Bear with me:
In my town, constables - the law enforcement arm of the Justice Courts - are responsible for evicting apartment dwellers and foreclosed residents. These eviction processes include removal of personal items from the property.
The constable offices, again in my town, have a contract with a local storage company. This company shows up at the property with a few men and a truck. These guys remove the personal property and store it in the storage company's warehouse. After a period of time (45 days here), the unclaimed property is disposed of.
Some goes in the trash (personal papers and the like). Some properties are sold directly to dealers. The remainder are auctioned off. In my local case every Monday.
The variety of stuff is legion; just imagine every possible thing people own. There's furniture, of course, but also:
- lawnmowers
- golf clubs
- TVs of all sizes and shape
- computers
- lamps, art work, clocks, ad infinitum
But you will also find tools. Everything from giant Snap-On tool chests full of hand tools to a significant amount of drills, planers, weed-eaters, pressure washers, and so on. Everything from shovels to drill presses.
So, then, my recommendation for those interested is to:
- Discover who's responsible for evictions in your jurisdiction,
- Find out what they do with the stuff that's hauled off,
- Contact the hauler and inquire how you might participate in the disposal of these items.
You might find a diamond in the rough - or YMMV.
(The owner of the storage facility showed me two HUGE CNC machines which he claimed were worth over $1 million each. The original owners are suing him for their return, but the law is clear and the storage owner expects a court declaration of his ownership in a couple of months.)
Best of luck in your quest...