If you’re in the market for a bunch of old police cars, desk furniture or confiscated knives, look no further than Michigan’s new surplus auction website.
The Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget (DTMB) launched the new online auction this week, including confiscated property and other state surplus stuff. The confiscated property comes from the Department of Natural Resources, Michigan State Police, and the federal Transportation Security Administration.
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I rummaged through the offerings (things that were up for auction as of Oct. 18, 2023, sorry if you read this later and miss out!) and found some real gems. There are so many old police cars listed, you could buy them all and start your own police department. (Don’t do that).
Here are some of my favorite finds on the Michigan auction site.
Boxes of knives and tools confiscated by the TSA
This gem of a posting offers five 50 pound boxes of “miscellaneous knives and tools” and the pictures show just that! How many knives could one person need?
Perhaps the craziest thing about this posting is the current bid price, as of this writing, which is at $1,011. But I guess if you bought this many knives on Amazon or something, it’d be way more, so perhaps this is a bargain. It’s A LOT of pocket knives and switches.
There’s no info on what tools are included. I see a few corkscrews. Maybe a flashlight or a stapler. But it’s mostly just knives.
As a reminder, you cannot carry any sort of knife onto a plane through a carry on bag -- you can bring some knives through checked luggage. The final decision rests with the TSA officer on whether an item is allowed through the checkpoint, TSA notes.
10 maroon rolling chairs with arms
If you’re trying to furnish an office right now, this is a steal. This set of used office chairs that probably, definitely, don’t smell bad, are currently up with a bid for just $25!
All jokes aside about smelly office chairs, the site lists these bad boys as “like new but used” so take that for what it’s worth. They do look pretty clean.
You can do a lot with this set of chairs. You can have a great game of musical chairs. Or maybe you can just play bumper chairs with your office mates. The possibilities are endless -- especially at the low, low price of $25.
$1,333.89 Apple Gift Card
Okay, this is a fun one.
For some reason, the state is in possession of this brand new Apple Gift Card that was in a new package. They confirmed the balance of $1,333.89.
It’s funny because the current bid listed is at $860, but the minimum bid listed is $870. Either way, this could be a steal if you can get it below the value.
The gift card is good any Apple product, so you could hypothetically use it to buy a new phone or something. It can’t be traded in for cash.
There doesn’t appear to be any information on why the state has this, or where it came from. It’s weird.
Purple sofa, love seat, 3-chair set
Who doesn’t need a set of purple couches and chairs?
This lovely furniture posting is currently set at a minimum bid of $110, and is listed in “used condition and sold as is.” No word on where it was used or where it came from!
You could totally remodel your living room with these treasures. You don’t even sit in that room, and you know it! Just toss out your old green chairs and replace them with purple ones.