The Truth About Government Sales and Auctions

The Truth About Government Sales and Auctions

By Brett McCarron

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Classified and display ads of this type were popular in automotive and handyman magazines of the 60's and 70's. They promised to provide information about how you, too, could purchase items at government auctions for pennies on the dollar. More modern ads purport to sell information on how to buy homes, cars, etc. seized in drug raids for unheard-of bargain prices.

If the information was not free, then it was offered for the price of postage, or perhaps a $1 fee. What the bargain hunter received back in the mail was not the secret information itself, but a simple flyer inviting the prospective buyer to send for a complete course or manual on the subject.

The customer (i.e., sucker) would continue to receive three of four more mailings, perhaps a week or two apart, to keep him "on the string" (i.e., he was hooked already, the next step being to reel him in).

The publisher of course had a reasonable explanation for charging a $29.95 fee for the complete information. It is to keep the "valuable information out of the hands of the general public." Printing a price on something that is of little or no value does not automatically make it worth more. Of course you know that -- and I know that -- but it seems to work for mail order reports like this. The sucker thinks he's getting privileged information that will allow him to buy a $50 Jeep, so since he's already saving so much money, what's an extra $29.95?