Police auctions and lost luggage auctions offer the chance to bag a bargain from suitcases and stolen goods!
Thousands of suitcases are mislaid by airlines each year and the ones that are never reunited with their rightful owners end up at lost luggage auctions.
Another option is to attend an auction where police sell off seized goods or items handed into police stations that remain unclaimed.
Find lost luggage
British Airways flogs its lost luggage at auction house Greasbys in Tooting, South West London.
Viewings take place Monday afternoon to give you a chance to have a look at the bags you might want to buy and auctions take place every other Tuesday at 10.30am.
However, it’s all pot luck as you don’t get to see inside a bag or suitcase before you bid. Instead you have to guess at its contents. Chances are sports-style luggage is likely to contain sports clothes or equipment while top of the range suitcases might contain something better.
Another auction room worth checking out is Wellers Auctioneers in Guildford which sells off lost luggage from Gatwick Airport.
Bear in mind that auctioneers will take very valuable items out of suitcases and sell them separately. Therefore if you buy a suitcase hoping it will contain an iPad and £1,000 digital camera, you’re likely to end up disappointed. However you can bid separately on valuables and at least you’ll know what you’re getting, unlike the mystery suitcases.
If you decide to bid on suitcases bear in mind that as well as getting your hands on some decent clothes, books or toiletries, you’re just as likely to take home a bag of dirty washing.
The auction
After you’ve identified which suitcases or items you want to get your hands on, it’s time to bid at an auction.
The key to success is set a budget and stick to it. Don’t get carried away. Suitcases tend to go from £5 to £50 so there’s a chance to make some decent cash even if it’s full of junk, selling the suitcase itself could see you make a profit.
If you’re the highest bidder when the hammer falls, you’re legally obliged to pay for the goods.
Police auctions
If other people’s dirty laundry isn’t your thing then a police auction could be a better place to grab a bargain you could then sell on at a profit.
Police sell off items that have been seized from criminals or handed in to police auctions and not retrieved by the rightful owner. Typical items include jewellery, household items, and electrical equipment such as laptops and mobiles. Bikes, in particular, tend to go very cheaply.
Although some police forces hold live auctions advertised by “seized assets” adverts in local papers you can bid for items online too.
Bumblebee Auctions sells off property seized or found by the police and works a bit like eBay. Items under auction on the site can include Raleigh bike, going for £18 and a job lot of unused camping equipment including two sleeping bags, two sleeping mattresses and a 20L daypack, going for £61.50.
If you win an auction you’ll need to collect larger items from the police station in question or pay for postage of smaller items.
You can search for products or by towns, and so only view items you’d be willing to go and pick up. To bid you need to set up a Bumblebee account and also an e-money account with Nochex, the only form of payment Bumblebee accepts.
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