Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente Jr. today announced that the Oneida County ebay program of using surplus items as a revenue-generating mechanism for the county has hit $2 Million in revenue.

The program began in July of 2004 as a way to sell off surplus items that County Departments were no longer going to use, but which could still have a usable life to someone else. Under the program, all items any department designates as surplus are reviewed by the staff of Oneida County’s Purchasing Department to determine what can be sold.

Oneida County Executive Picente said, “As the program has grown and established itself, and the popularity of ebay has grown, we have found a larger and larger market for office equipment and other items that are either outdated, worn, or no longer needed due to changes in the ways we deliver services. I want to commend the Purchasing Department, because they invest the time and effort in reviewing the surplus items that departments generate and decide what to sell on line. past their useful life  Two million dollars in revenue from this program amounts to that much money for which we have not had to ask taxpayers.”

Over the last few years, the program has grown tremendously, contracting with a large number of towns, villages, cities, school districts, public authorities, and other counties and acting as surplus agents serving their interest. The revenue from contracting with these organizations has helped offset the salaries of those in the purchasing department, and no extra employees have been added for this endeavor.

Oneida County Purchasing Director Mello Testa, said the program has been an exciting project. “When we started the ebay surplus program, we took the approach that we had nothing to lose. Anything we made was good. What we have seen over time is that there is a market for the things that the county generates or that our partners generate, and we have been able to turn what was really a very small part of our work into a money-making operation that helps the communities and the county.  I appreciate the support we have been given by the County Executive to take this good idea and just run with it to its fullest potential.”

The program has piqued the interest of Counties across the state, and Oneida County have become known as the online sale experts. Assistant Purchasing Director Greg Grower has offered his expertise by conducting seminars at the annual NYS SAMPO Conference for the last several years.