Published: March 16, 2008 12:57 am      

Police cycles on Ebay

CUMBERLAND — They’re 11 years old, white with a bit of black, and their roar, which still turns heads on the street, is unmistakable.

For the right bid on eBay, one or both could be yours.

The Cumberland City Police Department has two surplus Harley-Davidson Electroglides that hit the auction block Friday night under the seller narc-cars.

Jason Merritt, a C3I narcotics officer, is the eBay expert and is running the auction as he has for several auctions the narcotics unit has held the last couple of years. He estimates each motorcycle should draw $8,000 to $10,000, which is about double what might come from a public auction.

C3I narcotics, he said, started selling vehicles seized as part of the task force drug arrests and other surplus property on eBay as a way to increase profits. Before, sealed bids were accepted, and he can still remember the limited amount that items brought. One car was sold for only $150.

Since he’s started, about 12 to 15 vehicles have moved through eBay.

Merritt said the sales help fund the department, whether it pays for training or equipment. The last auction garnered enough funds to send six narcotics investigators to training in Gatlinburg, Tenn. Seized items the unit can’t use, including TVs, VCRs, stereos and iPods, often show up on eBay.

Selling surplus items has caught on for other counties, partly because the process takes little time. Before, he said, four or five people would spend nearly 20 hours driving a vehicle to the public auction in Greencastle, Pa. If it didn’t sell, the vehicle came back home.

“Now we can get rid of a couple of cars and it takes me just a couple of hours to list,” he said.

Cumberland Police Lt. Greg Leake said it was C3I’s success that attracted the department to go this route for the first time.

Before going on the auction block, the bikes were stripped of their emergency lights, police radio and the Cumberland police emblem.

There’s no reserve on the bikes, one with 33,337 miles and the other 19,682, with the open bid running for 10 days. The motorcycles are sold “as is” and bids begin at 99 cents. The winning bidder must arrange pick up. Sales are cash payment only, something that Merritt said hasn’t been a problem.

City Administrator Jeff Repp said the city would establish its own account in the future. It’s possible, he said, that items to be sold eventually could move beyond surplus vehicles but that “99.9 percent of the time,” that’s what the city will sell.

While he believes that eBay will bring in higher bids, Repp said he won’t know until the city goes through the process a few times.

“Obviously, this will greatly expand the number of bidders out there that could bring in more,” Repp said.

Chief Charles Hinnant believes the eBay auction will be a success.

“I feel an obligation to get the best price for city equipment to put back in the city’s coffers,” he said as to why he approached Repp about an eBay sale.

Revenue generated from the motorcycle sales will be placed in the city’s general fund.

Hinnant also endorsed the bikes.

“They’re in really good shape,” Hinnant said. “Unlike our cars ... these motorcycles are only used in better weather.”

Leake said Harley-Davidson offers police packages on motorcycles, which makes them attractive to departments.

The older models have been replaced by two black 2008 Harley-Davidson FLHTP Electroglides at $18,765 each purchased through Highland Harley-Davidson of LaVale, the low bidder. The purchase and installation of radios by TWR of Cumberland was $1,680 each, and to have Custom Concepts of Frostburg put the decals on the bikes runs $53.50 each.

Total cost to put both bikes on the road is $40,997.

“They are beautiful,” Hinnant said, noting motorcycles are great for traffic control and can get around places that cars can’t.

Leake said police motorcycles serve as good public relations tools at various events and parades. They also work well in finding speed violators because they can sit in places that are less visible.

Lt. Brian Lepley, Cpl. Andy Tichnell and Pfc. Todd Pressman are the department’s certified motorcyclists. Leake said that certification “holds true through retirement” with additional training offered.

Contact Maria Smith at msmith@times-news.com.