Seven items will be sold on e-Bay. Unclaimed safe deposit box contents are turned over to the state by banks that are unable to locate the property owners. The Comptroller has published the owners' names in newspapers and on the Internet, but they have not claimed their property. This will be the Comptroller's second online auction. After that successful sale, Comptroller Rylander committed to hold more online auctions as part of her e-Texas effort to conduct more state business via the Internet.
Online auctions allow more people to see and bid on unclaimed property.
If the owners or their heirs ever turn up, they will receive the proceeds of the auction. The Web will also play a role in the July 22 live Unclaimed Property Auction in San Antonio. Bidders will be able to hear the auctioneer in San Antonio, follow the bids on their computer monitors, and submit bids with a click of the mouse. Texas is the first state to simulcast an unclaimed property auction on the Internet.