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Buy cheap stolen goods

Grab bargain bikes & bling

Sarah Monro
Sarah Monro and Jenny Keefe | Edited by Steve Nowottny
Updated 25 January 2019

Pssst! Wanna buy cheap stolen goods? From bikes to a bit of bling, it's possible to grab goods at a fraction of the normal cost. Not many people know about this trick, so you could nab some real bargains.
 

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How to buy cheap stolen goods (and it's absolutely legal)

Don't worry, we know MoneySavers are law-abiding citizens, and we're not about to encourage you to break the law. This is all about snapping up lost property or goods seized from criminals when the police can't find the rightful owners.

Many police forces across the UK sell on loot which they've seized. And because this isn't widely known about – and because the police sell on items they'd otherwise have to store or dispose of – you could bag real bargains. 

There are two main routes the police use to flog this stuff, but the route for you may depend on what's available near you, as many items have to be collected.

  • Official police eBay stores – some forces have now set up their own eBay shops. You can collect items in person or sometimes have them delivered.

  • Auction houses – some police forces also sell goods via auction houses, which you have to attend in person.

Police auction Q&As

  • How big is this?

    The items available can be limited, as it depends on the amount of stolen goods each police force recovers.

    Official eBay stores vary – when we checked, some didn't have any items on offer, though there were 101 items listed by the Sussex Police shop.

  • Is it always a bargain?

    No – it's important to remember that just because it's a police auction, doesn't mean it's automatically cheap. Always check prices for similar items on eBay, Facebook selling groups and the used marketplace on Amazon* too. See our eBay Buying and Facebook Selling guides for more.

  • What if I spot something that belongs to me?

    Police forces say they make every effort to trace the rightful owner of the property before they sell it.

    If you spot something that's yours on Bumblebee Auctions, email service@bumblebeeauctions.co.uk and hopefully they'll reunite you with your property. If in the rare case you spot your property after it's been sold, the police force will contact the buyer and attempt to negotiate its return.

    If you spot something that belongs to you on eBay or in an auction house, you'll need to get in touch with the police force selling it.

  • Where do the proceeds go?

    Each force uses the money it raises differently, but generally it goes into policing initiatives or to a charity fund to help worthy causes.

  • I've got the bidding bug. Any other auctions worth checking out?

    Ever watched Storage Hunters, the US TV show where people bid for the mystery contents of storage units? Well, you can do something similar with lost luggage auctions. When airlines can't reunite lost bags with their rightful owners, they often sell them via specialist auction houses.

    You don't always know what's inside the cases, but pick a winner and profits are possible from eBaying them on.

Official police eBay stores

Some police forces have set up their own official eBay shops to sell recovered goods. What's more, smaller items often have a delivery option, so you can still buy from them even if the force is miles from you.

To find an official store, start by checking the website of your police force to see if it sells stolen goods on eBay. If not, look further afield, though make sure what you're buying has a delivery option or you're able to collect it.

We found a number of police forces linking to official eBay shops, including Leicestershire Police* and Sussex Police*.

When we looked, most smaller items (eg, cameras and jewellery) had a delivery option. Larger items such as bikes and televisions were collection-only – often from the police force's headquarters.

Quick questions

Have you bought cheap stolen goods from police? Let us know how you got on – plus any police eBay stores or auction houses you've spotted which do this – in the forum.

Auction houses

A number of forces use auction houses (which you can visit in person) to sell goods.

You may have to do a bit of detective work to find an auction near you – some police forces give this information on their websites, but not all do. However, if you search online for police auctions in your area (eg, 'police auction Manchester'), you should be able to find if there's an auction house that sells goods on behalf of police.

For example, Greater Manchester Police lists three auction houses on its website: Central Auction Rooms of Rochdale, Charles Taylor Auctioneers & Valuers and Simon Charles Auctioneers & Valuers. It says auctions are held when there are enough items to sell.

Most items sold are similar to those on Bumblebee and eBay, but you're also more likely to find larger items such as cars at auction houses.

Quick questions

  • How do I bid at an auction?

    To bid, you'll mostly need to go to an auction house on the day and bid in person. However, some auction houses now offer live internet or telephone bidding. You'll have to register to bid with the auction house, whether you're bidding in person or not. You should be able to find out when the next police auction will be held by visiting the auction house's website.

    You can often view items in person the day before an auction too – check online for details of viewings, or contact the auction house to ask.

  • Are there extra fees?

    It's important to understand that at auction houses, your final cost will be more than the amount the item closes for after you've bid.

    There are two fees that may be applied.

    • The buyer's premium: This is typically 15-20% of the item's price – you also pay VAT on this premium. So if you successfully bid £30 for an item, and the buyer's premium was 20% (plus VAT), the total payable would be £37.20.

    • VAT on the hammer price: A few auction houses also add 20% VAT to items' hammer prices. This would push your price up to £43.20.

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