Ok, sure, it makes perfect sense, but still we were surprised to learn that a state entity – in this case the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and more specifically the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Department of General Services State Surplus Property Division – not only sells things on eBay, but is a genuine, bona fide eBay power seller. With 869 positive feedback responses in the past year, five neutral, and four negative.
And what sort of things does a state sell on eBay?
Well, in the case of Pennsylvania, right now your winning bid will get you any of:
50 pounds of corkscrew bottle openers (current high bid $102.50)
40 pounds of assorted nail clippers (current high bid $67.52)
50 pounds of steel scissors (current high bid $63.66)
40 pounds of assorted pocketknives (current high bid $112.50)
50 pounds of assorted handtools and hardware (current high bid $122.50)
(Do you detect a theme here? What sort of person would bid on these things? What are they going to do with them? And who sells, let alone buys, implements by the pound?)
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Oh, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has a disclaimer which it uses in its eBay listings, too:
“The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania makes no warranty, expressed or implied, as to kind, character or quality of any of the property, of its fitness for any use or purpose. The description provided in this auction is based solely upon general observations. All sales are subject to all the Terms and Conditions, under which are incorporated herein by reference, and such other special terms and conditions as may be contained in this offering.”
This in itself is interesting, as usually eBay buyers want some warranty of the product being fit for its intended use.
But we guess if you are paying only $71.00 for 100 Mini Victorinox Pocket Knives, well, you just can’t be too picky.
Does this mark a new trend? And what we really want to know is whether the states which have levied an eBay fee on eBay sellers will be requiring the same fee of themselves when they become eBay sellers?
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The seller name of the PA state surplus seller is pastatesurplus. Just use that as “search by seller”
Maybe the Dept of Homeland Security will post on ebay some of the $4.5 billion worth of security tech that was hastily bought after 9/11 that they are now saying is already either outdated or ineffective. :)
Do they have their $50,000 bond and are they licensed for Ohio?
https://www.theinternetpatrol.com/new-ohio-law-requires-ebay-sellers-to-get-licensed-and-post-bond/
i wentbto ebay to find pennsylvania’s page/store and no luck. any help would be appreciated.
thanks,mark
Washington State does the same thing. Their surplus store ) has a link to their ebay items.
Regarding the Pennsylvania eBay sales: note that they’re all small metal objects in large quantities. This is probably a convenient way to get rid of all the prohibited items confiscated from travelers going through airport security. Hardware jobbers or scrap metal dealers might bid on them. Thanks — Jim F.