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Ігор Вишневський That's Life
14 July 2025, 09:00
2025-07-14
One glove, expired preparations, an icon, and a pile of stones. 10 of the most unusual purchases at SETAM electronic auctions that you can buy right now. But is it worth it?
In the last days of June, at the electronic auction of the seized property of the state enterprise SETAM, a cut hornbeam branch caused a stir, which during a fierce auction was sold for 1,550 UAH instead of the starting price of 90 UAH. This story made the news and, of course, became the subject of memes and jokes. Actually, it is difficult to imagine that the winner of the auction, Iryna Yuriivna Antonyak, perceived this in any other way than as a joke, because the author’s imagination simply cannot imagine another motive. If so, then Ms. Iryna is a serial joker or has a special reverence for tree trunks — she has already won the auction at SETAM for four pine trees. However, in this auction, the pine trees did not have enough media coverage, and they were sold for only 75 UAH (the starting price). Actually, it would not be superfluous to remind you that the winner of the auction can simply refuse the winning lot, and in Ms. Iryna’s place, any adequate person would do so (but this is not certain).
In the last days of June, at the electronic auction of the seized property of the state enterprise SETAM, a cut hornbeam branch caused a stir, which during a fierce auction was sold for 1,550 UAH instead of the starting price of 90 UAH. This story made the news and, of course, became the subject of memes and jokes. Actually, it is difficult to imagine that the winner of the auction, Iryna Yuriivna Antonyak, perceived this in any other way than as a joke, because the author’s imagination simply cannot imagine another motive. If so, then Ms. Iryna is a serial joker or has a special reverence for tree trunks — she has already won the auction at SETAM for four pine trees. However, in this auction, the pine trees did not have enough media coverage, and they were sold for only 75 UAH (the starting price). Actually, it would not be superfluous to remind you that the winner of the auction can simply refuse the winning lot, and in Ms. Iryna’s place, any adequate person would do so (but this is not certain).
Many readers will perceive this as pure nonsense, and they will be right. After all, it is difficult to understand with simple logic why, along with seized factories, production facilities, land plots, apartments and cars, as well as large batches of various goods, things like someone’s old socks, spoons or brooms are sold at SETAM electronic auctions, not to mention such original lots as, for example, a coffin. It is hard to imagine that such goods can be bought for any money, but for some reason, bureaucratic procedures associated with their arrest, description, evaluation and auctioning waste the working time of officials.
dev.ua decided to rummage through SETAM’s lots a little to select 10 items that are up for auction right now and could compete with a hornbeam branch in the top of the most senseless (or unusual) purchases.
How does SETAM trading take place and how much money does it bring?
SE SETAM (System of Electronic Trading of Seized Property) is a state enterprise created by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine. The decision to create the SE was made in the summer of 2015, and on October 25 of the same year, SETAM was finally given the function of administering the system of electronic trading of seized property. Trading in seized property takes place in the form of an auction, where participants registered on the SE website can choose the lot that interests them. In order to enter the auction, you must pay a guarantee deposit, which is 5% or 10% of the starting price of the product itself. Each participant can submit a special bid once during one auction, which does not depend on the course of the auction. Property not sold at electronic auctions is put up for repeated electronic auctions at a reduced price. Interestingly, a significant part of the seized property is kept by the debtors themselves. In 2024, over UAH 5.1 billion worth of seized property was sold through SETAM, and over 4,900 successful auctions were held.
Top 10 most unusual things that are looking for buyers
Five leather scraps at a reasonable price
Last year, the Kryvyi Rih District Court confiscated five «fragments of leather, most likely artificial, mostly black.» Unbelievable, but true — on July 7, one participant had already registered for the auction, which was scheduled for July 14 .
«The surface of the leather has different textures, some fragments are smooth, shiny, others are matte and have a pronounced texture. Signs of wear: creases, scuffs, possible cracks and cuts on the edges,» the lot on SETAM is described in detail and almost poetically. The starting price of the lot is only 10 UAH, and the guarantee deposit is only 50 kopecks. So, it seems that everyone can afford such an acquisition. The only question is — why?
Expired insecticides worth over $1,000
On July 16, everyone will be able to purchase several dozen bottles of insecticides, but the price, in the author’s humble opinion, is a bit steep — over 44,000 UAH. Especially considering that most of the goods are expired — its description states that «Noril» lost its expiration date in 2023, and the Syngenta Score 250 EC product — in early 2024. The author, of course, is not an expert in the agricultural sector, but non-expired «Noril», which makes up the bulk of the lot, is currently priced on websites in the region of 400-500 UAH per liter. Therefore, of course, the lot is surprisingly absurd. There have been no signs of anyone wishing to register for the auction yet.
Miracle set with one unpaired glove
By an executive order of the Izmail City District Court of the Odessa region, a miracle set of three items — secateurs, a lantern, and a cloth glove — was confiscated, which had already been used by someone else. Now, anyone who wishes can become its happy owner on SETAM.
The price is more than affordable — the auction starts at 25 UAH. But there is a nuance — for some reason there is only one glove, its pair has been lost somewhere. Although, perhaps, for some this will not be a problem, because the pruner and flashlight, even without the unpaired glove, have considerable economic value.
A pile of stones for 1000 UAH
In the city of Mogilev-Podilskyi in Vinnytsia Oblast, a pile of sandstone lies patiently waiting for its future owner. The property was confiscated under a writ of execution by the Yampil District Court.
Those who want to compete for this value at the electronic auction will have to be prepared to pay at least a starting price of UAH 990. But there have been no bidders yet — no participant has registered.
Rusty scissors worth 75 kopecks confiscated as criminal evidence
One of the cheapest lots we managed to find on SETAM was a pair of used and slightly rusty scissors. Apparently, those who put this property up for auction really thought that scissors were worth a penny on a market day. After all, they were valued at only 75 kopecks, and the auction step, as well as the guarantee deposit, are only 4 kopecks.
But back in 2020, the Moskovsky District Court of Kharkiv confiscated them as material evidence in criminal proceedings. Now it’s scary to even imagine how they were used. Perhaps that’s why they’re so cheap.
1.4 tons of «seeds» per third with garbage
Many people have the sin of shelling seeds, so someone probably counted on finding a buyer for 1,400 kg of sunflower seeds in the Bogodukhov district of the Kharkiv region.
However, there is a nuance, and not just one, but several. Firstly, the «seeds» have been in this condition since 2023, when they were confiscated by the decision of the Kolomatsky District Court of the Kharkiv region. Secondly, the sunflower has a musty smell and a garbage impurity of 36,20%. That is, we were honestly warned — this pile of seeds consists of more than a third of garbage, and this was determined to the hundredth of a percent. Those who will not regret 6,000 UAH for such valuable raw materials have the opportunity to compete at the auction. There are no interested parties yet, so each of our readers can be the first!
Over 2,500 Soviet postage stamps
This lot, unlike many of the previous ones, is not pointless, but rather unusual. Five albums with old, mainly Soviet postage stamps, each containing several hundred units, were put up for auction on July 23.
It is difficult to draw a conclusion about their value for philatelists, but it seems that it is. At least four participants have already registered for the auction. So it is possible that a fierce fight will break out for this lot. Those wishing to participate should expect at least almost 5700 UAH of the starting price, which will increase with each step of the auction by almost 285 UAH.
Confiscated flippers for summer vacation (wetsuits for swimming across the Tisza River are not available yet)
The Yampil District Court confiscated fins from a swimmer that were put up for electronic auction. Perhaps they will be useful to many for summer recreation on the water, at least one auction participant has already registered.
It is very interesting that in the previous months, dozens of auctions for the sale of confiscated wetsuits were held at SETAM. And even more interesting is that almost all of these dozens of units were confiscated in Transcarpathia. We don’t even know what such a regional principle of confiscating wetsuits is connected with, but thoughts immediately arise about the Tisza and those who are trying to cross it in their desire to get abroad.
Icon of the 19th century
Transcarpathia can offer visitors to SETAM’s electronic auctions not only wetsuits for spiritualless bodily practices, but also works of sacred art for spiritual development. The icon «Lord Almighty» from the second half of the 19th century was seized from its previous owner and is now looking for a new one .
«The icon is worn, the painting layer is lost along the lower edge and on the upper right at the level of the face of Christ, on the left side there are two holes from nails,» the lot is described in detail on the SETAM website.
Eight rolls of toilet paper (they assure me it’s new)
Unfortunately, the highly spiritual religious lots are once again being replaced by something banal and carnal, reminiscent of the physical nature of man and the various biological processes in his body. For just 25 UAH, auction participants are offered to purchase eight rolls of toilet paper, which, of course, is profitable, but still, it is impossible to imagine someone who would spend time on all these procedures, and then specially go to the city of Dolyna in Ivano-Frankivsk region to pick up their lucky winning lot. An important clarification in the description of the lot is that the paper is new. This really significantly increases its value in the eyes of a potential buyer.
Take me if you can.
By the way, there may be nuances when it comes to picking up your lot. At least, this is evidenced by the personal experience of the author of this article.
Before buying something significant on SETAM, such as a car or an apartment at a bargain price, about 8 years ago the author decided to check how this system works using the example of a system unit (an interesting tautology turned out) that was stored in the city of Konotop in the Sumy region. He didn’t want to check it on lots with a touch of absurdity, similar to those collected in this material, so he chose a practical thing that could be useful in work or video games. However, the main mistake was that before participating in the auction the author did not take into account a very important nuance — it turns out that he was buying property that was stored by the debtor himself. He did not allow this in his imagination and simply let it out of his field of vision.
After several bids, as several more participants registered for the auction, the author dropped out of the competition. But the winner of the auction did not pay for the lot, so the right to purchase passed to the next participant in the amount of the bid. The author decided to happily take advantage of this, paid for the goods, and only then found out that it was not stored in some warehouse, as he thought, but with the debtor himself. At the same time, the debtor’s phone is not answering, and in order to have a chance to pick up your goods, you personally need to go to Konotop, catch the debtor at his place of residence and ask to return the property in a good way. Or call the police, show them your documents for the goods, and take the property in a bad way.
In the end, the author only had to call all possible phone numbers for a week without success, write an angry post on Facebook, tagging the then head of SETAM, get assurances from him that «we will figure this out,» and, of course, accept the loss of money and the failure to receive the goods. After all, there was no point in going to another city, relying only on luck and coincidence — after all, the debtor could move, not be present at home, or come up with his own top 10 ways to avoid the transfer of property.
