16.06.2026 20:41
Thousands of items forgotten by passengers on IETT vehicles, whose legal storage period has expired, were put up for auction. In the auction, a total of 7,443 items grouped into 20 categories were sold for 1,366,000 lira, with the most notable forgotten item being a drum oven.
A total of 7,566 items forgotten on buses, metrobuses, trams, and tunnels operated by IETT, which could not be returned to their owners despite all investigations or were not claimed within the legal period, were put up for sale through auction. The sale of the forgotten items was held at the historic building of the IETT General Directorate.
1 MILLION 366 THOUSAND LIRA INCOME
Citizens showed interest in the auction, which included hundreds of categories of products ranging from mobile phones to personal care tools, motorcycle helmets to musical instruments. Among the forgotten items, the drum oven drew the most attention. In the auction, a total of 7,443 items in 20 groups were sold for 1 million 366 thousand lira. Meanwhile, it was learned that through these efforts, approximately 40,000 of the 120,000 items forgotten by passengers in 2025 were returned to their owners.
"WE HELD THE SALE OF ITEMS WHOSE OWNERS DID NOT COME FORWARD DURING THE STORAGE PERIOD"
IETT Passenger Services Manager Samet Şeker stated that the sale was conducted in 20 groups, saying, "Today, we held the sale of items forgotten in our vehicles in 2026, which were stored for one year and whose owners did not come forward during the storage period, and which were eligible for sale. We had a total of 7,566 items in different categories. We have completed the sale by IETT of the items we stored in a wide range, from phones to personal care tools, motorcycle helmets to musical instruments, consisting of 21 groups. The sale of a total of 20 groups took place, and no offers were made for one group. After the sale of the stored items, we will hand them over to the bidders today."
Kaan Erdoğan, who participated in the auction, stated that the auction went well, saying, "It went well for us, as we expected. In the auction, we bought headphones, laptops, hand tools, and personal care tools. I was most interested in the electronic headphones. So I put in a bit more effort."
DRUM OVEN DREW THE MOST ATTENTION
Zafer Şat, who participated in the auction, said that the drum oven caught his attention the most, stating, "The auction was competitive this year. We have been attending for 3 years. We made bulk purchases for 2 years, but this year we bought group by group. We bought about 8 groups. Hopefully, we will sell them to the public in the most suitable way, we will refurbish and clean them. We bought watches, suitcases, speakers, musical instruments, cameras — quite nice items. We bought items worth about 500 thousand lira. What caught my attention the most were the musical instruments. Since there were large pieces, there was a drum oven, for example. Can someone forget that? Last year when we bought, there were scooters, electric scooters. Various items can turn up. Watches really catch people's attention. How can someone forget something on their wrist? It's really interesting."