USPS Auctions (All You Need to Know)

Your definitive guide to navigating the world of USPS auctions. Discover the ins and outs of bidding, uncovering hidden treasures, and making the most of post office lost and undelivered item sales.

USPS is often called US mail, post office, or postal service. Its primary function is processing and delivering mail within and outside the US borders. With over 630,000 employees, the company prides itself on being one of the largest employers and providing a world-class customer experience to its clients.

The company has over 200 million customers processing millions of mails and packages daily. However, with the many parcels the company handles, not all are successfully delivered or collected by the intended persons. Some undelivered parcels get lost, while others go unclaimed for over 90 days forcing the company to auction them.

These auctions are held in public, and anyone of sound mind and above 18 years can participate. If you are looking to buy some mystery items, USPS auctions may be worth checking out. Here is all you need to know about USPS auctions.

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Where Do USPS Auctions Take Place?

USPS auctions take place through the GovDeals.com website. This site acts as a government repository for excess properties from government agencies across the USA. Thus, if you are interested in bidding for government excesses, GovtDeals, com is your one-stop shop.

Products in the auction are categorized into different types to make your bidding process easy. If you are focused on USPS items, you can filter your search to focus on the same. Besides, you can also search by location to make it easier for you to access the auctions on time.

Check out the website for the contact information of the auctioning agency representative for any clarifications. About the prices? You will surely get good deals on different items, including office and home furniture, postcards, and other packages, at a fraction of the market price.

But note that USPS only auctions some unclaimed items for over 90 days. The items must be worth $25 and above. In rare cases, USPS might return lost mail to the owner if they prove ownership.

How Do USPS Auctions Work?

USPS will try tracing the ownership of the package before it releases it to the auction center. The Arrival of the Package at the Auction Center. All parcels sent to the USPS mailing center with no known label are not dispatched because there is no intended recipient address. The mail clerk will open the parcel in search of the address of the recipient or sender.

If the clerk fails to trace the contact details of the recipient or sender of the mail, the parcel is sent to USPS Mail Recovery Center (MRC) in Atlanta, Georgia. The staff at the MRC will use other means, such as browsing social media sites to search for the rightful owner so that they can return the parcel to them.

If they fail to trace the rightful owner or recipient of the package, the parcel will be legible for auction. When the owner is traced and fails to collect their items after 90 days, the same shall qualify for an auction. However, for the mail to be on auction, it must be worth $25 or higher.

If it's below the quoted value, the parcel is discarded. The USPS staff at MRC will go ahead and notify the owner when their items are listed for auction. Perhaps they may redeem them! If they fail, ownership of the property changes to the person who will purchase them at the auction.

If you wish to stop your sent mail from going into the auction, report missing parcels as soon as you feel your mail is lost or stolen. Thus, you might recover your items before the auction!

How to Bid on USPS Auction?

Any public member interested in bidding and purchasing from USPS is encouraged to visit GovDeals.com. It is a government-contracted site for auctioning eligible items from government agencies, including USPS. The items are categorized as per the type and location of the items. To start bidding;

Create an account with GovDeals.com.
Go through the listed items and bid on what interests you.
If your bid is accepted and it’s below $5,000, you can pay via Paypal or any major credit card.

For successful bids above $5,000, payment is via a wire transfer. The transfer must be within three days of the auction's end date. Note:

The shipping price is not included in the bidding price (purchase price). Remember to do a separate budget for your winnings!
All sales done on the auction are final. You cannot return goods bought from a USPS auction. Therefore, be sure of what you need before committing yourself to buy!

You can land amazing deals on USPS auctions with patience and luck.

Amazon Lost Package Auction

Amazon will store packages for their customers for a maximum of 90 days. When the storage window expires, the packages become unclaimed, and Amazon will refund the clients. To cover the storage and reimbursement costs, Amazon auctions the unclaimed package to the highest bidder. Unlike regular auctions, Amazon will auction the packages in bulk on different auction sites, including GovDeals or Liquidation.com.

Conclusion

USPS is responsible for handling parcels across the US and outside its borders. However, if there is unclaimed mail or some are undelivered, the company auctions them after 90 days. All USPS unclaimed and lost parcels worth over $25 are auctioned publicly through GovDeals.com. To bid on GovDeals.com, sign up today and search for a range of packages auctioned by USPS.