Seized property offered through government auctions and police auctions are a bargain hunters dream. The wide range of new and used merchandise sold is astounding, and the prices are as low as 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.

Another source of these auction goods is merchandise that was seized by US Customs. The seizure can be for improper importation, or failure to pay import duties or taxes. The Customs agency will often seize entire cargo containers full of property. These are usually brand new goods originally intended for retail sale, that 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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