Police Auctions

seatbeltnoob

dlusman wrote: »

You have NO idea what the other bidders circumstances are. They may already have the warehouse space & van you describe - So getting something worth £6000 for around £3000 may have been a bargain for them

True I don't know about their circumstances. But based on my observations of looking at other auctions (such as the macbook mentioned above) Some people are bidding on these for marginal gains.
Someone with the warhouse and van would in theory already have lots of other business ventures they're doing. So I doubt they're going through bumbleebee auctions looking for a punt.

RFW

seatbeltnoob wrote: »

I would be devestated if it turned out to be a fake and ended up losing all that money.

If it did turn out to be a fake and it wasn't sold as such then you would be able to get a refund. Just because someone puts "Auction House" on their premises doesn't mean they can flout the law.

I know of an auction house that was caught trying to pass off something as genuine that they had purchased as a fake. Merely putting the onus on the buyer to check is not good enough legally.

I also know of auction houses that handle fakes on behalf of HMRC and Trading Standards any item that is deemed to be irretrievable (ie something that can't be relabelled or made to look like a generic item) has to be destroyed or sent to landfill.

That said, some auction houses will make it extremely difficult for you to get your money back in such circumstances so you do still need to watch what you're doing.

Tallaght

There is a lot of police forces in the uk who advertise on ebay.

Pound

I went to Biddle and Webb in Birmingham a good while ago and people were bidding the prices up higher than it would cost to buy brand new. Then you have to pay tax and commission on top of that.

forgotmyname

Yes, been to that one and some things you wonder if they know the extra charges. Quite expensive if i remember?

I did wonder if regulars got a special deal though?

The day i was there a plastic garden bench/storage box sold, i forget the figures but it was way more than new ones on sale in B&Q at the time.

RFW

forgotmyname wrote: »

I did wonder if regulars got a special deal though?

I've never heard of any ever doing that. You can discount seller fees but never for a buyer.

It always surprised people when (as an auctioneer) I wasn't pleased about someone paying too much for an item. It was always a false friend, potential customers get deterred from coming back and the idiot buyer doesn't come back either when they realise they've overspent and also regulars get annoyed.

I maintain the best auction to go to is the one immediately after one where many of the lots go way too high. It doesn't always work as some salerooms keep attracting new people but it's not a bad idea.

Grace_kamuli

I attempted to purchase a game for a child on police Ebay link from this website and the prices are exactly the same in ordinary shops. I thought I would get it at a lower price since the police got them for (free).

forgotmyname

Keep watching and see if the price drops.  Really concidering selling my PC at the moment, its worth far more than I paid for it last year.

Prices for some tech items at the moment are silly.

vreemt

just to note - in the article at https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/police-auctions/#ebaystores it links to  the Ebay account of the Nottinghamshire Police https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/nottinghamshirepolice which doesn't exist anymore.

I can;t seem to find them on eBay at all, but it seems the John Pye auction house does have some of their seized stock currently https://www.johnpye.co.uk/auctions/type/police-seized-items/location/nottingham/

soolin

vreemt said:

just to note - in the article at https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/police-auctions/#ebaystores it links to  the Ebay account of the Nottinghamshire Police https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/nottinghamshirepolice which doesn't exist anymore.

I can;t seem to find them on eBay at all, but it seems the John Pye auction house does have some of their seized stock currently https://www.johnpye.co.uk/auctions/type/police-seized-items/location/nottingham/

John Pye has a slightly mixed reputation , if using them I would always urge potential buyers to read and understand all the terms and conditions beforehand. That includes collection/delivery costs and times, buyer premiums and condition reports.