Using a Good Idea

It is interesting how a good idea, applied well, can end up profitable.  Earlier this year, the Commission and I attended the annual conference of the League of Kansas Municipalities.  While we were “networking,” Commissioner Joe Strecker met a lady he went to high school.  She was one of the vendors – actually helping her son with his company.

His company is called Purple Wave.  It is headquartered in Manhattan, KS. (The non Kansas readers should understand the school color of Kansas State University is Purple and KSU is in Manhattan.)  Purple Wave is a company that auctions equipment using an e-bay model.

Last month, new Fire Chief Larry Eubanks identified two vehicles that were surplus and needed to be disposed of.  They were an old rescue truck and an old Pumper truck.

During the League conference, Joe said to me “you need to check out that company.”  After returning to work, I saw the value of the contact.  When Eubanks told me of the condition of the two vehicles, remembering the contact spurred action.  I found the vendor brochure and had Eubanks call Purple Wave.  They put the vehicles on their web site and the bidding began.

Our expectation was that we would get some amount more money that we have in local bidding.  Earlier this summer, we were asked to find potential bidders for the old ambulance slated for trade in.  We ran several want-ads in major city markets and received no bids.  We ended up trading it in for $2,000.  Now that we know about Purple Wave, we can expect a better equipment disposal record.

Well, the best part is this.  The sales price for the rescue was $9,600.  The sale price for the old Pumper was $2,500.  The bids from Monday morning rose from $3,500 to $9,600 by the Tuesday at 10:00 am closing.  Needles to say, we are very happy with the result.