eBay to sell unclaimed safety deposit box items

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The state Treasurer's Office in Boston will sell the goods of unclaimed safety deposit boxes through eBay. Among the unclaimed items are a colonial mug and a silver teapot from the 1800s. Officials expect to make several hundred thousand dollars.

Original source:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/11/13/states_abandoned_property_available_in_online_auctions/

Summary:

• The state Treasurer's Office, after years of using traditional auctions to dispose of the items, will peddle the goods -- essentially tax free -- through online auctioneer eBay.
• "eBay allows us to reach more potential bidders and ultimately bring in more money for the state," said Alison Mitchell, spokeswoman for Treasurer Timothy Cahill.
• Proceeds go into the state's general fund.
• Officials hope to net "several hundred-thousand" dollars, Mitchell said.
• Two big ticket items, whose appraised value was undetermined as of Sunday, are the tankard -- or mug -- made by colonial silversmith Andrew Tyler and salvaged from a burning home near Bunker Hill, and a silver teapot, circa 1800.
• The Treasury tries to locate owners or heirs, and if not found the property is independently appraised and put up for auction.
• Traditional auctions required buyers to pay the state's 5 percent sales tax to complete the transaction, but that's not required online.
• Right now, buyers are expected to pay sales taxes on Internet purchases themselves directly to the state when they pay their income taxes, although states rarely enforce it.
• Mitchell predicts the online auctions will bring in far more than a traditional auction, thus making up for any sales tax loss.
• Traditional East Coast auction houses also charge buyers fees between 15 and 19 percent.
• Sue A. Giffen, owner of Falmouth-based Cape Cod Auction, said traditional live auctions are "more competitive" than Internet auctions.
• "But the fact is an online auction has a wider audience," Giffen said.
• "It's a broader market and it's still competitive," she said.
• Cahill's office is hosting a viewing of the items from noon to 5 p.m.
• Colorado, Texas, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Kentucky similarly use the San Jose, Calif.-based eBay.

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