From old pickup trucks to 33 passenger seat buses, the sale of old surplus equipment at auction has netted Ocean County more than $166,000.

“The online auction has been very successful when it comes to the sale of county items that are no longer needed for public use,” said Freeholder John C. Bartlett Jr., who serves as liaison for the Ocean County Purchasing Department. “We have been using the internet for more than five years now to conduct these auctions and it has given us a broader audience and in many instances better bids.”

More than 55 surplus items were sold during the online auction including passenger buses, dump trucks, front-end loaders, a cement mixer and a band saw.

“People across the world can bid on a golf cart, industrial sized lawn mower or a street sweeper. The accessibility to the items that are on the website makes the process much more convenient,” said Freeholder Director John P. Kelly, Director of Law and Public Safety.

Bartlettnoted that items go to surplus when they are no longer needed for public use.

“In some instances, when the cost of repairs on a piece of equipment becomes prohibitive we look to sell the items because it is just no longer feasible for the county to keep them,” he said.

The online auction was conducted by Auction Liquidation Services at the website www.USGovBid.com. They are authorized by the state to conduct online auctions.

The auctioneer is responsible for providing photos and descriptions of each of the items online and for posting all the terms and conditions of the sale.

OceanCountyusually holds a surplus equipment auction in the spring and again in the fall.

“The online auction has provided us with a much larger field of bidders and more competitive bids,”Bartlettsaid. “The total received by the County shows this process is successful.” TLS.