A government auction is a good place to buy quality or unusual merchandise at a bargain. Government auctions take place continually, both online and in different parts of the country. Information on all government auctions can be found at Firtgov.gov. This is billed as being the official United States government portal. It contains information on all federal, state and local government auctions. What do governments have to sell at auction? They sell surplus goods and seized and forfeited property at auction. Surplus goods are goods that the government bought and no longer needs. This can include anything from office furniture and office equipment to telemetry guidance systems and Coast Guard boats. Forfeited property can consist of houses that had a federally guaranteed mortgage that the owner defaulted on. When the mortgage is foreclosed on, the house is sold at auction. Seized property is property that criminals owned and purchased with money earned from the commission of crime. This can include houses, boats, cards, planes, artwork, jewelry, various personal belongings, etc. When the government seizes this property, it sells it at auction to the highest bidder.

The problem with government auctions is that there is not just one big auction. Each agency has its own auction either on its own or in conjunction with other agencies. For example, the U.S. Air Force runs its own auctions. The U.S. Marshals Service runs the auctions for itself and the Department of Justice, the FBI, the DEA, the INS and the ATF. This means that any merchandise seized by any of these agencies is auctioned through the U.S. Marshals Service. The U.S. Treasury handles auctions for itself and the IRS. Border Patrol and Customs handle their own auctions, and so on. What makes it even more difficult is that they all have their own quirks and rules that the buyer has to be aware of. For example, houses sold at the IRS auctions can be redeemed by the original owner within a specified period of time. The owner has to pay the auction price plus the interest and the buyer can't do anything about it. That is why it is important to know the rules that the auction functions under.

The best thing to do is to look at the different auction at Firstgov.gov. The rules and procedures are given for each of the online and in-person auctions with instructions on where merchandise can be viewed prior to the auction.