Seized property offered at government auctions and police auctions are veritable treasure chests for bargain hunters. There is an astounding array of new and used merchandise, sold at rock-bottom prices, sometimes less than 10% of market value!

What is seized property? Most states have “seizure laws” in place. These laws allow law enforcement agencies to seize property that was used to commit a crime, such as a car or truck used to transport stolen goods or illegal drugs, as well as any real property that was bought with money acquired from the commission of a crime.

For instance, if a drug dealer uses the money he made from drug trafficking to buy a car or truck, even a house, it can be confiscated under the “seizure law”. Jewelry, furniture, computer equipment, art 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 by hundreds of individual agencies, from federal government agencies like US Customs, the IRS, FBI, and DEA, down to your local city government and municipal sheriffs departments. Each agency conducts it’s own auctions, some online, some at specific locations.

How do you go about finding these seized property auction treasures? There are basically two ways to find them. First, you can look through each agency’s listings, but you will spend countless hours since each agency is independent, and auctions change daily. Secondly, you can join a government auction membership site. These compile all the thousands of auctions together through their website. Membership sites vary, so you must 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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