Locating government surplus auctions has never been easier with the number of government seizures on the rise. Every day thousands of items such as cars, boats, real estate, and other personal property are seized by the government and resold to all kinds of buyers. These buyers can range anywhere from used car merchants to everyday people like you and me.

So how do you find government auctions? It's very simple actually. There are dozens (if not hundreds) of sites on the internet today that claim to have databases of 4,000+ auction locations, 10,000+ cars, boats, and other property available to bid on, and a whole bunch of other incentives that they use to get people to join their site.

So how reliable are these sites? Surprisingly, they can be extremely helpful. Certain sites develop their database over several years to make sure that they are providing the most up-to-date and relevant information for your search. Many of these sites will provide a preliminary search option on their home page so that visitors can do some basic research. Once the preliminary search is completed, sites will often require visitors to become a member in order to see specific federal government auction contact information.

Once becoming a member, most sites will give you instant and unlimited access to their entire database. This will allow members to search for a multitude of different items such as cars, boats, real estate, and other personal property.

It is very important to note, however, that many of these "Government Auction Sites" don't actually allow you to participate in an auction through their site. These kinds of sites simply act as a "yellow pages" for locating auctions nationwide.

There are some sites that do allow you to participate in live, streaming auctions though. These kinds of sites will often provide a "basic membership" and a "full membership". What that usually means is users who have the "basic membership" can only bid on non-government seized items. These are typically smaller items such as jewelry, sports memorabilia, furniture, and other small personal property items. Upgrading to the "full membership" will often allow users to bid on all items, including government seized property.

Now, to answer the question that I'm sure all of you are wondering, "How much is it going to cost me to join one of these sites?" It's the same question that everybody, rightfully so, asks whenever government auction sites are brought up. And the answer to the question, as you might expect, varies from site to site. Some sites will charge a one time fee and others will require a monthly membership fee. What's important to know though, is that all of these sites offer virtually the same thing. So take advantage of any site that only charges a one time fee. You make your small, one-time payment and you now have access to government property auctions for as long as the site stays in business.

It boils down to one universal, very simple truth....

Do your homework. Don't just google "government auction sites" and join the first one that you see. Read reviews and blogs, join forums, and ask around. Just make sure that you are seeking advice from a qualified source. There's a lot of junk out there and you don't want to end up spending money on something that isn't going to be the best possible "bang for your buck".