Jim Wells County Sheriff's Office Auctions Impounded Property Online Through March 31

Apple Auctioneering Co. opened online bidding March 24 on a government auction of impounded property held on behalf of the Jim Wells County Sheriff's Office, with the sale set to soft-close at noon Eastern time on March 31 from its location at 2310 Old Kingsville Road in Alice.

Apple Auctioneering Co. is conducting the online auction with reserve on behalf of the Jim Wells County Sheriff's Office, and the sale is listed as open to the public. For auction purposes, Apple Towing Co. operates as RBEX Inc., doing business as Apple Towing Co., with auctions conducted by Apple Auctioneering Co. and regulated by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Both names appear across the auction's listings on HiBid and other platforms, but the two entities operate as one government contractor.

Apple Towing has served as a government contractor for over two decades, and in 2010 expanded by establishing Apple Auctioneering Co. to bring auction operations in-house, conducting more than 2,200 government auctions and facilitating the sale of more than 70,000 seized vehicles since then.

The Jim Wells sale is listed under the auctioneer's HiBid page with bidding already underway. The auction carries a soft-close provision: any bid placed within the final three minutes automatically extends the closing time by an additional three minutes, preventing last-second sniping from ending the sale prematurely. On the auctioneer's own site, the Jim Wells listing shows a noon Eastern close on March 31, though one alternate listing shows 11 a.m. Eastern as both the start and end time. Prospective bidders should confirm the precise closing time with Apple Auctioneering before the deadline.

One detail that stands out for bargain hunters: there is no buyer's premium on this sale, meaning the winning bid price is the final purchase price in U.S. dollars. Bid increments are structured in four tiers: $25 per increment on items up to $975; $50 increments between $975.01 and $9,950; $100 increments between $9,950.01 and $49,900; and $500 increments above $49,900.

The terms of sale are strict. All purchases are final, with no refunds. Property is sold as-is and where-is, without any warranty or guarantee. The auction listings note that all known condition and description information has been posted online, and that bidders may obtain additional details by attending live previews at 2310 Old Kingsville Road. Full preview hours and lot pickup deadlines were not posted in the auction's public listings; contact Apple Auctioneering directly for that schedule.

Once documents are signed, property release documents are emailed to the buyer and to the storage vendor, after which the buyer must immediately contact the storage vendor to arrange removal. Original title documents are mailed to buyers, who then need to process them at a local DMV. These assets remain in the name of the defendant from whom they were seized until the titles are processed with the state.

The Jim Wells County Sheriff's Office can be reached at 361-668-0341. The auction listing is accessible through HiBid under the Apple Towing Co. seller page.