No, that's not eBay -- it's your Uncle Sam

The Baltimore Sun reports:

Want to buy a helicopter? Or one of 288 diamonds seized from a crooked insurance tycoon? A rickety surgical table gathering dust at Fort Meade? Or even a strip club in Fells Point?

At one time or another, all of these items have had one thing in common: Uncle Sam sold them on the Internet, an up-to-date way for the government to unload seized or surplus property.


But finding the feds' many versions of eBay hasn't always been easy - a fact that officials are trying to change as they seek to cash in on America's love of a good bargain.

This fall, the federal government finished improvements to its Internet sales portal (firstgov.gov/shopping/shopping), which directs users to more than 100 Web sites hawking items to the public - from archived American folk music recordings to Lamborghinis once driven by drug lords.

From the main page, a user who clicks on "Souvenirs," then "Unusual Items," can choose from a list that includes "Nixon Watergate Records" at the National Archives and "Collectible Coins" from the U.S. Mint.

Uncle.