U.S. Consulate General Shanghai is selling surplus property via an online auction. Each auction will be activated for a limited time, clearly stating the start and end date. This information is available on the website (English) https://online-auction.state.gov or (Chinese) (中文网页:线上拍卖会主页 (state.gov). During this period, you can actively take part and submit your bid for the surplus property.
"We only accept bids from individuals or entities located within Mainland China."
Registering to Bid
To bid on the Consulate's online auctions, you must first be registered in the system. You may register either with a personal email or a U.S. government issued email if you have one.
Bidding on Items
Bids are made in U.S. dollars. During the auction, you should monitor your bids so that you can react to the latest price developments.
At the end of an auction, an automated email will be sent to bid winners and will consist of a link to the auction site where you can review your items, the total cost of the lots won, and the bid identification number. The email for winners will include a link to the auction application where you can review your items.
Items Sold "As Is"
All items are sold "AS IS, WHERE IS" with all faults. There are no warranties or representations of merchantability, of fitness, nor of any other kind, express or implied. Written descriptions are our opinions and should in no way be construed as a guarantee of any kind as to the authenticity, age, condition, materials, or any other feature of the items being sold. The Auction Team attempts to catalog every lot correctly and will attempt to point out any defects but will not be responsible or liable for the correctness of the catalog or other descriptions of the lots.
Vehicles are as sold "AS IS, WHERE IS" with all faults. There are no warranties or representations of merchantability, of fitness, nor of any other kind, express or implied. Purchasers are responsible for and will be required to pay for all associated fees and taxes including but not limited to customs duties, deregistration costs, inspections costs, towing costs, etc. Bidders are strongly encouraged to verify the exact registration process for vehicles purchased from a diplomatic mission. The Consulate bears no responsibility in assisting the purchaser with the registration of auctioned/sold vehicles.
Right to Cancel
The Consulate reserves the unilaterally right to cancel any and all bids as well as any lots won for any reason. In the event of any dispute between bidders, or in the event of doubt as to the validity of any bid, the Consulate's Contracting Officers will have the final discretion to determine the successful bidder or to re-offer and resell the article in dispute.
For US Government employees interested in bidding, please be aware of the following restrictions:
In accordance with 14 FAM 417.2-3:
With the exception of individuals who initiate, authorize, or directly control the sale of U.S. Government property (i.e., PMOs, APOs, or PDOs) or anyone acting on their behalf, U.S. citizen employees and their relatives may participate in competitive, publicly advertised sales of property authorized for disposal, provided the employee certifies in writing:
(1) That the property is for the employee's personal use;
(2) That the employee will not sell the property during the employee's tour at the post except to another U.S. Government citizen employee who will make a similar written certification; and
(3) That, if at the end of the employee's tour, the employee sells such property to persons not having duty-free privileges, the employee will certify, in writing, to the PDO that local taxes and other obligations have been satisfied. Failure to comply with this requirement could result in disciplinary action.
With the exception of individuals directly involved in selecting items to be disposed of or immediately involved in the preparations for or conduct of the sale or anyone acting on their behalf, Foreign Service National employees, personal service contractors, employees of contractors, and their relatives, are authorized to participate in publicly advertised, competitive bid sales. However, a successful bidder must certify that the property is their personal use and must pay local customs duty and any taxes due.
Payments need to be made at the U.S. Consulate’s cashier. Address: 1469 Huai Hai Zhong Lu, Shanghai, China 200031.
Please email us at ShanghaiGSOPropertyandSupply@state.gov for prior access approval.
Failure to pay for all lots won will result in the cancellation of all your bids and possible revocation of future bidding privileges.
Items can be retrieved only when successful payment has been received and confirmed by the Consulate via email.
After payment is confirmed, the Consulate will send the Purchase agreement and a pick-up schedule via email. In special cases or circumstances, you may arrange a different pick-up date and time by contacting the Consulate at ShanghaiGSOPropertyandSupply@state.gov.
In order to retrieve your items, you must present the Purchase agreement sent to your email from the Consulate at ShanghaiGSOPropertyandSupply@state.gov. After payment has been successfully processed, lots must be picked up within 7 days; otherwise, the items will be disposed of, and there will be no possibility for their retrieval. All sales are final.
The removal of the items must be done at the buyer's expense. If you do not remove the property within the specified period, ownership of the property reverts to the Consulate and all payments made by the buyer are forfeit. You must personally arrive at the location specified in the item description to pick up the lots won as the Consulate will not ship or export won bids.
Please ensure that you have the necessary labor and vehicle to take away the lots won as you have full responsibility for subsequent handling procedures and removal in a timely manner. Please note that third parties (i.e., tow truck, labor, export company, etc...) will not be allowed to remove items on your behalf without your personal presence and prior arrangement with the Consulate.
When picking up, you must present (1) the original Consulate payment receipt and (2) a printout of the winner's sales agreement as well as the page listing your unique identification number and bid lots won.
Note: Please note that the Consulate will only issue the property to the winning bidder, not to third-party vendors. Winners can only access the pick-up point during the time window specified in the email provided.
For all other questions, please contact ShanghaiGSOPropertyandSupply@state.gov.
