First, cars. Next up: dump trucks and maybe some personal computers.

After selling seven aging vehicles from the Sheriff’s Office through an online auction on eBay, Douglas County officials figure that their first-time foray into the virtual world soon could become as commonplace as registering car tags at the county courthouse.

“I love entrepreneurialism,” said Charles Jones, chairman of the Douglas County Commission. “As long as it’s fair and legal, putting it out there where the market can respond most aggressively is good business.”

This month’s eBay offering was the first time the county had sought to sell excess equipment through an online auction. Commissioners considered the move a worthy experiment, one that might cut administrative costs and generate higher prices for vehicles that no longer were needed.

The result exceeded expectations.

The seven Crown Victorias, each outfitted with Ford’s police interceptor package, which includes special shocks and heavy-duty suspension, went for a total of $39,860. The total take represented a $12,360 increase — or $1,766 per car — from what the county would have expected to receive through its traditional auctioning service in Kansas City, Mo.

The good fortune can be attributed to a simple tenet of free-market economics, said Jackie Waggoner, the county’s purchasing agent: Competition pays off.

“I had a lot of people calling for information,” said Waggoner, who set up the county’s eBay account. “I had a guy from Colorado. I had a fire chief from Washington. They were coming in from all over.”

Among the successful bidders was Gary Fancher, a volunteer fire chief and director of emergency management in Metcalfe County, Ky.

Fancher already had spent three months combing the Internet for an inexpensive, reliable, police-package Crown Victoria when he came across Douglas County’s cars on eBay. He logged on and offered the winning bid of $2,601 for a 1997 model with 84,055 miles on it.

Chris Bentsen, a transport driver with Circle J. Transport of Springfield, Mo., begins loading five aging sheriff's vehicles to take to Asia Motors in Chicago. The county sold the cruisers on eBay.

The car, despite having been rebuilt after a crash, met Fancher’s needs. He’s picking it up today for the 9 1/2-hour drive back home. The former detective’s cruiser will serve as an emergency-response vehicle for Fancher’s 25-member department that serves 10,300 residents of his county.

“For the mileage and the model of the car, it seemed like a pretty good deal,” said Fancher, who foresees online auctions becoming commonplace for governments. “I think it’s one of the fairest ways to do it. It gives everybody the opportunity to bid on stuff, and you can get better prices than (at) a regular auction.”

Douglas County’s seller account soon could have company. Lawrence officials are looking into auctioning the city’s retired police cars and other vehicles through the Internet, though no decisions have been made.

Alan Landis, a purchasing specialist for the city, said he hadn’t started paying attention to eBay until this month, when the county’s unconventional approach prompted him to take notice.

6News video: Online auction helps pay off county debts County vehicles offered on eBay (5-1-04) eBay.com

“It seems strange to me, but … I’ve heard you buy almost anything on eBay,” Landis said. “It worked out real well for the county, and we’ll definitely look at it.”

Waggoner already is looking to expand the county’s online offerings. A couple heavy-duty dump trucks are expected to be added to the county’s auction list in the coming months, and other items — such as personal computers and other office equipment — could join the list if all goes well.

“I think it went well and we’ll keep pursuing it,” Waggoner said. “I think it’ll be good for us.”