City’s eBay auction nets almost $11,000

The bigger items brought in the big bucks for Baker City in its eBay auction last week.

In all, the city disposed of 126 surplus items for a total of $10,924.59.

But almost 70 percent of the money — $7,486 — went for just five lots, each one a vehicle.

Including one very large vehicle.

That’s a 1981 Ford 700 five-cubic-yard dump truck, complete with 11-foot-wide snow plow.Carl Waltermire of Seattle paid $4,600 for the truck, which fetched more than three times as much money as any of the 125 other items.

The other vehicles, and their winning bids:

• 1988 GMC Jimmy four-wheel drive: $1,025.

• 2000 Ford Crown Victoria police interceptor: $710.

• 2003 Ford Crown Victoria police interceptor: $581.

• 1989 GMS Sierra S-15 two-wheel drive pickup truck: $570.

Those four auctions combined netted the city about $40,000, with most of the money also coming from the sales of surplus vehicles.

Which isn’t to say that bidders with rather lower limits were left out of last week’s auction.

Somebody picked up a pair of what the city described as “large vintage pipe cutters” for a mere penny.

Another “vintage” item — a scythe that the city cheekishly called “grim reaper style” on the eBay site — fetched $10.50.

Those two results give some indication about the relative value of cutting a piece of pipe and some tall grass.

A single file cabinet drawer also went for one cent.

A Dell computer monitor brought in 7 cents.

Bidding varied considerably on the more than a dozen old street signs, ranging from $35.88 for a “Baker St.” sign to $1.25 for “Canal St.” and $1.25 for “Grandview Dr.”

The biggest bargain, though, might have been a pair of lighted snowflake decorations that once graced Main Street during the Christmas season.

Mike and Kim Ogan of Baker City bought that pair for $1.25.

They also bought a second pair for $7.48.

All told that’s about what you’d pay for a couple strings of cheap lights.

Mike Ogan said he’d like to incorporate the four snowflakes into his Christmas decorating scheme, although he’s not yet figured out how to do so with the ornaments, which are about 3 feet tall.

The ornaments are in excellent shape, he said.