When the U.S. Marshals Service wants to sell a Lamborghini, or property in Hawaii, where do they turn? Online auctions, of course. The U.S. Marshals Service has been using Bid4Assets since 1999 to sell assets seized in the course of law-enforcement activities.
Online auction site Bid4Assets offers a venue for selling high-end assets from government, non-profits and private industry. Items include real estate, personal property, financial instruments and bankruptcy claims.
But you can also find jewelry, artwork, leather jackets, used BMWs, and other consumer goods in addition to industrial goods like saw mill equipment. The company says it has private sellers (some buy goods on eBay to resell on Bid4Assets) alongside government and law-enforcement agencies.
Bid4Assets takes a different approach than sites like eBay. "We call all first-time sellers to verify their telephone number, and require proof of ownership for items over $1,000," said Jenny Monroe, the company's Vice President of Marketing and Corporate-wide Communications. Monroe said that every item goes through a QC (Quality Control) process, ensuring there are no inappropriate items, like body parts, on the site. While there's no fraud insurance, Bid4Assets will permanently ban fraudulent sellers and will get involved in trying to track them down.
Bid4Assets qualifies bidders to minimize the risk of artificially inflated prices (and to discourage non-serious bidding). Sellers select one of two methods to pre-qualify bidders, one using credit-card verification, the other through the use of eDeposit's service. (We wrote about eDeposit in May of last year:
http://www.auctionbytes.com/pages/abu/y202/m05/abu0069/s02. Since then, eDeposit has made some changes, including becoming available on the eBay site. See the site for updated information and fees.)
Monroe said sellers who list items worth $300 or more should give Bid4Assets a try. While fees are higher, she said, sellers achieve higher prices due to the perceived value of items on their site.
Jenny Monroe also said Bid4Assets has a new Charitable Giving Program. This allows non-profit organizations that receive high-end gifts as donations to easily sell the items, making it easier for both the donor and the organization.
"We offer a fun and easy way for your supporters to contribute year-round either by auctioning off high-end items they no longer need or want or by buying items on Bid4Assets. Each time your supporters participate, Bid4Assets will contribute to your organization too." Learn more at
Another difference in Bid4Assets' approach, and one that may shock online-auction users: Bid4assets has a toll-free number, so you can get customer service by phone!
Related Story:
"No Sniping Allowed at Bid4Assets Auction Site," by Nikki Ballard
http://www.auctionbytes.com/pages/abn/y02/m09/i30/s01
About the author:
Ina Steiner is Editor of AuctionBytes.com and author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). She has a background in marketing and research in the high-tech and publishing fields. If you have story ideas, comments or questions, send them to ina@auctionbytes.com.
