Parking Operations to sell used bicycles at spring auction

IU Parking Operations will auction off bicycles abandoned on campus throughout the year.

The auction will start at 9 a.m. Saturday in the lower level of the Jordan Avenue parking garage.

The event hopes to sell bikes that have been picked up by the parking operations during the past months because they were left behind, said Doug Porter, parking manager for parking operations.

The location of the auction is covered in case of rain Saturday, Porter said.

The auction happens twice a year, once in the fall and once in the spring, which helps clear out the department’s storage area.

On average, Porter said about 100 bicycles are in the auction.

The auction most often features bicycles that are sold at large retail outlets because people with expensive bicycles usually don’t abandon them on campus, Porter said.
Anyone can come and bid on any of the bicycles that will be auctioned off, Porter said. The event occurs much like a typical auction, where the highest bidder takes the bike home.

“This is not a garage sale,” Porter said. “We don’t put a price tag on them.”

He said many people often come to the auction to buy bicycles for parts that they can later use to repair other bicycles.

Porter said the average bicycle at the auction sells for $50 to $60.

According to the IU Parking Operations website, cash and checks will be accepted at the auction and all sales are final.

The money raised through the auction is put into the parking operations budget, Porter said, and is then used to help pay for things such as bicycle racks placed around campus.

The department will set up and display all of the bicycles before the actual auction, Porter said. He recommends that anyone who is interested in buying a bike should come to the event early to look at the ones up for auction.

In addition, people who come too late usually miss out on the auction entirely, Porter said, because it goes by pretty quickly.

Anyone who plans to participate in the auction should keep in mind that all of the bicycles are used, Porter said. This means that some of them might need repair.

“They should not bid too much on it,” he said. “Shouldn’t if they can’t afford to fix it.”