WI selling unclaimed goodies on eBay
What to do when opening unclaimed safety deposit boxes reveals expensive property, such as a diamond bracelet? In Wisconsin, the current procedure is to auction off all unclaimed property at live auctions, or sell them on the state's surplus property Web site, but all that is soon going to change.
In an effort to get a wider audience, unclaimed property having any value is going to be auctioned off on eBay starting April 17, , reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Some of the valuable unclaimed items include a Knights Templar ring appraised at $15,000; a diamond "ballerina" ring appraised at $11,795; an antique Bible; a collection of sports trading cards, including one autographed by Karl Malone; and Spiderman and Wolverine comic books.
Wisconsin law says the state may hold on to unclaimed items for only three years while it looks for the rightful owners. After three years it must sell the items, said state Treasurer Dawn Marie Sass.
"Hopefully, we'll be able to get the minimums, and maybe we'll get what they're actually worth," Sass said.
The state tries to locate the owners by putting ads in newspapers and publishing the information on their website.