A Rolex watch and hundreds of other undeliverable An Post parcels are being auctioned in Dublin this evening.
Other items to go under the hammer include alcohol, CDs, books, clothes, jewellery and toys. Designer brands are also on sale but An Post said it could not guarantee their authenticity.
Lots at the auction, which will be held at Herman Wilkinson auction rooms on Lower Rathmines Road this evening at 6.30pm, start from as little as €2.
All items come from unregistered parcels that could not be delivered or returned to sender for more than three months. This could have been because sending and return addresses were incorrect or had changed.
Parcels not collected within a week of attempted delivery usually go to An Post’s return letter branch. If a parcel cannot be returned to sender, it is opened by staff.
They try to gather enough information to deliver it. Each year, thousands of parcels are lost. However, the company processes three million items each year.
An Post clears out its undelivered items about three times a year. It has auctioned these items to cover costs for the past 25 years. Auctions are always well-attended. From next year, it will distribute undelivered items to charity shops.
An Post spokesman today warned those sending letters during the Christmas season to “make sure addresses are correct and always include return addresses”.