Tweet
The shops may be full of cut price items right now, but even these biggest-ever sales must end some time. And when they do, an online auction site might be a good alternative to a full-price replacement for your clapped out washing machine or fridge.
Think online auction and you probably think eBay, but there are other outlets worth exploring for second-hand goods – with the added benefit that you will be dealing with a reputable professional seller with a shopfront or name you recognise.
Both Currys and Comet offer the opportunity to bid online for white goods, TVs and appliances, usually selling them for less than you would find in store. So what's the catch? Many of the goods have been returned due to cosmetic defects including scratches and dents, but in a lot of cases they are simply end of lines or cancelled orders that are otherwise in perfectly good condition. Such items are often still in their original packaging and are added on to the auction list rather than returned to the showroom.
At the time of writing, Comet's auction website featured a Hotpoint washing machine with a store price of £299.99 that sold for £180, while a Miele fridge-freezer that normally sells for £1,000 was going for £325. Both, however, had multiple dents and scratches. Items on the Currys auction site included a £469 Polaroid 32-inch LCD TV without remote or instructions for £220, and a £189 Matsui dishwasher for £85.
After the auction begins there is a minimum that must be bid for an item to sell, which generally ranges from £5 to £25 depending on the retailer and product involved. Unlike Comet, items on the Currys site have reserve prices, which must be met for a sale to take place.
According to both retailers, nothing ever goes on their sites unless it is in full working order, and the condition of the goods, including any defects, are clearly stated. "The products available on the auction site are described as 'non pristine'," says a spokesperson for DSG, owner of Currys. "However, customers can be assured that all products offered for auction have been tested by a team of professional engineers to ensure they are in full working order." In addition, both DSG and Comet give all items a full 12-month repair (but not exchange) warranty.
Deals that are a steal
If Currys and Comet don't make you feel safe about bidding online, you could bid in a police auction. Every day, thousands of expensive bikes apparently ride off without their owners. They are usually taken by small-time teenage thieves who try to sell them for £50 to strangers at their local market. When they are caught by police the bikes often end up in an auction alongside other stolen goods or lost and found items for which the owner cannot be traced. The money raised usually goes to charity. Different forces go about this in different ways; many sell on the web, including through specialist site Bumblebee Auctions.
In most cases the buyer has to collect the item from a storage facility – the inconvenience (and lack of public awareness) is no doubt why many of the bikes are sold for £1 compared to a retail price in the hundreds. Similarly, expensive watches go for around £20.
Some forces use traditional auction houses to dispose of goods. The Metropolitan Police uses Frank G Bowen in Mile End, east London, and sales take place every other Thursday. At one recent auction there were 700 lots on offer, about a third of them bikes. A few had missing seats or such, but most were in reasonable, if dirty, condition. Sale prices ranged from £20 to £200 (including £25 for an old Trek 700 mountain bike, or £180 for a newer Marin) and were usually around half the cost of a similar new model – not bad considering any damage was mostly cosmetic. The other lots, often coming from business bankruptcies, ranged from crates of alcopops and terrible art to boxes of La Senza knickers. There were also small consumer items such as cameras.
While most buyers were young private individuals looking for a bargain, a lot were professional traders planning to clean up the bikes and sell them on eBay, which just goes to show that rather than buying on the most popular auctions sites you can save money, time and potential disappointment by buying a bike at a real-life auction yourself.
If you are looking for a souped-up Mercedes with tinted windows and only a couple of bullet holes spoiling the paintwork, a police car auction is also a good bet. Your local force will tell you how it disposes of goods it has impounded. The Met, for instance, uses auction houses including British Car Auctions, Manheim Auctions and the West Oxfordshire Motor Auction.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
More...
