Stolen Items up for Auction

by Phyllis Cabot

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What I Think: Hard to believe there's actually a police-backed site that auctions off stolen items.  All kinds of items, including computers, cameras, even costume jewelry  

I've been told it's more fun than eBay and that there are some incredible deals, so I figured it was worth writing about.

In addition to stolen items, there is also merchandise from "trusted merchants."  The site says, "The vast majority of items auctioned by derive from law enforcement agencies and other public municipalities," but that there is other merchandise from merchants that "must undergo background checks which include seller history, checks which include seller history, financial and criminal background and a support system review."

While researching this site, I stumbled on a couple of blogs that questioned how hard the police try to locate the original owners of merchandise it auctions.  To be fair, though, there's a "Steal It Back" program so if someone sees an item that was stolen from them, they can re-claim it.

Pretty interesting, no?