Local Police Auctions

One of the goals of this site is to provide people who are interested in buying things at local police auctions with information related to that endeavor. I am starting this blog to provide a resource for people who are interested in learning how to buy cars at police auctions as well as other items and merchandise. One of the things that I hope that this site becomes is a place where I can provide the information and insight that I have gained to my readers. Because the simple fact of the matter is that, once you understand how a local police auction works, then really all you have to do is to find out the when and the where and show up to see if you want to bid on any of the items.

However that is not to say that getting a deal at local police auctions is the easiest thing in the world either. There are several elements that are play when dealing with police auctions that you will have to be aware of when browsing an auction lot. But, that said, police auctions still provide a great source of bargains for ordinary people who want to get a chance to buy a car or boat or other item at a deep discount.

I also want to talk a little bit about how local police auctions work. However, what I am not going to be doing is debating the merits of the current system. If you think that local police are tyrants that repossess citizen’s property and resell it at a profit, then that is up to you, but I am not going to be debating the ethics of the matter. Let’s just accept the fact of the matter that police auctions are a part of life that is not going to go away anytime soon and that we are just going to have to accept them. That said, when life gives you lemons, a smart person will make lemonade. So, I think that if you are enterprising person who wants to get products at a good price, then finding local police auctions to source these products can be a great decision.

How does a local police auction work?

In the United States the local police departments as well as certain federal law enforcement agencies have the right to confiscate items belonging to private citizens so long as it can be shown that the items were procured illegally or with money procured illegally. They can also confiscate property that has been used in the execution of a crime. Once this property has been confiscated, it is cataloged and documented. In some cases the citizen whose property was taken can appeal the confiscation. Once it has been determined that the original owner no longer has a legal claim on the property, a police auction will be conducted so that the police department can liquidate the property in exchange for cash.

The monies raised from police auctions are used to fund the law enforcement activities of the local police department. However, many people imagine police auctions are free-for-alls where people clamor loudly and where there are a lot of unsavory elements present. The fact of the matter is that most local police auctions are conducted in a very professional manner with professional auctioneers who are looking to get the government the best deal possible.

Because of this, at a police auction you can often get merchandise at a nice discount. However, some claims, such as $100 cars at police auctions are actually quite rare. But great deals do occur everyday with police liquidations. The best thing about police auctions is that, in most cases, the merchandise must be sold. This means that the police will take any reasonable offer because they are not legally allowed to keep the items and wait for a better deal. If you are present and make a cash offer, then you are likely to walk away with the property.

So, that is a brief introduction to how a local police auction works and what you might expect. I will be updating this blog regularly with information about getting the best deals at police auctions, finding police auctions and buying strategies for impound auctions.