Buy Used Stuff From NY State for a Song on eBay

February 27, 2012 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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By Mary Frost
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Wednesday that the Office of General Services (OGS) will launch a new, expanded “NYS Store” on eBay in April.

While the state already conducts eBay sales of surplus materials, the new site will offer even more bargains and will include passenger vehicles.

New York state has maintained a presence on eBay — calling itself “nyssurplus-albany” — since 2002. With more than 4,000 feedback reports, the state has a 99.2 percent positive feedback rating.

Buyers comment that the state is “very helpful and friendly;” “always a pleasure to deal with;” and “great eBayer, great deals!”

Though the state’s eBay store presently is small, buyers can snag some incredible bargains on office supplies, computers, cell phones, furniture, medical equipment, cameras, and more.

Among other items, the current state eBay store offers crates full of cell phones and chargers; piles of cash registers and receipt printers; a table saw (10” blade); a massage table; and a lot consisting of 10 cartons of used “business machines.” As of Thursday, bids ranged from $10 to $200 per lot.

A lot of 14 Dell computers with assorted keyboards and other pieces was bid up to $152 at the time this article was written. Another smaller lot was stuck at $10, but the auction had four days left.

There are drawbacks, of course. One is that everything is sold “as is.” Another is that some of the items are stored in Albany or other distant locations and have to be inspected and picked up there.

However, this reporter did find several lots of computers and fax machine available for a song in Downtown Brooklyn.

In April, You Can Bid on a Car

The new state eBay store will allow buyers to purchase unneeded state passenger vehicles. According to a release put out by the governor’s office, the state has already identified nearly 500 vehicles to be part of the first online sale.

Many vehicles are late model (post-2000), have high mileage and will be sold “as is.” Vehicles not sold through NYS Store (http://www.nysstore.com) will be offered through the traditional Office of General Services on-site auction at a later date.

“By selling unneeded equipment and supplies, New York state will reduce operating costs and cut back on excess spending and inventory,” Governor Cuomo said. “This initiative is a small part of our work to overhaul government operations and make the state work more efficiently for the taxpayer.”

According to the Office of General Services, property that is declared surplus is first offered to other state agencies and then local municipalities for their reuse before being sold to the public.