| If you know anything about government auctions, you'll | | | | took place in the year 2000! Check and make sure |
| know that there are thousands upon thousands of | | | | that all the listings on the site are up to date. Now see |
| websites dealing with the subject. It can be a real pain | | | | if the listings on their site are complete. |
| dealing with all the ins and outs and hoops and loops of | | | | Do they give you every detail about the auction? Do |
| these sites, so I wanted to explain the best way to | | | | they tell you exactly what the product is, what |
| navigate them, which ones are scams, and which ones | | | | condition it's in, where it came from, and how long it's |
| you can manipulate to get what you want out of them. | | | | been in state custody? Look for all these things while |
| A lot of the government auction sites out there are | | | | browsing various government auction sites. If their |
| 'membership sites'. These are funded by people like | | | | listings aren't complete, my advice would be to stay |
| you signing up for them and having them charge your | | | | far, far away. Another thing to look for - is there a |
| credit card for their services, like any regular pay site. | | | | way to contact them? Do they have a phone number, |
| These were started because most of the government | | | | an email, or an address? If you can't get in touch with |
| auction sites before them were sites maintained by | | | | them, don't bother. |
| hundreds of different independent government | | | | Also check and see if their listings cover not only local |
| agencies. These sites make government auctions a | | | | police and sheriff auctions, but local, state, and federal |
| breeze compared to their predecessors. | | | | as well. If the site encompasses all forms of |
| Like anything though, there's the good, the bad, and the | | | | government auctions, then that's a good sign that it's |
| ugly. Some of these sites are out there solely to rip | | | | not a rip off or a scam. Be smart about where your |
| you off. Luckily, there are a few ways to tell the good | | | | money goes, and research any site before you give |
| from the bad. First of all, are the auction listings on the | | | | money to them. |
| site current? You don't want to 'bid' on an auction that | | | | |