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Mody87
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Each year various government agencies, from four different levels of government, federal, state, county, and city, auction off millions of dollars of seized an unclaimed property. These government auctions and police auctions are open to the public, with many items having no reserve, which means the high bid takes it, even if the high bid is a dollar. Before the rise of the Internet, this information was difficult to come by because the government always put limited resources into publicizing them.
One of the popular item searched for on these auctions is, jewelry.
The auctioneer for the Treasury Department appraises the jewelry they auction, but does not disclose this information to the public.
They are not a guarantee of value so don?t make the mistake of thinking they will hold up in the market. Always read the listings and value disclosures carefully before bidding.
The benefit of using wholesale markets like government auctions to buy items for resale is that typically the items go up for bid with no reserve. No reserve means the top bid gets the item, even if it sells for below market value.
One thing to keep in mind, is that, wholesale markets offer very little buyer protection. In most government auctions, there are absolutely no refunds, unless you can prove the item was misrepresented, and good luck doing that.
Arm yourself with as much market value data as you can before attending one of these auctions, that way you can formulate bidding strategies that make sense. It's probably because appraisals are unreliable and subjective and typically don't reflect market values.
If you have ever been to the mall, you will notice that there is no shortage of jewelry stores. It's a good idea to talk to them. Find out what they charge. Here's a tip. Don't tell them what you paid or want to pay for an item to get a comparison. Give them the gemological specs and ask them what a comparable piece would cost from them. That way it will get a realistic answer from them and they won't simply view it as a chance to slam their competition. Jewelers at the mall aren't happy about competition from the Internet and will have nothing good to say about it.
Jewelry Auction site 1
Jewelry auction site 2
Auction Bargains
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