... the Mail Recovery Center (MRC).
Think of the MRC as the lost and found of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).
It has a staff whose job it is to open packages and try to track down the owners. Anytime they don't find the rightful owner, within a few months, the USPS gets to auction it off and pocket the profits.
...
The USPS works with a private company called GovDeals to manage the auctions, which are conducted online. Online photos show large boxes stuffed with just about everything you can imagine.
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In fiscal year 2014, of the "88 million items" that came through the door, a mere "2.5 million" made it home. That's less than 3%.
The postal service profited $11 million from what was sold off that year.
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