City's unwanted vehicles hit the auction block online

The Salem News - Salem, Mass
By Chris Cassidy STAFF WRITER

City's unwanted vehicles hit the auction block online

SALEM — In the market for a 13-year-old, bright orange dump truck once used by the DPW? How about an old Crown Victoria that the Fire Department used to drive?

The city is now conducting what might best be described as an online yard sale, placing surplus vehicles — from a wheelchair van to a 1986 pickup truck — on an online auction website to be sold to the highest bidder.

The website — Municibid.com — specializes in online government auctions, connecting buyers and sellers from communities across the country.

"It's the equivalent of eBay for cities and towns," said Tom Watkins, the city's acting purchasing agent.

Salem put eight vehicles up for auction last week: three wheelchair vans, two Crown Victorias, two dump trucks and a pickup.

They're not exactly in pristine condition, but beauty is in the eye of the bidder.

A 1997 Ford F350 dump truck is described as having once been in an accident, suffered engine damage and now will not run.

Asking price: $100.

Still, it's received one bid so far, with 10 days left in the auction.

"There are still some good parts available for these things," Watkins said. "Right now, they're just sitting in the DPW yard, and the city wants to get rid of them."

About 350 communities across the country use Municibid, though only a few of those — Boston, Easton, Hadley and Mansfield — are in Massachusetts. The company is just starting to expand into the Bay State, founder and CEO Greg Berry said.

A former councilman in Pennsylvania, Berry started the company after witnessing flaws in the sealed bid process that many communities use to sell surplus equipment, he said.

While some towns entertain offers for a period of time, then review the bids and award the item to the highest bidder, Municibid creates the possibility of a bidding war, both because of the increased exposure on the Internet and the chance for potential buyers to bid multiple times, he said.

"It just comes down to exposure and the ability to bid back and forth," Berry said.

Salem is using the service on a one-year trial basis, paying a flat fee of $750. Even after the auction, the city can reject the highest bidder if the price is too low. And members of the public can place a bid.

"It's sort of a test run," Watkins said. "If it works, we'll keep signing on."

The website is an eclectic clearinghouse of unwanted government property. For example, the town of Langhorne, Pa., is selling 20 of its parking meters for $100. Downingtown, Pa., is trying to unload the closed-circuit television system from its police station for $100.

One town recently auctioned a tractor that had been burned in a barn fire, asking for $100. It sold for $2,700, most likely because of the value of its parts, Berry said.

The most unusual item the site has sold?

A county in Pennsylvania auctioned off the opportunity to harvest one of its cornfields.

"You never know," Berry said, "who's out there buying what."

Staff writer Chris Cassidy can be reached at ccassidy@salem news.com.