The Manchester Police Department’s evidence room is packed, from floor to ceiling. Inside you’ll a little bit of everything.
"Collectable swords, I guess people are really into those things. laptops, camera, jewelry , clothing. We've had bags of new clothing that was shoplifted and the store has gone out of business,” said evidence technician Marna Goodyear.
But the police department only holds onto the items for so long.
"When something is turned in, it starts a process. It starts a clock ticking and it also depends on what kind of item it is. if it's evidence it obviously has to wait until it goes to court and the case is adjudicated,” said Goodyear.
Now the police department has a way to cash in on what's left behind.
"We like to say we sell stolen goods on the internet,” said PJ Bellomo, President and CEO of the website propertyroom.com.
"We work with police stations around the us. It’s all legit. We pick up good from PD's that have closed cases and they have evidence they can't return to the rightful owner because they can't find the rightful owner,” said Bellomo.
Merchandise runs the gamut, just about anything, except for guns of course. Anyone can bid on the auctions on the site. You just have to register first. The savings are said to be big, as much as 70% to 80% off of retail prices.
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"We do $1 no reserve auctions and that's 95% of the time. So, we get a Rolex watch $1, that's the opening bid. So the market sets the price. Now a Rolex watch isn't going to go for $1,” said Bellomo.
The site has been making sales since 2001 and in the last year retail outlets have joined in, selling brand new merchandise from unclaimed orders.
Minus a fee to property room, the rest of the money goes back to the city where the merchandise came from.
"It's been awesome. It's been great," said Goodyear.
It’s a useful way to clean house at the police department and make money for the city at the same time.
