GREENVILLE – An auction to liquidate leftover inventory of East Elementary School took place Saturday.
Some came to purchase items at a discount, such as Cassie Svisco, of New Carlisle, Ohio. She homeschools her children and was looking for pull-down maps, document cameras and her girls have requested desks with chairs attached. She is no stranger to the auction process. Her strategy is to keep track of the item number the auctioneer is bidding, meanwhile perusing possible purchases.
“A lot of things we want start in the hundreds and they are in the thirties right now,” she said. This is the first auction I have seen set up like this, and it’s a pretty decent set-up. I understand that it’s hard to move the masses of people around.”
Svisco’s friend Ashley Hoffman teaches at Montgomery County Juvenile Detention Center.
“We have smart boards right now and they are very old and don’t work well,” she said. “If I can update my smart board and get one into my classroom, it would be a big help.”
Some came for one last look, such as Tina White, her sister Mitzi Johnson and their friend Molly Reigle.
“We are just here for the memories,” White said. “We graduated from elementary school, in 1984, and headed up to the junior high.”
“It’s fun to walk down memory lane,” Johnson said. “Our childhood was here.”
Buying and selling took place in the school gym. Midwest employees marked about 1,000 items with a number. In catalog order, photographs of the items displayed on a screen as they were bid. People were free to walk through the school halls. Preparing the items for the auction took about one week, according to Auctioneer Mike Baker of Midwest Auctioneers and Realty, Inc.
“There are about 1,000 lots open for their inspection,” Baker said. “Today, there is no buyer’s premium charged.”
Some of the items included: reception chairs, desks, a Clarke floor scrubber unit, a mixer stand with a pan rack, a Blodgett Mark V Electric convection oven and soap and paper towel dispensers. Baker addressed possible concerns to the crowd before bidding. Each bidder received a number. After purchasing items they were matched by Midwest attendants with the buyer’s receipt. Buyers had three days to pick up their items.
“I understand that loading and parking is an issue,” Baker said. “We are going to make sure you get what you bought. It will all work out. I also want to thank the Greenville City Schools for hiring us to do this and we want to thank everyone for being here.”
The next school auction is Saturday, Feb. 25, 9 a.m. at South Middle School, 701 Wayne Avenue. Purchases are paid by cash, checks and credit cards. Credit cards are charged a service fee of three percent. Internet bidders pay a 15 percent buyer’s premium. No sales tax is charged.
For more information, visit www.midwest-auctioneers.com.
