Government auction gives people great deals on surplus items
Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) -- People from all over the country came to Las Vegas this weekend hoping to win big. Not so much at the casinos, but at a government auction held here in Clark County.
As the crowd gathers around the auctioneer, hands shoot up, with the hope of outbidding contenders for a coveted prize.
"Watch the pricing and all that, but I think you can get good deals here," says J.J. Mercado came from California.
"We're just down here checking out the bio fuel pick ups and cars. We're from up in Utah and they just started setting them up up there, so we buy and sell them," says Tim Lundin who came from Utah for the Auction.
TNT Auction has ran this auction for 26 years and say it's a great opportunity for local governments to unload surplus items, and for people to get deals on many things they need or want.
What's for sale? Everything from old police cars, county vehicles, computers, desks, industrial size printers, and even lost and found items from the airport.
"I think we had a really tremendous crowd. Our crowds are bigger than ever down here. I think it's because people are looking for a deal," says Mike McKee with TNT Auction.
Auctioneers say they are selling of 60 to 70 of these vehicles an hour. That's about one a minute. So for the government agencies involved, business is good.
"I think today it's going to be somewhere in the range of a million and a half dollars probably.
Then all the agencies get their share of that," says McKee.
Even the young do well. One college student picks up an old police SUV with only 55 thousand miles.
"How much did you end up getting this for," asks Action News.
"We paid $3,500 for it," says Tyler Morrison about his purchase.
The auction went for most of the day and many people say they already can't wait until the next one happens early next year.
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