Consumers can shop for this recovered merchandise through PropertyRoom.com, which was started by former police detective Tom Lane in 1999 to help law enforcement agencies deal with recovered goods. So yea, someone lost their precious belongings, which is sad. But, you can give the stuff a new home legitimately.

These days, PropertyRoom teams up with more than 1,100 law enforcement agencies across the country. They pick up and haul the recovered stolen goods to one of their warehouses where the company tests, catalogs, photographsa dn then auctions the goods to the public on-line. Most auctions start at just $1.

"Police departments across the country face the same problem: what to do with merchandise when they can't find the rightful owners," said PJ Bellomo, chief operating officer at PropertyRoom.com. "None of our law enforcement agencies have enough storage space for thie merchandise, but they can't just sell it. Confiscated goods need to go up for public auction. That's where we come in."

Check them out. It's a pretty cool Web site. I was eyeing up the 2.40 ct Diamond Rolex Watch that I still can't afford, even at auction. With six days to go, there were already 69 bids and the highest bid was standing $5,121.99.

All this, of course, makes me wonder if the camera and jewelry some jerkface stole from my car a few years back maybe possibly made its way here. I was on my way home for the holidays and had a bag packed in the trunk of my car. Don't worry. I learned my lesson. Nothing valuable is kept in my car anymore. Thanks jerkface for that wonderful holiday memory! (sigh)