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Bidders Went To Catch Deals, Not Flights

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By CARLOS MONCADA, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 4, 2007

TAMPA - Buddy Pearce of Brandon walked away with a good deal on an Xbox, but Mike and Jennifer Maziarski of Dunedin left empty-handed after the bidding on Nintendo games got too high for them.

They were among more than 2,000 bargain hunters who descended on a huge maintenance hangar at Tampa International Airport for its Surplus Property and Lost and Found Auction on Saturday.

More than 11,000 items, left wittingly or unwittingly by travelers in the past 18 months, went up for sale to the highest bidder after going unclaimed by their owners.

The lot included electronics such as laptops, cell phones and iPods, as well as jewelry, clothing, books and suitcases.

Surplus airport furniture and equipment also were sold.

Most people came looking for steep discounts, but not everyone came away with a bargain. Some left disappointed.

"These people are being silly," said Mike Maziarski, surrounded by sons Patrick, 11, Joseph, 8, and Anthony, 6, and daughter Cathleen, 10. "They're paying $200 for something you can buy for a hundred bucks - with a warranty."

Others, though, said there were plenty of good deals to be had.

Pearce and his wife, Joan, paid $270 for an Xbox, which came with seven games. He said the item, a Christmas present for their grandchildren, likely would have cost $310 to $350 at a retail store.

"The price on it was very good," he said. "We felt there were some good deals."

Pearce agreed, though, that some bidders can get caught up in auction fever and pay too much for something.

"I just think it's the unknown, kind of like going to Vegas and rolling the dice," he said.
Malini Patel, attending the auction with her cousin Bill, bought her daughter a Nintendo DS with a carrying case for $125. She figured she saved at least $15.

"I think it's a wonderful price and I will come back," said Patel, of Tampa.

The 3 1/2-hour auction attracted 1,200 registered bidders from throughout the Tampa Bay area. Because most were accompanied by at least one other person, the estimated attendance was 2,500, said Sharon C. Weaver, the airport's senior director of administration and information technology.

Bidders sat in folding metal chairs and raised yellow, numbered placards when bidding on items amid the occasional roar of planes taking off.

Anyone who wanted to reclaim a lost item could do so before the auction, but Weaver said only 10 percent of lost goods go back to owners.

Successful bids ranged from a low of $30 to $1,000 for a lot of 25 luggage pieces, Weaver said. The more unusual items included a large, stuffed red devil, a beauty queen crown and some tires.

"It wasn't like years past," Weaver said. "We didn't have any artificial limbs, we didn't have any chandeliers or car doors."

Reporter Carlos Moncada can be reached at cmoncada@tampatrib.com or (727) 451-2333.

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