Used county cars sell bell on e-Bay

Lawrenceville, Ga., (Jan. 26, 2007) – “Selling used cars on e-Bay was a very successful innovation last year,” according to Gwinnett County Fleet Director Michael Lindsey. 

   County officials sold 94 vehicles online in 2006 including former police, fire and other departmental cars, trucks and vans, bringing in almost $678,000 in total sales revenue. Despite national exposure, about three-fourths of the buyers were residents of Gwinnett and surrounding counties.

   “Compared to a public auction last March, we’ve had 10 times the exposure, a 23 percent increase in overall sales revenue and a 28 percent improvement in return on investment,” Lindsey said. The total cost to sell used vehicles dropped from eight percent of total sales to three percent, increasing the County’s return on investment by $18,892. 

   The first Gwinnett County vehicle sold online was a 1994 Ford Taurus, listed in April 2006. In October, the County set up its own store on eBay, listed as “gwinnettcountyboc.” It has had about 38,000 unique visitors already and averaged 1,152 hits per day. The site is accessible from the eBay home page or by a direct link on the home page of the County’s website at www.gwinnettcounty.com . 

   Board Chairman Charles Bannister noted that the store has maintained a customer satisfaction rating of 99 percent and praised Lindsey and his staff for their efforts. “We are finding ways to use new technology to increase the efficiency of our operations and reduce the cost of local government,” Bannister said.