You can get goods at 40 to 80 per cent off the retail price. The only catch is they come with a bit of history.
Rob Evans is the founder of www.allbids.com.au, an online auction house that amongst other things, sells goods on behalf of the Australian Federal Police. That's items seized in raids, impounded or found to be the proceeds of crime.
"People just come in and get a bargain," Evans said.
"This is Aladdin's cave, even Ali Baba would be impressed! We've got everything, camera lenses, cameras, blackberry phones."
"The police have got to send these items to public auction so we're just a vehicle for that."
"You see the odd crow bar come through as well and it's obviously been used in crime, it's probably a cheap way for people to pick up cheap tools isn't it!"
You can score yourself a mobile phone for $13 or a camera for $20. Some items are near new, others are still in the box.
"Apart from the billiard table we've sold almost everything from army tanks down to jewellery and everything in between. You just never know what you're gonna get," Evans said.
"When you've got high end items worth $50,000 to 60,000 some people walk away with $20,000 to 30,000," Evans said.
The same goes at Ross' auction house in Perth. There are so many seized items to clear out they hold a police auction every six weeks.
"We get everything from brand new motorcycles, high-end sports cars, Hi-Fi equipment, Playstations, anything you can think of that can be stolen recovered, forfeited and seized," Matt from Ross' said.
A Honda motorbike will go under the hammer with just three kilometres on the clock - apparently the owner was arrested as he drove out of the dealership.
And it's not only stolen property that people are wanting to get their hands on. Another market is lost property. Ever wondered where your jacket or watch ends up if you lose it on a train or bus, and forgot to claim it? Just ask Michelle House from www.secretbudget.net.
"Sometimes companies do lost property auctions, like Australia Post, some of the airlines some of the train lines," House said. "A really good buy from a lost property auction would be picking up a phone for $10 that might be in the shop for $750."
She says while you can save, beware, you're also taking a risk. Many goods don't come with a warranty and delivery cost is another consideration.
"You need to add up all of those and make sure you're still getting that bargain."
Around the country, some transport companies hold their own lost property auctions advertised in the local paper. But not every company is alike.
Forget to claim your lost property on a Qantas flight, and it doesn't go to charity. After a period of time staff get a chance to bid for it. Lost property in taxis, if unclaimed after 24 hours, can be scooped up by the driver if the owner isn't tracked down. Then there are auctions for repossessed items.
"A repossessed item is where somebody has had a judgement enforced and the item has been repossessed and can go up for sale to the public," House said.
Bailiff Sheriff Australia is an online directory for these auctions held in every state. Camper vans, furniture and even whole apartments can go for a third of the price.
"You can jump on and be a subscriber and find out when auctions are. You could also do that through the other websites like the public trustee in your state and jump on there be a subscriber," House said.
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Know where the best Car Auction Houses are? We Doby bernieboy7724 views
all I mean is I dont think australia post should have rights to sell someones goods. not really right @ all
australiandj 1 year ago
is this where my hard earned goods are going? feels kinda wrong to even think about buying something from there. Why dont they give the goods back to rightful places?
australiandj 1 year ago