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Police use eBay to sell seized goods

Tuesday, June 3, 2014 - 09:23 by Graham Miller

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Leicestershire Police has been particularly innovative in its use of online auction site, eBay, according to The Metro. Since it first started selling items seized from criminals through this service back in 2009, it has now generated more than £1 million, as people rush to snap them up via safe shopping online.

Experts believe that if the police had instead taken the traditional route and auctioned off the goods at a real-world outlet, they would only have achieved about half this amount through sales. This shows that the reach and profile provided by services like eBay is beneficial for all sorts of individuals and organisations.

Some high value items have been sold by the police on eBay, including an Aston Martin DB9, which managed to earn the force £63,000 after it was taken from the possession of a person who is now behind bars.

Other luxury items, including a £13,000 Rolex, were sold on eBay by the police, meaning that all this money can flow back into providing protection for the public, while the goods themselves do not go to waste by sitting in storage.

Spokesperson, Paul Wenlock, said that Leicestershire Police was especially pleased with the outcome of its half-decade campaign to auction seized goods on eBay. He said it was also a good way of showing the public that action is being taken against criminals, with the ill-gotten gains of illegal activity not simply gathering dust after prosecutions have been won.

Of course anyone can use eBay to shop online or sell their own unwanted items, with the vast majority of the transactions handled by the site involving goods that come from legitimate owners, who are simply seeking to part ways with them to make a little cash and clear space at home.