TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Over 300 people attended an auction for unclaimed lost and found items at the Shulin Station in New Taipei City on Wednesday (Feb. 22).
On Sunday (Feb. 19), the Shulin Station on its Facebook page, Transport Shulin, announced there would be an auction of "overdue unclaimed lost goods" at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Among the items listed were seven cameras, 14 handbags, 23 watches, five Amazon kindles, 21 power banks, six badminton rackets, 14 golf clubs, four stainless steel electric kettles, four phones, a blood pressure monitor, a blood sugar monitor, an electric rice cooker, a non-stick frying pan, a Sony PSP, a Giant child's bicycle, and a Nintendo Switch with seven game cards.
The camera brands included Sony, Kodak, Canon, Nikon, and Brinno, while the watches were made by Adidas, Swatch, Apple, Citizen, Daniel Wellington, EYKI, Casio, Calvin Klein, Alba, Seiko, and Coach. Chanel and Puma were among the handbag brands mentioned.
Shulin Station staff member places item up for bids. (CNA photo)
According to the station's Facebook page, the Nintendo Switch sold for NT$13,000 after an intense bidding war from a starting price of NT$7,000. The non-stick frying pan sold for NT$1,500 and the children's bike sold for NT$2,610.
However, the Chanel bag was removed from the auction due to its poor condition and inability to determine whether it was real or a knockoff. The portable blood pressure and blood sugar monitors could not be bid on because, according to regulations, such medical equipment cannot be auctioned.
Shulin station staff member auctions off another item. (CNA photo)
The lost items at auction were recovered from the Shulin Station from 2018 to 2020. The auction officer and stationmaster, Wu Chia-yang (吳佳陽), first detailed the bidding rules before starting the auction.
When the auction started, attendees asked for the model numbers and when special items appeared, there was a flurry of offers. Even items such as badminton rackets and portable power banks commanded high prices, according to the station.
Packed crowd jostles to see items up for bid. (CNA photo)
Wu told Tai Sounds that the public can participate in auctions involving non-personal items, but 3C products (computers, communications, and consumer electronics) and other items that contain personal data will be set aside by railway police and eventually destroyed.
According to statistics from the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) an average of 10,000 items are left behind by passengers per month. The most common lost items are umbrellas, thermos bottles, and earphones.
Winning bidder for Nintendo Switch (right). (CNA photo)
Approximately 10-20% of owners of recovered items will ask for assistance in delivering them to designated stations. The TRA plans to charge for the delivery of lost items, which is half the price of ordinary parcel shipping.
If passengers lose their belongings, they can contact the station's rail operations center, service desk, or call the customer service line of the TRA at 0800-765-888 (local calls only), 02-2191-0096 (local calls, mobile phones) to request assistance.
Shulin station staff member holds up badminton rackets for bidding. (CNA photo)
Video shows the crowd gathered for auction:
