For sale by the Canadian government: Pikachu onesies, Harry Potter robes, diamond rings

nationalpost.com
May 15, 2016
By Marie-Danielle Smith

What do the Canadian government, Star Wars and men’s jeans have in common?

No - not Justin Trudeau. (But good guess.)

The answer is the federal bureaucracy’s answer to eBay, a little-known government website that will sell just about anything to the highest bidder.

If Darth Vader trading cards or denim aren’t for you, never fear. There are gems to make anyone’s boat float - whether that’s a set of snare drums or a used copy of Grand Theft Auto. (No judgment.)

Actual gems, too, including loose diamonds and engagement rings.

According to its handy “about us” page, GCSurplus “sells moveable assets like working electronics, office equipment, vehicles as well as moveable capital assets like ships and planes for over 100 federal departments and agencies.”

It might sound like GCSurplus’s 10 offices and eight warehouses are little more than bunkers for old desks and miscellaneous sedans.

Though they do house extensive selections of office chairs, these oddity repositories have so much more to give.

That’s mainly due to “seized property” forfeited to the Crown during police investigations or court proceedings. According to Public Services and Procurement Canada, seized property can be “any asset acquired as proceeds of crime, or any object used to commit a crime.”

After a 30-day appeal period after courts declare items “forfeited,” they’re ready for “disposal,” or, as GCSurplus likes to put it, auction! They collected more than $3.2 million this way in 2011.

Here are some of the oddest items that were up for grabs in recent months.

Pikachu adult onesie pyjamas
Five pairs, and someone caught ’em all for $49.

Bits and pieces of mannequins
Some things to know about this 424 lbs. worth of mannequins: they’re for “training,” the body type is “non-inflatable” and a “moveable head / articulated jaw” is not included.

Also, in November, someone paid $111 for “showcase mannequin scrap,” or sets of plastic legs upon which the government appears to have Photoshopped pairs of shorts.

Harry Potter robes and gear
For those eager to suit up like the boy who lived, recent offerings included a Gryfffindor robe (large); a Ravenclaw robe (medium); a Hufflepuff robe (extra small); a wand; ties; and patches. Nothing from Slytherin, though.

There was no minimum bid on this lot of three motivational prints, featuring “The Art of Stretegy,” “Service,” and “Achievement,” though they went for $75. These weren’t forfeited items. Somewhere in Ottawa, a government office purposely decided to get rid of them - at any cost.

Approximately 9,888 pairs of men’s jeans
The made-in-Pakistan jeans - 412 boxes of them, with 24 pairs in each box - were available for pickup in Montreal, Que. this February. Part of one of the tags reads: “We have glorified these Fabrics by crafting them the most Elegant and Comfortable Jeans.”

Star Wars trading cards
Ten different lots of Star Wars trading cards were up for bid a few months ago. The government made more than $600 from those sales, so they must have been pretty sweet. No word on whether the prime minister put in any bids.

Camouflage, skeleton and tuxedo morph suits
In the first five months of this year, GCSurplus has sold 19 sets of five or six pairs each from North York, Ont. We may never know how these came into government hands, but let’s hope the crime involved a morph suit-wearing perpetrator.

So, you’re welcome, citizens. Next time you’re looking for a choice novelty item with dubious origins, you know where to look.