State Treasurer Announces Unclaimed Property Auction on EBay

Submitted by Massachusetts Treasurer Steven Grossman's office.

Treasurer Steven Grossman today announced that his office will be displaying select items from its Unclaimed Property Division that will soon go up for bid on EBay.com. The items will first be displayed at the State House in Boston tomorrow, Wednesday, Oct. 26 and will subsequently be shown in Springfield on Thursday and in Worcester on Friday, all leading up to the online auction starting on Saturday, Oct. 29.

"Our first objective is to reunite people with their rightfully owned property, and the Treasury has initiated a number of innovative programs this year to better achieve that goal,” said Grossman. “In cases where items have gone unclaimed for an extended period of time, we owe it to taxpayers to be as creative and entrepreneurial as possible when liquidating our inventory. The EBay auction has been a proven success in reaching the most bidders possible and maximizing revenue.”

The traveling showcase, which represents only a portion of the lots up for bid, will include items such as gold, silver, jewelry, collectible currency, and high-end wristwatches. The vast majority of items come from abandoned safe deposit boxes with contents that have gone unclaimed for a period of at least nine years. After a lengthy period of going unclaimed, the state is legally permitted to liquidate these items at auction. 

The times and locations for the display of these select items are as follows:

• Wednesday, Oct. 26 from noon to 5:00 p.m. – Nurses Hall, Massachusetts State House, Boston, MA.

• Thursday, Oct. 27 from noon to 5:00 p.m. – State Office Building, 436 Dwight Street, Springfield, MA.

• Friday, Oct. 28 from noon to 5:00 p.m. - Massachusetts State Lottery offices, 151 West Boylston Drive, Worcester, MA.

This is the seventh time that the Commonwealth has used EBay to liquidate its unclaimed tangible property holdings.  Prior to that, the Treasury held a live auction for such items, a process that was far less profitable because of its limited reach to potential bidders.  Last year’s EBay auction raised nearly $480,000 for the state’s General Fund through the sale of 2,418 separate bid lots, nearly three times the amount of money generated from comparable live auctions of the past.

On Saturday, Oct. 29, 100 lots will be posted on EBay for bid, followed by a gradual release of additional items over the course of a month. In all, the Treasury expects to put approximately 1,000 lots out to bid.  The items will be able to be viewed by using the EBay seller ID “state.treasurer.grossman.”

Grossman said that the Treasury needs to regularly liquidate older portions of its tangible property holdings due to storage constraints and logistical needs. He noted that if an individual or their heirs later prove that a piece of sold property belonged to them, they will be fully compensated the sale price of the item. 

The Treasury also maintains a comprehensive list of approximately $2 billion in unclaimed monetary property, such as stock, insurance payments, and bank accounts.  Individuals can search to see if they own such property at www.findmassmoney.com or by calling (888)344-MASS.