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But seized goods still draw bargain shoppers
By Colette M. Jenkins
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Sunday, Jun 29, 2008
Larry Stewart went bargain hunting on Saturday morning.
''I'm a degenerate shopper. I love to shop and I'm always looking for a bargain,'' said Stewart, 64, of Akron. ''My friends think I can find anything and I try to live up to that.''
Stewart's hunt for ''anything interesting'' drew him to the annual Akron police auction at 1085 Sweitzer Ave.
The auction of confiscated and abandoned property — including flat-screen and big-screen televisions, DVDs, CDs, stereo equipment, clothing, tools, bicycles and jewelry — nets thousands of dollars for the city's general and police funds.
Last year, the seized property brought in more than $22,000, according to Akron Police Sgt. Frank Williams, who served as one of the auctioneers.
The final figure from Saturday's auction was $14,500.
''The auction gives us a chance to purge the property room of old stuff,'' said Williams, who is in charge of the department's property room. ''It's interesting to see how much people will pay for some of the items. Sometimes they get into these bidding wars and pay more than they would pay in a store.''
Williams said he recognizes many of the bidders, who show up year after year. Many of the ''regulars,'' he said, run small corner thrift and variety stores and buy things for resell. Others place some of the items on eBay. Others are simply looking for something for themselves.
Randy Rowles drove to the auction from Seville. He was looking for tools and other equipment. He arrived about 9:20 a.m. Twenty minutes later, he was heading to his truck.
''They just don't have anything I'm looking for today. The small quantity of tools that they have is nothing I have need for,'' said Rowles, 63. ''So, I don't see any reason to hang around. I'm going to head over to another auction on the south side and maybe I'll have better luck there.''
The bidding started at 9:30 a.m., but the doors had opened an hour earlier to allow people time to look around for items they were interested in.
Akron Detective Tom Russell, who works in the property room, said some of the items for auction are recovered stolen property and some are seized in drug raids. The police department sends notification to owners of the unclaimed property, giving them 30 days to pick it up. If the items aren't claimed, they are tagged for the auction, Russell said.
Last year's auction included 590 items. This year's offered 614 items, generating hopes that this year's proceeds would at least match last year's receipts. But the crowd of about 200 people was noticeably smaller than last year's.
''We had almost double the number of people last year,'' said Detective Paul Bralek, who was working security at the auction. ''I think it's the economy. People simply don't have the disposable income that they've had in the past.''
Stewart, who operates a small variety store, agreed that times are hard economically. He said that's all the more reason to look for bargains.
''I only bid on things that I know I'm getting a good price on,'' Stewart said. ''I look for things that I can resell or give away. I'll probably hang around most of the day because I'd like to get a couple of bikes for my grandkids and a couple of friends.''
By midday, Stewart had spent $22: $10 on a power drill and $12 on a DVD player.
Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or cjenkins@thebeaconjournal.com.
Larry Stewart went bargain hunting on Saturday morning.
Get the full article here.
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