You Can Buy Confiscated Items From The TSA - Here's How

By: Brlley Kenney

November 07, 2025

Ebay, Facebook Marketplace, and ThredUp are all places to find decent used goods. Even Amazon has a bulk liquidations shop where you can buy pallets of overstock or returned items. They're probably some of the first places you would go, but there's another site you might want to check out called GovDeals that hosts online auctions for various goods. Here's the kicker. You can buy items that were confiscated by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Yes, the same TSA that checks people's bags at security checkpoints before they fly.

Now, technically, the TSA doesn't confiscate anything, but it does end up with abandoned items that are not allowed through security.  For example, there are quite a few electronics the TSA bans from carry-on bags and if you don't have another place to pack them, they have to be surrendered. Not everything on GovDeals comes from the airport, however. The goods are sourced from several government entities, spanning everything from construction and agricultural equipment to confiscated gear and real estate. According to the site FAQs, the seller-buyer relationship is a lot like what you'd find on eBay, with GovDeals facilitating the transaction, while the seller sets the terms.