State Comptroller William Donald Schaefer announced on Thursday that his Unclaimed Property Unit?s eBay auction program has generated $13,789.20 in 72 bids, just one month since the initiative began.
The eBay program is generating 91 percent more money for owners of unclaimed property than the annual live auction program that was last held Feb. 6.
The comptroller?s office is tasked each year with connecting people to money or property that has gone unclaimed. Items vary from jewelry to coins and other collectibles recovered from abandoned safe-deposit boxes. EBay has a customer base of more than 100 million members around the globe to potentially bid on the unclaimed items. The top item sold thus far has been a $10 gold coin from 1843 that sold for $1,104.
“Many of the items now selling on eBay were passed over during other live auctions.” Schaefer said in a statement. “And we aren?t limited to a single annual event. We now have an ongoing process in place that maximizes results while keeping costs down.”
