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If you enjoy pawing through Aspen's lost-and-found property once a year at the police department's property auction, you'll have to look online from now on.
The department has decided to use the website www.propertyroom.com to showcase all of the purses, wallets, skis and jewelry that turn up in Aspen and are never claimed. The site has auctions like on eBay, featuring property from police departments all over the country. Shoppers peruse through a national database, bidding to get the best bargains.
In the past, the police department has set up tables outside the courthouse to display the lost property, evidence that was never claimed or police equipment for the public to bid on at bargain-basement prices.
But according to police department customer service officer Mic McClinton, it's much easier to hand over the auction to propertyroom.com.
"We don't have to haul away any leftovers or re-store anything until the next auction," she said. "We have an account with [propertyroom.com] and they send us the money."
Already, a representative from the website has hauled away items from the Aspen Police Department, also stopping at the Fort Collins Police Department for its items. The goods are taken to the site's warehouse in Los Angeles - they also have a warehouse in New York - until they are bought at auction.
And if you win an incredible deal on something at propertyroom.com, McClinton said, you must pay for the shipping to your home.
McClinton said 500 of the city and county's old phones, which were replaced this winter with a new phone system, were given to the website for auctions, along with jewelry, tools, used police equipment and even a couple of kegs that were confiscated at parties but never claimed.
Twice a year the department will still hold their bicycle and automobile auctions at the Pitkin County Landfill. Their next one is scheduled for June 11 - bicycles at 9 a.m. and automobiles at 10 a.m.
Money from police auctions goes to the police fund, which purchases things that the department typically hasn't budgeted for, like additional training or surveillance equipment.
In research of the site, McClinton said that the Fort Collins Police Department claims it has made $2,000 more than usual on the online auctions. It's probably because the website reaches a global audience of savvy shoppers, she said.
And while locals may miss seeing what the Aspen Police Department specifically collects throughout the year, propertyroom.com surfers will be happy to know that an eclectic assortment of things can be bought at the website. On Friday the site was auctioning off shopping carts, a push cart hot dog stand, medical exam tables and two parking meters.
Naomi Havlen's e-mail address is nhavlen@aspentimes.com
The department has decided to use the website www.propertyroom.com to showcase all of the purses, wallets, skis and jewelry that turn up in Aspen and are never claimed. The site has auctions like on eBay, featuring property from police departments all over the country. Shoppers peruse through a national database, bidding to get the best bargains.
In the past, the police department has set up tables outside the courthouse to display the lost property, evidence that was never claimed or police equipment for the public to bid on at bargain-basement prices.
But according to police department customer service officer Mic McClinton, it's much easier to hand over the auction to propertyroom.com.
"We don't have to haul away any leftovers or re-store anything until the next auction," she said. "We have an account with [propertyroom.com] and they send us the money."
Already, a representative from the website has hauled away items from the Aspen Police Department, also stopping at the Fort Collins Police Department for its items. The goods are taken to the site's warehouse in Los Angeles - they also have a warehouse in New York - until they are bought at auction.
And if you win an incredible deal on something at propertyroom.com, McClinton said, you must pay for the shipping to your home.
McClinton said 500 of the city and county's old phones, which were replaced this winter with a new phone system, were given to the website for auctions, along with jewelry, tools, used police equipment and even a couple of kegs that were confiscated at parties but never claimed.
Twice a year the department will still hold their bicycle and automobile auctions at the Pitkin County Landfill. Their next one is scheduled for June 11 - bicycles at 9 a.m. and automobiles at 10 a.m.
Money from police auctions goes to the police fund, which purchases things that the department typically hasn't budgeted for, like additional training or surveillance equipment.
In research of the site, McClinton said that the Fort Collins Police Department claims it has made $2,000 more than usual on the online auctions. It's probably because the website reaches a global audience of savvy shoppers, she said.
And while locals may miss seeing what the Aspen Police Department specifically collects throughout the year, propertyroom.com surfers will be happy to know that an eclectic assortment of things can be bought at the website. On Friday the site was auctioning off shopping carts, a push cart hot dog stand, medical exam tables and two parking meters.
Naomi Havlen's e-mail address is nhavlen@aspentimes.com
