Illinois Localities Selling More Goods in Online Auctions
By Kalyn Belsha in News on Apr 5, 2009 5:00PM
Image courtesy of iBid
Using sites such as eBay, govdeals.com and the State of Illinois' iBid, municipalities say they are attracting more buyers and offering smoother, more efficient transactions on the web. Sellers say they are saving money, too, by cutting down on auctioneer fees and commissions (which can be up to 20 percent) and eliminating the need to transport goods to a central location.
Illinois' online auction site iBid began in 2003 and has sold more than $2.2 million in surplus State property, including cars, boats, trucks, computers, medical supplies and office furniture. Bidders on this week's sedans are offering between $150 and $2,125. Sellers range from the Illinois Department of Corrections to Cook County to the Illinois State Police department. The revenue flows into the Illinois State Revolving Property Fund, which is used to fund State projects and programs.
The Lisle Park District, which uses the online site Obenauf Auctions, has seen a 10 percent to 50 percent increase in bid offers on surplus goods since it switched to online auctions, according to Aaron Cerutti, the district's superintendent of parks and facilities. Before, Lisle accepted closed bids from interested buyers which tended to attract lower offers. "They [the online auctions] are not extra revenue generators. We just use it as a way to maximize the revenue we are taking in on used equipment and vehicles," said Cerutti of the $12,000 the park district made in online sales last year.
State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias also maintains an eBay store whose inventory includes the contents of abandoned safety deposit boxes -- mainly jewelry and collectibles -- updated weekly. [Daily Herald]