GovDeals offers counties chance to expand customer base for surplus equipment

Several counties are taking advantage of the NCACC’s strategic partnership with GovDeals (www.govdeals.com), an Internet auctioneer of government surplus items that gives members an opportunity to purchase and sell equipment utilizing the global reach of the Internet.

This unique, state-of-the-art, online auction service allows counties to conduct online transactions of surplus, abandoned and confiscated equipment and property. With GovDeals, not only can members list their properties for sale immediately as they are declared surplus, but they are exposed to a much larger group of registered buyers interested in government surplus.

Lincoln County Finance Director Leon Harmon said he began using GovDeals in March. He has been so pleased with the system that he now auctions off all the county’s surplus property using GovDeals.

“It’s going fine,” he said. “We’re getting good as or better prices than we did before.”

Harmon said the advantages to using GovDeals over a traditional auction are numerous. For example, items are exposed to a wider audience and are available for viewing 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“It goes to a wider audience so that more people can see it,” he said. “Everybody in the country that has Internet access can bid on it. You can do them all year long, too. And you don’t have to worry about weather on auction day – whether it’s too hot or too cold or if it rains.”

Lincoln County raised more than $51,000 in sales from surplus property in the third quarter of 2004. Harmon said the county has been listing used office furniture as well as vehicles from the Sheriff’s Department.

“We sold a backhoe from the water department, and we got a better price on the backhoe than I thought we would,” he said. “We got $5,000 out of it, and I didn’t know if we would be able to move it or not.”

Surry County began using GovDeals in August after Purchasing Director Linda Haney heard from several other counties that were successfully using the system.

“We are very pleased with it,” she said. “It has worked really well for us.”

Headquartered in Montgomery, Ala., GovDeals was formed by Information Management Systems Inc. (Informs) of Montgomery and Simonton Enterprises, Inc. of Austin, Texas. These companies have more than 40 years of combined experience with governmental agencies at all levels.

Informs has 22 years experience in software systems development, licensure, consultation and systems maintenance and specializes in the development of public sector procurement systems and student information systems. Simonton has more than 18 years of experience in public sector procurement organizational requirements, procurement software development and e-commerce and is the custodian of the NIGP Commodity Code, used by more than 1,300 governments in 33 states.

“This service will maximize revenues for our taxpayers and mainly keep revenues in our counties, while still offering a convenient opportunity for more of our citizens to participate,” said Catawba County Chair Kitty Barnes. “This will provide our citizens an opportunity to purchase surplus equipment at significant savings. We will offer the county’s surplus items to literally the entire world by utilizing the enormous reach of the Internet.”

GovDeals key points of interest

Any buyers or potential sellers must be comfortable with the Internet. Sellers also must have the ability to process payments.
The county is able to set bid increments and indicate a desired selling price and a minimum selling price in advance of placing any item up for bid.
All items are listed for 14 days. At the end of 14 days, the GovDeals server sends an automatic e-mail to both the seller and the buyer informing them of the sale.
Payment is made to the county when the auction closes or at the time the item is picked up. The county then pays the 7.5 percent commission to GovDeals. Shipping is not involved.
It is up to the buyer to pick up or otherwise arrange to gain possession of the items. Once a county executes a contract with GovDeals, it is GovDeals’ responsibility to screen buyers.
GovDeals sends a monthly statement to all participating sellers detailing items sold at what prices and calculating the 7.5 percent commission due.
GovDeals does not yet handle land or buildings. Except for that restriction, the bigger the item the better.
There is no downside. If items are placed up for bid and they do not sell or do not receive high enough bids, the county loses nothing.
The county also has the right to reject all bids if they change their mind about selling an item or if they feel they can get a higher price on their own elsewhere.
All buyers must supply a valid e-mail address, street address and phone number before they are permitted to bid.