AUSTINTOWN Bidding begins in Web auction

LightGov receives 6 percent of all sales.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- Move over, eBay. The township is holding its first auction on the Web.
A sport utility vehicle, sport motorcycle, and 22 bicycles are for sale on the Web site www.austintownauctions.com. Each of the items has either been abandoned in the township or forfeited to the township by owners charged with drug crimes or drunken driving.
Township Administrator Michael Dockry said that in the past, the township would store the items in its garage until they were sold through a traditional auction. If the garage was full, the township paid to store the items at a towing yard.
The township raised $3,530 in its last traditional auction in 2002.
The Web auction allows the township to sell items as soon as it receives them, Dockry said. That means the township garage won't fill up, and the township won't have to pay to store items at a towing yard.
"We only have so much room," Dockry said.
Operates like eBay
The site is maintained by LightGov of Boardman and operates much like eBay. Bidders have to register as a business or individual with the site, giving their name, address, email and phone numbers. They also must create a user name and password.
Bidders can then log into the site, view pictures of the items for sale, and place bids. A minimum amount must be bid on each item based on the value of the item.
Bids on the SUV, a 1998 Ford Explorer, are accepted in $100 increments; bids for most of the bicycles are accepted in $5 and $10 increments.
The highest bid on the SUV as of Tuesday night was $3,500, while the highest on the motorcycle, a 1991 Suzuki Katana 750 GX7, was $850. The highest bid on most of the bicycles was $10 to $20.
Bidding ends at 7 p.m. Monday. Under the terms of the auction, the winning bidder must pay for his or her item with a money order, cashier's check or certified check. Payment must be made within three days of picking up the item at the township garage.
How many hits
Dan Sciortino, LightGov account executive, said the Austintown site had received about 120 hits and 30 bids since the auction started earlier this month.
Sciortino added that LightGov has a total of about 7,500 users registered for auctions.
"These people are always buying," he said.
In 2001, the township signed a two-year, $500 contract with LightGov that also calls for the company to receive 6 percent of sales. Dockry said the township expects to renew the contract for at least a year.
hill@vindy.com