Bidders grab bargains at Shanghai Customs auction

A bidder managed to buy a Mercedes Benz vehicle for 320,000 yuan ($50,164) at an auction held on July 27 by the Shanghai Customs. A new car of the same model costs around 1.75 million yuan.

About 45 objects, including five luxury sedans and 17 designer handbags, were auctioned. All of the products were goods confiscated by customs this year.

A Cadillac was also sold for 353,000 yuan, while a Louis Vuitton handbag fetched 5,500 yuan from a starting price of 2,500 yuan.

The objects were auctioned for a total of 3.53 million yuan, which will go into state treasury coffers.

Shanghai Customs held 40 auctions last year with a total revenue of about 34 million yuan.