Stacks of computer equipment ready for auction.

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Text transcript from the video "Fleet Auction "

Narrator

In the market for a used computer? How about a table filled with computer monitors? Maybe a used hard drive or some used office furniture? Once a month the King County Fleet division holds a spot auction to dispose of surplus equipment.

Russ Johnson/Fleet Supervisor says:

All of our sales are open to the public, anyone and everyone is eligible to bid. We set the room up, the public can come in two-hours prior to the sale and pre- register and get a catalogue and take a look at what we have for sale. The bidding begins at noon, we're usually finished by one p.m., and they have to three p.m. that afternoon to pay for their items.

Narrator

How does King County deem something surplus equipment? Fleet Director Windell Mitchell explains the steps in the process.

Windell Mitchell/Fleet Director says:

One of our primary goals is to maximize the use and resale of county assets. Whenever we receive an asset from a county department we first make it available to county employees. We also post it to our web site, if there are no takers, we make it available to non-profit organizations, we have more than 100 organizations we do business with. If there are no takers from the non-profits, we make it available to the public through monthly auctions.

Russ Johnson/Fleet Supervisor says:

The bidding is conducted by lot and the bidders will fill out a bid sheet for each lot with the amount they wish to bid with their bid number and we'll literally drop it in a hat and we open the bids right there on the spot and announce the high bidder.

Narrator

Twice a year the Fleet Division also auctions vehicles and heavy equipment that have out lived their useful days to the county. A professional auctioneer is hired and there is ample time for the public to inspect the vehicles before bidding begins.

Russ Johnson/Fleet Supervisor says:

We sell everything as is, where is. If we know of any defect we list it on the windshield. This is a government sale and we want people who have never been to an auction to come in and feel comfortable, there's a lot of good will generated by our auctions, people feel like they're going to get a good deal, a fair deal.

Narrator

By handling most of the auction duties itself, the Fleet Division saves thousands of dollars on commissions. Fleet also incorporates buyback agreements with equipment vendors to reduce overall acquisition costs and help guarantee the best possible price on resale.

Windell Mitchell/Fleet Director says:

We save the county money three ways, first by reusing surplus equipment ourselves within the county. Secondly we save the county with our buyback program, putting in a buyback clause when we purchase vehicles so we can reduce the acquisition costs of vehicles for the county. And lastly we save the county money by auctioning to the public surplus vehicles and equipment. As a matter of fact, over the last year we've saved the county more than a million dollars a year by auctioning surplus vehicles and more than 1.1 million per year by reusing surplus equipment.

Narrator

Some items have value but not a lot of local interest. In those cases, Fleet turns to the Internet to help find a buyer.

Windell Mitchell/Fleet Director says:

On occasion we have unique equipment that we do not have a large local demand for. Whenever this situation occurs we advertise on eBay. You'd be amazed to see the price we receive on eBay, sometimes ten fold what we would receive locally. So eBay is one progressive venue we use to maximize the price of county assets.

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