Cape's auction raises $46,000

Value is in the eye of the bidder when old junk sells for a lot of money.

Hundreds of bargain shoppers milled around the Cape Girardeau auction on Saturday at the former public works building. The auction ran until early evening.

"We sold everything we had," said C.T. Hendricks, fleet coordinator of the Public Works Department. More than $46,000 was raised.

Household items typically sold for $1 to $5, such as an espresso maker and coffeemaker, pots and pans, brooms, mops and bedsheets. Selling from $1 to $25, electronic devices covered two rows of tables, with handheld recorders in a box on one end and computer monitors in a heap on the other end.

Buyers frequently selected their favorites and offered a bid for the whole set. If no one outbid, they kept it.

"We actually got a nice stack of books," said Cape Girardeau resident Mike Soellner, 44, who initiated a $2 bid.

While some got away with paying dirt-cheap prices, others drove up the bids to seemingly groan-worthy heights. A small CD case loaded with Led Zeppelin, Elton John, Kiss and AC/DC discs sold for about $115 and a megaphone for $39.

Accomplishing his mission to buy just the kayak, Tony Smee, 36, of Cape Girardeau spurred envious groans over one of the most coveted items at the auction.

"The life jacket and the paddle came with it and cost just as much as I paid for [the kayak alone]," he said, and the kayak retails for $800. "So, I paid $320 for about $1,100 worth of stuff."

Smee volunteers with the Boy Scouts of America Troop 2 and will share the kayak on outings.

Hundreds of bicycles and a couple of scooters drew parents who hoped to buy one for their children. All 200 bicycles were sold individually.

About 30 vehicles were on the block, selling for as low as $200 for nonrunning vehicles and up to $1,700 for running vehicles.

jmetelski@semissourian.com