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County saves at Web auction site
Jul 06, 2009 (The Fayetteville Observer - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Cumberland County officials say they saved taxpayers $20,000 by settling for a used truck on an Internet auction site instead of buying new offline.
Bobby Howard, the county's solid waste director, placed the winning bid for a used 2008 International box truck at GovDeals.com.
The Web site is a sort of eBay for the public sector. But anybody can register to bid on surplus government property.
The 24-foot truck cost Howard's department just $45,000, according to Sally Shutt, the county's communications manager. A new truck from the same model year with the same options would have cost the county $65,000, if bought through a traditional fleet supplier.
The used truck had 3,271 miles on it. But county officials expect to give it a tougher workout than the last owner, who wasn't identified.
The truck will be used by the county's recycling division. The vehicle will be on the road every weekday to pick up materials from county buildings and post offices for recycling, said Janice Albert, a Howard aide.
Shutt said the county has used GovDeals.com to mostly unload surplus vehicles since signing up last year. This was one of its first purchases on the electronic-commerce site, she said.
Other governments in Cumberland County, including the cities of Fayetteville, Hope Mills and Spring Lake, sell there as well.
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