When stolen goods are recovered from the criminals when the arrest takes place and then no owner comes along and claims the property, what becomes of that property?

Police together with PropertyRoom.com auction the goods off to bargain hunters.

The California-based Web site receives items from the property rooms of 1,600 law-enforcement agencies in the U.S. and sells them online to the general public.

Proceeds are split between the police departments and the Web site.

If the owner of the item sees their property for sale on the website, they may claim it from Property Room and they will be returned with the items provided they show proof of ownership.

PropertyRoom.com is set up as a kind of eBay for police auctions. Items are sold in categories including jewelry, fine art, tools, bicycles, watches and everything else. The site was founded by former police officers, including Daryl Gates, former chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, according to its Web site.

The site was founded by a former Long Island detective, Tom Lane, in 2001 with 28 police departments on board. Now, he's up to 1,800, ABC reported.

California Ebay