I would say the rule is obsolete in the civilized world.
I've had knives confiscated that I was allowed to fill out a form and pay ~$20 to mail back to myself. Doesn't work if you're already late for your flight, but I've done it at least twice.
A post office branch located just outside security that is stocked with 100x the normal number of the cheap flat rate bubble wrap envelope so that people not wanting to lose their items can mail things they shouldn't fly with home or to their destination and then get back in line.
To go even further (i.e. something that isn't zero net cost), a great many of the things that you can't carry on can be checked. It wouldn't be hard or particularly costly (though obviously it would still cost something) to reserve half yard of space for those kinds of belongings and find some simple way to make sure they get on the plane and get to their owner.
Ignoring any cost implications (in both the above circumstances the passenger could be charged at the time), security getting involved in this will just add to the delay experienced by passengers further back in the queue.
The problem isn't having to "read" the rules, but rather the draconian punishment for making honest mistakes, justified by dimwitted refrains of "read the rules". At the very least, items that can be in checked baggage should be able to be checked on the spot at no additional charge (eg pocket knives), and you should be able to ground-ship anything else at standard rates without having to go to the back of the line.
I don't know if anything comprehensive could be done for recalled lithium batteries, camp stove fuel cylinders, etc. But reasonably handling the utterly inert items that the TSA has decided to terror-ize would go along way to alleviating the needless imposition that is TSA, as illustrated by the photos above.
Ah, the humble ad hominem. To which the only real answer is "I know you are, but what am I?".
Don't be the dimwit who accidentally takes an expensive set of sharp things in carry-on. How much stress is it _really_ to empty the bag and repack to make sure everything is where it should be?
Don't be the entitled prick who throws insults because the world won't change the rules that they find inconvenient.
This argument has no value in itself or it would apply equally to everyone. The only thing that gives it power is "because the Government said so" since the power is entirely on the Government's side. Any implication (cost, time, privacy) introduced by the authorities to the passenger is never considered.
I guess that would only serve people who move across infrequently. Most travellers are only visiting places for couple of weeks or so.
If I'm going to have to spend $50 to check a bottle of perfume, I'd rather spend $15 to Priority Mail it back to myself.
The only airports which offered something similar to this set up a dedicated service profiteering of the captive audience with ridiculously inflated rates.
Have a big display of bags/envelopes conceptually like the Priority Mail flat-rate envelopes/boxes. If you realize you brought a local sauce, or a souvenir pocket knife, and can't check it, you can just toss it in one of those bags, seal it, write your address on, pay a modestly extortionate price, and it shows up at home a few days after you get back. By making it flat rate, they streamline purchasing flow and avoid hassle of people trying to optimize what they send back while on the checkout queue.
I could also imagine it directly competing with the airlines' excess-bag charges-- if you're staring down the barrel of a $150 "third checked bag" penalty because you got something special abroad, being able to slap a FedEx sticker on your suitcase full of dirty clothes and pay $75 is a compelling value.
No problem about the sale/auction, but where does the money go?
I would prefer to know that the money coming from the bulk sale is going to a known non-profit, as an example.
Let people break the rule and take the items in their carry-on? (in which case why have the rule in the first place?)
Pay people when they take the items? That is going to be an administrative faf all because people can't read and follow rules correctly - do you want to pay for that admin in your ticket prices?
Allow people to pay for the items to be stored until their return? They'll be accused of profiteering there too because again the admin work will need to be paid for, and there is a logistical problem when people don't return to the same airport.
Just send the confiscated items to landfill?
You might argue that a lot of the security theatre around air travel places a hindrance on the passengers and that you consider it unfair, but the rules about carrying sharp objects are very clearly documented (at least they have been when I fly around Europe, are the US processes less organised?) and well known even if you don't bother to read the documentation, so having such items taken off you if you do bring them in pockets or other carry-on luggage should be no surprise.