How Police Auctions Work

This month with Simply Storage, we will be sharing how police auctions work. It’s a great way to buy brand new items that would otherwise be expensive. You may be wondering what on earth police would be selling, but interestingly it’s the stolen goods they have retained from criminals. These good are of course unclaimed, they’re kept all together and sold during the year. If the police don’t sell these goods, they have to store them, in hope that one day their rightful owners come forward.

There are three main ways police sell these unclaimed items:

Bumblebee

Whatever you bid on, you generally have to collect the item yourself from the listed police station. If you take a look at Bumblebee Auctions UK Police Property Disposal you will see they have twenty-nine categories listed from A to Z; from antiques to vehicle accessories. If you wish to bid, you must activate an account in order to pay, using ‘Nochex’ that’ll ensure safe and secure payments. To make sure the card you sign up with is yours, Nochex will take a small admin fee. Bumblebee is slightly different to eBay, with eBay you can be sneaky by bidding at the last minute but with Bumblebee the time is extended to an extra 10 minutes, giving others the opportunity to up their bids. However, some items may be removed during auction because the owner of the item has spotted it online and has claimed it back. Also it is good to note that if you receive an item that doesn’t fit the description, you will be refunded and should return said item.

Official eBay Stores

These shops have been opened in order to sell repossessed goods. The eBay stores are a much more popular option to bidders, as most items have a postage option; requiring little to no legwork. You can find out whether your local police force sells stolen goods by looking on their website. It’s important you take a look at the delivery options for the items you wish to bid on, as items such as cameras and jewellery will be sent in the post, but large items like bikes could quite possibly require collection. This of course, is like usual eBay where you can bid at the very last second and take home the winnings.

Local Auction Houses

It is possible to find a local auction house where police forces will sell goods. If you like to make a day of auctioning then you will certainly like to attend the local auction house. This experience will allow you to see exactly what you’re bidding for. Want to know if there are any auctions taking place near you? Find out either on their website or take a look online by typing in “police auction” followed by the name of your city. It is likely that items such as cars, can be found at these auctions, as you can take them away with you there and then. You should know that if you wish to take part in these local house auctions, you must pay a buyer’s premium which is estimated around 15-20% of your item’s price and VAT is also paid on this premium. You may also have to pay 20% VAT on the hammer price.

If you love a good auction then you will want to check out police and self-storage auctions. The treasures that can be found are unbelievable as many people use self-storage to keep valuables safe, so you never know what you might find!

Now you know about police auctions, you may also be interested in self-storage auctions. Self-storage auctions occur when those renting units haven’t paid their rent for a lengthy period of time and have abandoned their goods. By completely legal means, their storage must be sold on through auctions; this will pay for their debts and the units can be reused.

If you would like more information regarding storage options, for you personally or a business, please don’t hesitate to get in contact via phone or email!