Reuteman: Web auction isn't kidding when it offers steal of a deal

Published December 17, 2005 at midnight

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In shoppers' lingo, a great bargain is often known figuratively as a "steal." Now, thanks to the wonders of the Internet, you can make it literally true.

PropertyRoom.com puts police auctions online. Recovered stolen property that once filled police evidence rooms is now trucked away, appraised and auctioned off to bidders worldwide. The stereos, guitars, laptops, jewelry, bicycles and skis that were burglarized from Colorado homes and never reclaimed are now available to you at a fraction of their original value.

Sound like a good business plan? More than 550 police departments across the country think so. Colorado clients include cop shops in Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, Aspen, Loveland, Pueblo, Montrose, Cherry Hills, Dillon and more.

"We're currently in negotiations with 3,000 more police departments to become clients," said Tom Lane, CEO and founder. "But since there are 18,000 U.S. law enforcement agencies, we have plenty of room to grow."

Lane is a former Long Island cop- turned-investment-adviser who founded the company in 1999 after watching then-fledgling start-ups such as eBay and Amazon blossom into blockbuster money-makers. At the top of his company is a mix of former police officers and tech execs. Listed as a senior adviser is Darryl Gates, the infamous and longtime LAPD chief.

"Our best references are police departments," Lane said. "We understand the problem, and we created a company that's a solution to the problem. At a police auction, maybe 20 people show. Last month, we had 17 million page views, 2.5 million unique visitors."

I saw a reference to the company a few weeks ago in a magazine article. I contacted them to see if there was a Colorado connection that would allow me to write about a business plan I found brilliant. The Web site auction is run much like eBay, and the product mix is almost as eclectic. Its only limits, it seems, are those of the criminal mind, and the inventory, unfortunately, is endless.

"One of our assistant chiefs came across an article about PropertyRoom.com in a police magazine," said Michele McClinton, customer service officer with Aspen P.D. "He told me to check it out. They sent me a list of references. I called Fort Collins, and they raved about it. And Dillon did.

"I liked the fact that someone was gonna do it all for me, get it out of my hair," said McClinton, who handles lost-and- found as well as the evidence locker. "I have enough to do with active cases."

The company runs trucks out of four warehouses in New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, Fla., and Seattle. Colorado's clients works with the L.A. warehouse.

"When our evidence room is full of stuff we've released for auction, we call them and they send a truck out," McClinton said. "Sometimes they piggyback us with other departments. They say they're gonna be in the area, do we have anything for them. We get half of everything they sell for under $1,000 and 75 percent of anything over $1,000.

"We made $3,000 with our first roomful," she said. Last year, before becoming a PropertyRoom client, the department made $1,400 total.

"I'm amazed how much more money they make than a normal auction," McClinton said. "We're ahead of the game."

Aspen used to hold an annual stolen- property auction each spring in the library plaza.

"It was a tedious man-hour thing," McClinton said. "We'd have to tag everything and hope it didn't rain. We'd have jewelry, skis, watches, wedding bands with lots of jewels. Fur boas, leather jackets. People would bid so low. It was a crapshoot, since we didn't get anything appraised.

"Now PropertyRoom appraises everything at their end, and we get more for it. The locals miss the auction, though. They liked getting ski hats or Sorel boots or gloves for a quarter or 15 cents."

At the high end, Lane said someone bid $18,000 on a 125-year-old Persian carpet, and the same amount on a custom Harley. "We had a Rolex appraised at $45,000, and the opening bid was $20,000."

Each item is bar-coded and listed on a manifest, Lane added. "Each client has a password and can sign into a secure site 365 days a year to check on their items. There's a great degree of transparency to our system. They're using technology they've never used before."

Terry Lauhon, evidence and impound unit supervisor for the Colorado Springs Police Department, says his department has made $25,000 on three shipments since August. "What I like is how meticulous they are. They research everything to get top dollar. We're very happy with them, since we don't have to do a thing."

You read a lot about efficiencies that the Internet brings, and this is a basic, prime example. In this case, crime does pay.

Business editor Rob Reuteman can be reached at 303-892-5177 or reutemanr@RockyMountainNews.com.

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