Should you buy at Customs Auctions?

Teri Ann Renee Paisley, Gleaner Online Writer

In this cash strapped economy, consumers are hard pressed to find extra funds. In fact, there are many who lament that their paycheque is not adequate enough for their basic needs.
Despite this consumers still battle through to find avenues in which they can save their money. One way they have identified is to purchase items at a Customs auction.

A monthly auction is held by The Jamaica Customs department on imported items that have not been cleared over a 14 day period. This auction usually takes place about four months after the items have been processed. The items in the auction usually consists of assorted clothing, appliances, miscellaneous, school supplies and furniture.
Read more here http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130528/lead/lead3.html

So what are the risks?

The most obvious risk for consumers is that some of the items have been pre-owned or damaged.

In fact, in the description of several items on the Customs Department website, this was made clear as there were notes in brackets such as ‘may not be working’, ‘damaged’ and ‘parts missing’.
So the risk lies in purchasing an item without able to fully establish if it is in good working order.

Of course, the best feature of these auctions is that you will be able to find bargains. Some items such as clothing or shoes may be repaired if damaged for a minimal cost that would still make the purchase a bargain. Some items are in bulk so they might be a bargain instead if they were sold separately.

Consumers must also be wary of impostors at these auctions.

In a press release posted to their website, The Jamaica Customs Agency warns members of the public, ‘against engaging persons who have claimed that they are able to facilitate the purchase of motor vehicles from the quarterly Motor Vehicle Auctions prior to the auction dates.Under NO circumstances should members of the public engage these individuals or make any payments to them as this is an illegal operation that is in direct contravention of customs procedures’. http://www.jacustoms.gov.jm/docs/MotorVehicleScamReleaseMay132013.pdf

Also remember that the owners of the items being auctioned are given preference, so if they show up with the funds to pay the customs duties, shipping and storage charges, they will be allowed to recover them.

So will you be buying anything at the next auction? Let me hear from you!!

Tags: auction, consumer, save