Sold! King County auctions surplus stuff
Rows of computers, industrial-sized copiers and sagging furniture balance on shelves. Numbered items are crammed against one another, forming piles of plastic and metal, wires and plates. An ice maker here, a tower of audio-visual equipment there, even a gynecologist's exam table, complete with stirrups.
This is not a pack rat's storage unit, or a junk heap destined for the recycle bin. For a select few who are in on the secret, this is an antique store, a supply depot, a decorator's boutique. An entrepreneur's paradise.
This is King County's newest way to get rid of its surplus: the "spot auction."
Yesterday, about 30 shoppers showed up. Some were in suits with cellphones, others in jeans with backpacks, but all were scanning for the same thing: a good deal.
The laid-back monthly auctions started about a year ago and last about 45 minutes, just right for lunch-hour browsers. Unlike other county auctions, there is no professional auctioneer trying to drive up competition among frenzied bidders.
Instead, potential buyers have a couple of hours to preview the merchandise before scrawling a silent bid on a slip of paper. The auctioneer — a county Department of Transportation employee — reads the rules: no minimum bids, items come "as is," pay by 3 p.m. and pick it up by tomorrow.
Then the auctioneer goes through the sale items one by one, and people toss their bids into a hat.
Yesterday, Bob Virkelyst set his sights on a set of old fare boxes from Metro buses. A supervisor with the Department of Transportation, Virkelyst thought the fare containers, which resemble thick metal mailboxes, would make a great collector's item. When he heard his number called as the highest bidder, his fist punched the air. "Yes!" said the proud new owner of the dozen or so boxes, apparently worth $11 altogether.
Prices paid for the merchandise are as varied as the items — $36.01 for an industrial hood fan, $6 for a Pentium computer system, $51.01 for a laptop, $126 for an oak library card catalog.
Auctions bring about $1 million a year in revenue to the county. The sales are administered by a division of the DOT, but merchandise comes from all arms of government, including county-owned Harborview Medical Center, King County sheriff's precincts, Boeing Field, parks and King County Metro.
All the items are used county items. Some don't work, and the occasional article raises some eyebrows. An industrial-sized food warmer came in from the jail one time, recalls auctioneer D.J. Yasui, chuckling. That one didn't sell.
But a giant machine used for water analysis did sell, and so did some Kingdome seats. Then there was the dog euthanizer from the pound, which Yasui doesn't really like to think about. "I like dogs," he said.
Computers pour in every week, and are bought by people like Dan Pham, who regularly travels from Portland to pick up equipment in bulk. He resells the computers in Vietnam, where the machines are scarce.
Another man regularly scouts for medical equipment to send to Africa.
The excitement of possibly getting something for (almost) nothing seems to be contagious.
"Once the bidding starts, you see the strategies," said Russ Johnson, supervisor with DOT's Fleet Administration Division. "If it's a popular item, you don't want to be the first to bid. You want to get a deal — it's human nature."
Newcastle businessman Richard Hunt, who owns Castle Technology, attends dozens of auctions a year to find items for his resale business.
"You have to know what you're looking for, and you have to set your limit," he said. "I don't fall in love with stuff, that's the key."
Others are green, like John Toler, who was on the lookout for computer equipment at his first county auction yesterday. Toler wants the computers for a school that his South Seattle church is starting.
"We want computers for the kids, but we don't have the budget," he said. "I'm not really sure how to do this. I'm just hoping to get in some low bids."
Larger offerings, such as cars, buses and boats, are sold through other types of auctions. Through a sealed-bid process, for example, you can mail or fax an offer on the Nootka — a 26-foot sailboat recently abandoned on Lake Washington. Better hurry, though. Bidding ends Wednesday.
Natalie Singer: 206-464-2704 or nsinger@seattletimes.com
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