Local News

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Have you ever wondered what happens to all that stolen property police recover from criminals? Expensive watches, GPS systems, laptops.

Where does it go after the police no longer need it for evidence?

Much of it ends up on a website called Propertyroom.com, on sale to the highest bidder.

There are electric guitars that started at a dollar and end up at $500.

Propertyroom.com sells hundreds of bicycles a year. The average price for a bike is about $30 or $40.

You'll find everything from cameras to diamond rings. You can even buy a car on Propertyroom.com.

How about a Crown Victoria police car starting at $50.  It will probably sell for about $1,500, but wait a minute. If it was stolen property, why doesn't it go back to its rightful owner?

Ex-New York Police Officer and Propertyroom.com founder Tom Lane says 80 percent of stolen items do make it back - but not everything.

"Maybe the police didn't catch the guy soon enough," explained Lane. "You file insurance, the property is no longer yours. The insurance company is not going to come down and pick up a TV. They built that into rates they charge the consumer.

"The TV now has to be auctioned off because the police cannot legally give it back to you."

Instead of holding local auctions, hundreds of police stations around the country let Propertyroom.com do the work for them.  Lane says stolen items are picked up and taken to Propertyroom.com warehouses across the country, waiting their turn to show up on auction at Propertyroom.com.

That's how Mike Kershner of Pittsburgh got these iPods, GPS systems, and currencies from all over the world. He's a police officer himself and admits he's addicted to Propertyroom.com.

"In the past year and a half, I've spent about $14,000 and bought about 60 items," said Kershner. "If I have any issues, I immediately contact them and they resolve them."

A word of warning here - not all the products on this website are from police evidence rooms. Propertyroom.com allows some other companies to post their items too.

That's where many of the watches come from.

Scroll down to the end of the description and chances are you'll see a company called Always at Market, selling all kinds of impressive looking watches with even more impressive sounding names.

I bid a Jeanneret watch and did my homework. I clicked onto the Jeanneret website.

I found the watch with a compare at $1,350.  My winning bid is just $45 plus $11 shipping and handling. What a deal! Or is it?

We take our Jeanneret watch to watch expert Debbie DeChicchis at "The Coin Exchange" on Sixth Street in Pittsburgh to find out what kind of a deal I got.

"This is stainless steel, it has a mother of pearl face on it," said DeChicchis.

Since the watch isn't usually sold at retail stores, DeChicchis says it's value is what you can get in the secondhand or auction market.
Most of the watches like mine are selling for $30 or $40.

"It's not a better timepiece. It's not a status watch," said DeChicchis. "To be honest, Yvonne I wouldn't buy this off of you. I would pass. It's a nice fashion watch or dress watch."

Truly it's worth about $50. I paid $56. DeChiccis says I got a great deal.
Did I get cheated? No. Did I get misled? Very much so.

It might feel great to think you bought a $1,359 watch for just $56, but it's just not true.

So beware. Be sure to check to make sure you know where the merchandise you are bidding on came from and what it's really worth.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

---