Luxury products auctioned by the Finance department: cheaper, but with a special background
A public auction was staged by the federal Finance department to sell items with a somewhat 'different' background: items that were seized from criminals, items from people who died without any heirs, or things that were left behind at Bpost.
The luxury products, like expensive shoes, jackets, watches or posh bags are still relatively expensive, but cheaper than in the shop. Stéphanie Heuse, who purchased a couple of new shoes for 320 euros, says "you can count on a discount of 40 or 50 percent compared to the original price, but you need to add 20 percent as extra cost."
The ministry guarantees people that the items are not fake. "We cooperate with specialists and representatives of the original brands for this", says Xavier Delbart of the FOD Financiën. While there is a label to guarantee this, it is not indicated where the products exactly come from. The idea that the item may have belonged to a criminal deters some potential buyers, like Louis Polet: "I didn't know this before I came. The idea is not so pleasant to me, I don't know whether I am still interested."
The auction generated between 80,000 and 120,000 euros over the past years.