Federal Government Auctions & Foreclosures!

Do you want to buy a home, car, computer, furniture or other goods from the federal government?

We've all heard about the thousands of cars and homes the Federal Government has to sell. But how can you get a deal at these Government Auctions?

The information contained in the following Online Guide to Government Auctions delivers the information you need to participate in the Federal Government's various auction programs!

Your On-Line Guide to Government Auctions & Foreclosures is a Complete Online Information Website Which Includes:

- Complete Instructions on How to Register & Bid on Property & Merchandise

IN ADDITION, GET THE LOCATIONS AND DATES OF PRIVATE AUCTIONS AND WALK AWAY WITH:

* Laptop and Desktop Computers

* Computer Accessories

* Office Supplies

* Computer Software

* Giftwares

* Household Products

* Tapestries and Rugs

* Camping and Sporting Goods Products

* Personal Care Accessories

* Toys and Games

* Audio and Video Accessories

* Telephones, Clocks, Radios

...And Much, Much More

Sunday May 27 5:00 PM ET 

Government E-Sales Outpace Retail

By D. IAN HOPPER, Associated Press Writer 

WASHINGTON (AP) - Want to buy a helicopter? How about a Lamborghini Diablo sports car, a decommissioned Coast Guard cutter or a 4-year-old wild horse? The government may have one to sell you on the Internet.

With sales that exceed those of large Web retailers such as Amazon.com, federal agencies increasingly are using e-commerce to pitch wares, from luxury items seized by law enforcement to military surplus goods to plain old documents.

In all, federal agencies took in $3.6 billion in online sales last year, according to a survey released Sunday by the Pew Internet and American Life Project and Federal Computer Week magazine.

The lion's share - $3.3 billion - came from the Treasury Department sale of bonds and notes. But an additional $300 million involved a wide array of items so eclectic it surprised even the researchers.

``I had no idea that you could get a mustang or burro,'' Pew Internet and American Life Project director Lee Rainie said. The animals are available for auction on the Internet by the Bureau of Land Management.

Mary Mitchell, the General Services Administration official who oversees the government's online activities, said it is too early to identify all the benefits from federal e-commerce. But officials have already noticed an average 30 percent increase in participation in government auctions, she said.

``When you increase the number of eyes looking at it, you're more likely to get fair market value for those products,'' Mitchell said.

Shoppers not only will find some bargains, but they also interact with some obscure government offices if they shop the Web.

For instance, the Minerals Management Service, which manages the nation's oil, natural gas and mineral resources, has used the Web to advertise oil-drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico.

The American Battle Monuments Commission, which controls the design and maintenance of military monuments on foreign soil, lets consumers use the Internet to pay to place flowers at a military grave overseas.

Property is for sale online. GSA's site offered a lightkeeper's house in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., and this month, the agency sold more than 2,000 acres in Las Vegas for over $47 million via the Internet.

The Pew survey identified at least 164 government Web sites that sell products and services directly to the public.

``It's a pretty broad spectrum,'' Rainie said. ``There are some sites that are fully the match of their private sector counterparts, and there are some sites that are pretty elementary.''

Amtrak, the U.S. Mint and the Postal Service offer full-service sites. Others simply put brochures online and take orders by phone or e-mail - as many private companies did about five years ago, when the Web was new.

Congress may act to change that. Legislation introduced this year by Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., would devise standards for federal e-commerce sites.

The government's sales in 2000 dwarfed those of the most popular Web sites. Bookseller Amazon.com reported $2.8 billion in sales, while online auctioneer eBay posted revenues of $431 million.

But government e-retailing is still in its infancy, Rainie said.

``Government agencies are just taking existing things that they already do in the way of selling things or providing them to the public, and moving them online,'' Rainie said.

Some of the flashiest goods for sale have a checkered past. Last summer, the U.S. Marshals Service started online sales of items seized in criminal raids, said Jim Herzog of the Marshals Service's asset forfeiture office.

``The return meets and, most times, exceeds our expectations,'' Herzog said. Many of the cars, houses, jewelry and other high-priced items are sold through Bid4Assets, a private online auction company based in Silver Spring, Md.

``The government's getting a good bargain with us,'' said Bid4Assets vice president David Marchick. The company auctions off obscure scientific equipment for the Energy and Defense Departments, loans from failed banks via the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and used machinery from several other government agencies.

Rulon Gardner, the Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler, paid $56,000 through Bid4Assets for a Dodge Viper sports car that the Marshals Service had seized in a fraud case. Gardner could have
chosen a Lamborghini Diablo or a helicopter from the site.

 ``What you seize is what you get.''

S Department of Treasury--links to many different government auctions--Seized real estate auctions--Seized airplane auctions--Seized boat auctions--Closed seized property auction results--Schedule of up coming seized property sales--IRS property auctions--General merchandise--Personal property--Real estate--Resource list of government auctions