Lots of bargains as spoils of crime go under the hammer

A sale at Charles Taylor Auctioneers in Salford, and, right, some of the items that bidders are on the look-out for – Nike trainers, a Range Rover Sport, a Tag Heuer watch ... and a toaster

THE police work round the clock to recover stolen items and find lost goods – and while they make every effort to return items to their rightful owners, sometimes they just can’t be traced.

So what happens to the leftover bounty?

They sell it – sometimes for incredibly low prices – right on our doorstep.

These auction houses also hold a veritable treasure chest of kit recovered from businesses that go bust, which are released by liquidators and administrators trying to get some cash back to embattled investors, shareholders and suppliers.

Several police forces and liquidation firms – including Greater Manchester Police – work with a handful of auction houses in Greater Manchester, where they flog a huge array items for a fraction of their high street price.

It’s something canny entrepreneurs have known about for years, and in Charles Taylor Auctioneers, around 40 of them are pouring into the room hoping to take home a bargain.

Hidden away at the back of a trading estate, the Salford-based site puts recovered items – including decommissioned police cars and other recovered vehicles – under the hammer every fortnight and they’re one of the venue’s busiest and most anticipated auctions.

When I arrive, the auctioneer is rattling through the listings at an incredible pace – five pairs of brand new Nike trainers go for £85, 25 boxed new Apple iPhones sell for £65 a piece. It’s just 15 minutes into the auction and we’re already on lot number 52.

A box of 10 Ralph Lauren shirts is bought for £80 by someone called Chris, a single Ralph Lauren shirt can cost anything from £45 upwards.

If he can’t shift all of them on Facebook, he’ll use eBay or word of mouth, he says.

Like many people I speak to, buying and selling is more like a hobby for Chris.

“This isn’t a job for me... I just do some buying and selling on the side.

“I do bits and bobs, I keep myself busy all the time.”

And it’s not just clothing that he’s interested in today, there’s some bigger items which have caught his eye.

“There’s a Cartier gents watch, a Tag ladies watch. I’m happy to go up to about £1,500 on the gents, maybe a bit more, and about £800 to a grand on the ladies one.”

There’s also a couple of vans and an Audi, he tells me, but unless you work with cars it’s not worth bidding on them.

“I wouldn’t buy a car from here – half the time they don’t come with keys or log books. I’d have to spend another grand just to get it running.” But there are exceptions, he adds. “About a year or so ago, there was a Range Rover Sport and it went for about £7,500.” A quick Google shows they’re listed on Autotrader for at least £20,000 and up to £63,000 for newer models. As the clock nears noon more people come armed with pages of notes and others are constantly on the phone, but all of them are watching the auctioneer. The big items are coming up soon. Lightning fast diction from the auctioneer sees more trainers flying out. “Fifty? You tell me, 40, 45? 50, 55? On the net, 55, selling on the net. Sold. Sorry.” He apologises to the person in the room who raised their number a fraction too late. “We’ve got a lot to get through, get your bids in early and you will not get missed,” he says. One lady has been quietly and Online trader calmly bagging pair after pair of trainers.

“We’re an online business. We sell on eBay and Amazon, so they’ll be going on there,” she said.

Usually she bids online, but this is her first time coming down in person.

“I think it’s really exciting,” she says. “Everyone at work thinks it’s boring. I love it, the excitement of coming here and winning.”

Soon the first car comes up - a black Audi A3 TDI convertible. It’s a category C, which means it may have been written off with minor damage. But it has been repaired, and in the picture it looks pristine.

“Is this a £2,000 car?” asks the auctioneer. “£2,000 on the net, £2,100 in the room? Sold for £2,000.”

Just as quickly, a SEAT Ibiza Sport sells for £300, another goes for £600, and a Ford Transit with all the paperwork and a full MOT goes for £3,000 - all to internet bidders.

The ladies Tag Heuer Formula 1 watch – which is listed on eBay for up to £1000 – opens at £200, and sells to an internet bidder for £525.

Most of the expensive items go to people online, but they’re also some of the most unreliable bidders, according to regular visitor Wayne. “You’ve got a lot of internet bidders now, just pushing up the prices,” he says.

There are more items which haven’t gone up for auction today, and they’ve been taken off at the last minute.

Some of it has been withdrawn because the owners have gone back to court to try to get them back.

While the diamonds and the fast cars grab most people’s attention, sometimes it’s the most humble lots which could make the most money.

I ask Chris what I should bid on, if I want to make a bit of cash.

“Toasters,” he replies. “Get one for a fiver, and you know you can sell them for 20.

“Everyone has a toaster in their kitchen so if you can get them for half the price of what you can buy them on Amazon then you’ll be able to sell them.

“It doesn’t really matter what you buy – it doesn’t have to be something you’re into.”

I admit that I’m more tempted by the Audi than the toasters.

“Sometimes there are bargains,” he says wisely. “But don’t get too caught up.”

It’s true what they say – crime doesn’t pay, but there’s certainly cash to be had in its spoils.