BY CONOR SHINE
The Wichita Eagle
Cars, trucks, backhoes and a copy machine are just a few of the items from the city of Wichita and other city governments up for auction this week and next.

Bidding for the 237 items included in the South Central Kansas Government Surplus auction is open now and will close June 17.

The auction is being handled by the Internet auction company Purple Wave, and listings can be viewed at www.purplewave.com. After registering an account, interested buyers can also make a bid on the site.

Janice Briggs, contract compliance officer for Wichita, said that after a certain amount of use, equipment from different departments is marked for auction and the city tries to get whatever value it can from the items.

After the auction, money from the sales is rolled back into the departments where the items came from.

Since the city switched to an Internet auction system in 2006 to lessen the time staff spent organizing and running the auction, a total of $1.9 million has been raised, Briggs said.

The state of Kansas already has a contract to do auctions through Purple Wave, she said, and the city is able to “piggyback” onto that contract for no charge.

Interested bidders can view many of the items up for auction between 1 and 4 p.m. Saturday at a lot located just north of 1801 S. McLean.

All items are sold “as is” and there are no returns or refunds. Buyers are also responsible for picking up any items they purchase.

The city tries to have two to three auctions a year, Briggs said. Another auction is tentatively planned for September or October.

http://www.kansas.com/759/story/846469.html