Ebay and State Unclaimed Property

Feb 22
10:28

2007

Nicole Anderson

Nicole Anderson

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Unclaimed treasures from abandoned safety deposit boxes and police property rooms are being auctioned to the highest bidder online! Find out how to bid on this unclaimed property and how to make sure none of your property ends up in the auction.

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Safety deposit box contents

After a safety deposit box has been abandoned for 3 years (in most states) the contents are turned over to the State’s unclaimed property department.  Safety deposit boxes are considered abandoned when the fees for the box are not paid and the owner cannot be reach through the contact information provided by for the box.

The state auctions the unclaimed property retrieved from the safety deposit boxes,Ebay and State Unclaimed Property Articles since the owner of the box cannot be located. The funds received from the auction are available to the owner, if the owner ever tries to recover the property.

In the past the states held local auctions to sell the safety deposit box contents but now the states are utilizing the power of the internet to auction this unclaimed property.

The items that are found include diamond necklaces, wedding and engagement rings, ruby necklaces, rare coins and stamps and much more.

Ebay and State Unclaimed Property Auctions

The States have begun utilizing ebay to auction the unclaimed property.  Often times the contents are valuables including family heirlooms and jewelry.  The auctions are held at different intervals for different states, and there may be times there are no items for sale.

These auctions have received higher bids then the states could achieve with local auctions.  In Massachusetts the most recent auction of 200 lots received $140,000 in sales! 

The following states are offering online unclaimed property auctions through ebay:

State of California

Ebay Seller Name: ucpauction

Link to Items for Sale: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZucpauction

State of Colorado

Ebay Seller Name: co.unclaimed.property

Link to Items for Sale:

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZcoQ2eunclaimedQ2eproperty

State of Indiana

Ebay Seller Name: indiana_unclaimed

Link to Items for Sale:

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZindianaQ5funclaimed

State of Maryland

Ebay Seller Name: mdcompschaefer

Link to Items for Sale:

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZmdcompschaefer

State of Texas

Ebay Seller Name: tx.unclaimed.property

Link to Items for Sale:

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZtxQ2eunclaimedQ2eproperty

Washington DC

Ebay Seller Name: DistrictofColumbia

Link to Items for Sale:

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZdistrictofcolumbia

Police Department Property Rooms Utilize Online Auction Room

Law enforcement agencies nationwide have property rooms full of stolen or forfeited goods. The rightful owners are not easily identified, and once property is no longer needed as evidence, it must be disposed of properly.  Propertyroom.com was founded and managed by former police officers.  The about us page states it, “…harnesses the power of the Internet to quickly move items out of police property rooms, reduce personnel costs and generate revenue well beyond traditional police auction methods. And there is no cost to the participating police or sheriffs department.”

You can view items currently being auctioned at www.propertyroom.com.  You can filter your search to include “police items only” by checking the box indicating “Show me police items only”.

How to Make Sure Your Property Doesn’t End Up in the Auction Room

There is over $25 Billion in unclaimed money and a large amount of unclaimed property in the US.  This property and missing money goes unclaimed year after year.

  • Keep record of your safety deposit box(es)
  • List an heir to your safety deposit box(es)
  • Maintain up to date contact information on all accounts and safety deposit boxes you own
  • Search for Unclaimed Money and Property Owed to You

You can search databases to see if any unclaimed money or property is owed to you. 

One searchable database is Cashunclaimed.com.  This site is unique because it searches all states and federal databases, which reduces the chance of missing money reported in another state or having to search all 50 state databases.