States Profit From Reselling Items Confiscated At Airports

[AvesPKS]

AP

The AP (1/29) reports, "Some airports destroy the nail clippers, scissors, screwdrivers, hammers and other potentially dangerous items confiscated every day by airport security screeners. Other states are on the cutting edge of selling pocket knives and pool cues for cash. 'This stuff brings a pretty good price on eBay,' said Rob Deignan, a spokesman for California's General Services Department. Heightened security at the nation's airports after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks has sparked a little-known but burgeoning economy in which tons of items deemed unsafe for airline travel are resold through online auctions. Through September, California used eBay to unload 13,000 pocket knives, 1,400 corkscrews and about 1,200 pounds of hammers, saws, chisels and other tools collected by federal screeners at airports in Los Angeles, Sacramento, Oakland, Fresno, San Jose and Orange County. California's 337 online auctions, which include bulk sales of up to 100 pocket knives at a time, generated $62,000 for its self-funded surplus program." The AP continues, "The TSA, which screens passengers and luggage at 429 airports nationwide, takes legal possession of the property when a passenger surrenders it at a checkpoint rather than take it back to a car or hand it to someone who's not traveling. The TSA then offers the items collected by screeners to any state government willing to take them off their hands. Not all of the items collected are sold online. Washington state, which has picked up 11,000 pounds of prohibited items from Washington's airports in the past nine months, has donated much of it to other entities. 'The fingernail clippers and fingernail files go to the homeless shelters, and then we donate the Swiss Army knives to the Boy Scouts,' said Doug Coleman, manager of Washington State Surplus Programs. 'We let the fire departments and the police officers go through the tools. We sell a pair of scissors or a pocket knife for 25 cents.'"

 

[tnitsuj]

I see no problem in this. People know they aren't supposed to bring that stuff.

 

[maluckey]

They should go one step further and fine the violator, then sell the confiscated item/s. Hitting someone in their pocketbook will help them remember the next time.

 

[Genesys]

lol, maluckey brings up a good point.

besides, its now the states possession, they can do whatever they want with it. and it costs them monoey to hold onto it, then id say go ahead and sell get rid of it.

 

[chowderhead]

don't people have the right/option to mail these items to themselves or pick up the items back on the return trip? It may be a hassle but so is not have a nail clipper when you need one.