Property Room Website Receives Big Net Traffic Surge, Overloads Site

PropertyRoom.com is a website that sells or auctions off seized or unclaimed pieces of property or stuff it has received from law enforcements across the United States, according to a recent report by The Seattle Times. The enforcement agencies receive half of the proceeds of the sale of items.

The products for sale are usually goods that the police agencies have not been able to return to the original owners or the owners cannot be located, according to National Jeweler. The agencies share in the profit of the sale of the goods.

Beyond just seized property, PropertyRoom.com also sells excess equipment and supplies no longer needed by county departments, per a news item by Cleveland.com.

Legally Questionable

What if something on the website is yours, that maybe it was seized from you during a police investigation or maybe stolen from you in a robbery and ended up in the possession of the police agency which has now sent it to a website like PropertyRoom.com?

The people at PropertyRoom.com have instituted a claims process so that people who believe they are the legal owner to an item can file a claim for it.

But is that fair? One has to wonder how many facts and pieces of evidence would be required before a gold watch that belongs to one person can go back to that person and not be sold online.

How many people would ever think that that antique family ring that was stolen and later recovered by a police agency would eventually be auctioned off to the highest bidder because the original owner could not be located?

Morally Vague

It is certainly possible to get a great bargain at a website like PropertyRoom.com, but what about the ethics of placing a bid on an item when you do not know the proper origins of it? Maybe some bidders don't care and don't want to know but would rather focus on the great deal that they are getting. That's what capitalism is all about.

How much effort should police agencies around the country put forth in tracking down the rightful owners of property before sending it off to an online auction site for sale for pennies on the dollar? Maybe that's a question that attorneys-general throughout the fifty states should ponder.

If you live in California and you think that some of your property is being illegally auctioned off on a website, make sure you first inform that website in writing about your item. If nothing happens, you may consider contacting the California Attorney General's office to see what can be done about it.

Sources

"Seattle police seized-items auctions make more online.," Armando Montano, The Seattle Times, June 29, 2009.

"Lost, unclaimed jewels and watches yield millions," Joseph Dobrian, National Jeweler, June 19, 2009.

"Strongsville places old recreation equipment online," Shelly Guerra, Cleveland.com, June 5, 2009.

Office of the California Attorney General, official website

PropertyRoom.com, official website