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!

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.

If a criminal uses the money he acquires from his crime to buy a car, truck, boat, even a house, they fall under the “seizure law” and will be confiscated. Jewelry, computers, cameras, art all can be seized.

The numbers and types of seized property that is sold through government auctions is mind-boggling. You can buy cars and trucks, boats, antiques, jewelry, office equipment, even aircraft. And they can be had for mere pennies on the dollar.

These auction goods can also be merchandise that was seized by Customs. The seizure might be for smuggling, or improper importation, even failure to pay import duties or taxes. The US Customs agency often seizes entire cargo containers full of property. Many times, these consist of brand new merchandise that was originally intended for retail store sale, and are now being liquidated through a government auction.

Government auctions and police auctions are carried out separately by hundreds of individual agencies, from federal government agencies like the IRS and US Customs, on down to local governments and municipal sheriffs departments. Each of these agencies will conduct their own auctions, sometimes 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 treasure troves of merchandise for bargain hunters. With a little effort, you can actually find those “deals of a lifetime” for nearly anything in the world!

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