goods are merchandise that was seized by US Customs. The reasons for seizure can be for improper importation or smuggling, or for failure to pay import duties or taxes. Customs will sometimes seize entire cargo containers full of property. Often, these are brand new goods that were headed for store shelves, and are now liquidated through a government auction.
Government auctions and police auctions are held individually by by each agency, from federal government agencies like US Customs, the FBI, IRS, and DEA, even your local city government and municipal sheriffs departments. Each agency is responsible for holding it’s own auctions, some online, some at specific locations.
So how do you find these seized property auction treasures? There are essentially two ways: first, you can look through listings, but you can spend countless hours as each agency holds it’s own auctions, and they can change daily, weekly, etc. Alternately, you can join a government auction membership site that puts all those listings together in one place. Membership sites vary, however, so before signing up make sure you check out reviews such as those found at Government Auction Site Reviews.
Seized property auctions are vast treasure troves of merchandise. If you are willing to put in a little time browsing through them, you will find literally thousands of “deals of a lifetime” on just about anything in the world!
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