Amid a slumping U.S. economy, local governments and agencies are scrambling to cut costs and find additional sources of revenue. Not surprisingly, many are turning to eBay to unload their excess equipment, vehicles and supplies—and find bargains on replacement gear.
Why pay to send old computers, furniture or unclaimed property to the landfill or recycling center when you may be able to sell them on eBay for a quick profit? That's the thinking of Westchester County officials in New York. Since 2004, the county has made $281,993 on eBay by auctioning items that would have otherwise been sold at a traditional auction or hauled away with the trash, according to reports.
Westchester County modeled its approach after an eBay auction program designed by the State of New York to help generate additional revenue for the state.
Similar eBay initiatives are helping to offset rising costs in Illinois and Maryland, where local and state officials have taken to auctioning everything from vehicles seized in drug busts to unclaimed property from safe deposit boxes. The Illinois State Treasurer has even gone as far as to open an eBay Store, which has received high marks from buyers since it opened a year ago.
Of course, eBay isn't always the easy money venue it's made out to be, as the City of Seattle learned recently when it auctioned some pricey, high-tech public toilets that it could no longer afford to maintain. After a failed auction in July, the $5 million toilets finally sold in August for a total of $12,549.
Clearly, true bargains can still be found on eBay, no matter what you happen to be in the market for. Fire officials in eastern Pennsylvania recently saved hundreds of thousands of dollars by purchasing a 16-year-old ladder truck on eBay for $12,000.
Auctiva staff writers constantly monitor trends and best practices of those selling on eBay and elsewhere online. They attend relevant training seminars and trade shows and regularly discuss the market with PowerSellers and other market experts.
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