A businessman has told how he has made over £10,000 by flogging luxury goods either stolen by or owned by convicted criminals. Sonny Green, 30, has been buying criminals’ seized possessions from police auctions and selling them on for the past five years as part of his resale business.
The entrepreneur has scooped items like authentic Gucci and Louis Vuitton clothing items as well as diamond rings, 24 carat gold, and assorted silver jewellery. His biggest profit came from a luxury limited edition Oakley watch he bought for £5 and flipped for £1000.
Sonny, of Southend-on-Sea, Essex, said: “You can find all sorts at police auctions. Think of anything that a thief would want to steal or luxury items criminals would own and most likely there will be a lot for it.
“You can buy designer clothes and items for really cheap, half the retail price on most occasions. I tend to keep my bids low just in case items are fake, but also it also minimises the risk involved. You win some you lose some but I’ve hit the jackpot a couple of times.”
Sonny started his resale business and a YouTube channel where be posts his finds called Steptoe and Mum in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. He is a successful actor and musician but as lockdown caused work opportunities to dry up he started “flipping” items as a “side hustle” to make some “extra cash”.
Sonny said the business has since “snowballed” and it has become his full-time job. The entrepreneur said: “I started buying and selling to give myself another revenue stream to keep myself afloat during that period.
“I realised we live in a throwaway society and you can make a lot of money from it. I mainly focus on furniture as it is where I think you can make the most profit.
“If you know what you are looking for and how to clean things up and market them properly people will buy it. If I see a discarded Chester draws outside someone’s house I see £50, and you wouldn’t just walk past that amount of money in the street if it was just notes on the floor.”
The entrepreneur went to his first police auction in 2020. The auctions sell stolen items or seized property from people who have committed crimes.
Lots can include electronics like PS5s, luxury vehicles, work tools, and bikes alongside jewelry and designer clothes. Sonny said: “I’ve seen some crazy things being sold and crazy prices being paid.
“There was once a lot containing 500 cases of whisky with 12 bottles in each one. Someone had obviously robbed a distillery or something and had been caught.
“They were selling 20 cases at a time and they were being sold for £500 a pop meaning they sold for around £12,000 in total. I have seen luxury cars sell for £10,000 and vans go for upwards for £40,000 and all sorts of expensive jewelry too.”
Sonny regularly visits his local Police auction in Essex which was where he scored his biggest bargain – a luxury fashion watch with its small price tag.
Unsure if it was authentic the entrepreneur took a chance and placed a single bid on the lot which to his surprise was successful. Without realising Sonny had bought a limited edition titanium Oakley Time Bomb II watch which sells for several thousand at retail.
After Sonny had won the watch the auctioneer told him what type it was and house much it could be worth. He has revealed he “quickly” listed the luxury timepiece on eBay and said he was “thrilled” to receive a four-figure offer within a couple of hours.
He later sold the watch to a man from Kent for the £1000 price tag. Sonny said: “I saw the watch and I thought to myself it must be worth something.
“It was only a fiver too so there was very little risk involved especially if it turned out to be fake. I was shocked when I was offered £1000 for it. You win some you lose some and in this case I hit the jackpot really.”
Sonny has told the only the reason why he got the watch for so cheap was down to an “auction house error”. He said: “Sometimes auction houses are not allowed to put brands in the lot name just in case they are fake.
“Instead they may put black watch or gold watch meaning people bidding in house or online don’t know what it is or if it is of any value.”
Sonny said the “experience was a thrill” and “landing bargains” like the watch is “what the job is all about”.
Sonny’s top five auction tips are:
1. Bid low to minimise risk – Sonny said: “You don’t want to spend a fortune for it to be fake.”
2. Don’t get carried away – Sonny said: “Make sure you stick to the price you want to pay.”
3. Remember commission – Sonny said: “Some auction houses have 20 per cent commission on lots so a £1000 win turns into £1200 you have to pay.”
4. Do not blind bid – Sonny said: “Always view and test the item before you bid.”
5. Put on a poker face – Sonny said: “Don’t give away that you want the lot as you may end up paying more.”
