Hundreds of people lined up Saturday for OC Transpo's bi-annual unclaimed items sale.
Bargain hunters had two hours to search, select and submit their purchases. Most were on sale for less than $5.
Dentures, a baby carriage, a curling broom with someone's name on it, a tiger onesie and a pair of flippers were among the most random items found at this year's sale. The most popular included wallets, sunglasses, umbrellas and electronics.
Sylvain Jager was engaged in a bidding war for a slightly used laptop.
"Even if you pay $100 or $150, that's a good deal because at the store you are paying a lot more than that," said Jager.
The OC Transpo unclaimed items sale started in 2002 and has been raising money for Heartwood House ever since. Volunteers sort and organize the tens of thousands of items left on OC Transpo buses every year and then select the best finds to put up for sale.
"It's benefitting the community of Heartwood house. We are a community of 18 charities so the opportunity to have the funds and proceeds from this sale, we appreciate that so much," said Maureen (Mo) Moloughney, the executive director of Heartwood House.
Any item left unsold at the end of the day is donated to charity.
How do you guarantee your lost items won't be given away next year? Lost items are held for a certain period of time before either being given away or held for the bi-annual unclaimed items sale.
What is the holding period for lost items?
- wallets, purses, laptops, jewelry: 3 months
- cellphones: 2 months
- winter wear items: 14 days
- all other items: 31 days
What to do if you leave something behind on the bus?
- Call OC Transpo's information centre at 613-563-4011.
