System and method for auctioning goods seized or recovered by local, county, state, or federal law enforcement agencies

A service provider enters into a contractual relationship with a law enforcement agency to be their exclusive agent for auctioning seized property over the Internet. The service provider establishes a secure area for receiving, processing, and handling the seized property from the law enforcement agency. Seized items are received in the secure area, photographed, inventoried, and entered into the service provider inventory database. Appraisers evaluate each seized item, set a price for each seized item, prepare each seized item for posting, and post each seized item for auction on an Internet auction web site. The seized items are then auctioned off on the Internet web site. The winning bids are processed and payment collected. Sold items are then staged for shipping, removed from the inventory database, and then shipped to each winning bidder.