Georgia's surplus goods up for eBay auction

ATLANTA -- Interested in a box of bright orange gym shorts? How about a low-mileage, vintage fire truck from the 1960s? If so, then Georgia may have a deal for you.

The state has become the latest to open up its warehouses of surplus goods to online auction sites such as eBay.

"Georgia has joined the online auction revolution," Gov. Sonny Perdue declared Monday from behind a surplus wooden podium. "We're looking for the best value for the taxpayer dollar as we dispose of these assets."

State officials believe online sales will augment the $1.6 million in surplus items sold through the state's regular auctions across the state that are held throughout the year.

Drawing from the experiences of other states already selling surplus online -- including North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Oregon and Ohio -- Georgia will offer items to city governments and nonprofit groups for 30 days and then open them up to anyone in the cyberspace auctions.

Regular auctions still will be held, particularly for items that people want to inspect up front, such as pickup trucks and other vehicles.

But online sales are convenient for those who can't make it to the state auctions in Atlanta, Americus or Swainsboro. Also, online purchasers don't have to register in advance or endure a waiting period, rules put into place for the live auctions to prevent impulse buys.

"Now we can have impulse buys," the governor said. "When people get bored in the middle of the night, there's no telling what some people might want to pick up."

Some of the state surplus just waiting to be picked up by an online buyer Monday included an old school piano with a non-functioning middle key and a set of dusty kettle drums from the Fulton County School District.

The warehouse also had a Ford F-150 pickup that was all white, except for the black paint on both doors to obscure the Georgia state seal.

Georgia is going to focus on offering things believed to be quick sellers online, such as computers and electronics. Other items that don't typically do well on Internet auction sites, such as furniture, will be reserved for the state's regular auctions.

Monday, Georgia had received 19 bids -- the top bid going for $1,025 -- for a 1962 Maxim fire truck with 30,000 miles on it.

Another potential buyer had bid $759 for a Ford B700 school bus. Another was willing to fork over $302 for an S-series Saturn.

And Georgia's most unusual online sale to date? An old state dump truck, which sold for $29,000 to a man intent on building a marina in Florida.

"It amazes me that everything will sell," Ekin said.

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On the Net:

State surplus info: http://gasurplus.doas.state.ga.us/apps/gss/SurplusItems.nsf/WebSeale dBids?Op enView