FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. -- Hundreds of community members came out to support Fort Campbell's Morale, Welfare and Recreation while getting a good deal on everything from cars to baby cribs and even computers.
For Allysa Baxley and her husband, Troy, it was a good chance to replenish their playroom and buy a few extra toys for themselves as well.
"My husband was looking at vehicles," Baxley said. "[He] bought two [kayaks] already."
They were outbid on all the vehicles, but she said the kayaks were what her husband really came for.
"We did get the first things we wanted on our list," she said. They researched how much a new kayak with all the accessories would cost them and set she limit to how much they were willing to spend.
"We didn't get any of the vehicles, they went for higher than what we priced out," she said. "We're just hoping for baby stuff '[because] that's what I want."
Baxley said she was really hoping for one of the four-slot coat cubbies -- something she did get in the end -- because she already had three children with a fourth due in June. She just needed a way to keep her front hall organized.
"We have a huge playroom. It's like a daycare at my house," she joked.
Baxley said it was the first time she or her husband had come to an auction, but they love watching shows like "Storage Wars," so when they heard about the auction they wanted to check it out.
Connie Parkerson, owner of a child care center in Clarksville, said going to auctions is a hobby for her, but Saturday was the first time she'd been to one on post.
"Some folks let me know about it," she said. "I knew they had vehicles and stuff, but I never realized they had day care equipment. I'll come next year if they've got it."
Parkerson said she likes going to auctions just to bid, but going to car auctions is her favorite.
"Sometimes I get crazy, I like the thrill of the bid," she said.
Her main concern for Saturday was getting the nap-cots from the MWR day cares on post, and she walked away with more than 20 for her students. She also got several tables, chairs and water tables just the right height for toddlers.
"I came out to the preshow viewing so I kind of knew what I was wanting," she said. "I didn't plan enough to get a visitor's pass, next time I'll leave an hour ahead of time … that was the biggest struggle."
As the auction ran later into the day, Parkerson started organizing her fellow bidders to get lower prices on the items with multiples -- such as the cots, toys and play sets.
"They're afraid I'm going to buy everything," she said. "I'm fair. I don't need all of them. Let me bid this and you can have what you want. Some people really really want it, so I'm not going to take it out from under them. I don't need it that bad."
For bidders only interested in one or two items for their own use, Parkerson would convince them not to bid against her in order to keep the price low. Eventually other bidders began approaching Parkerson to make deals.
"They're real cute, they keep coming over going, 'Are you bidding on that? Are you bidding on that?'" she laughed. "I [deal] anywhere I go."
She even managed to sell a car herself while she was waiting for the day care items to be auctioned off. After she heard the amounts being bid on the abandoned vehicles, she began joking about having a Mercury Cougar to sell.
"I said, 'All I want is $800 and I'll give you the title, it's in my car,' and he was like, 'Can I get your number?'" she said. The man gave out her number and after the last car sold, she said a bidding war began for her Cougar.
"I've had 17 messages, I've got three of them sitting down at Grandpa's waiting on me … so I'm about to go hold an auction down at Grandpa's to sell a car," she joked. "It was worth it just for that today."
Despite the wheeling and dealing going on between the bidders, the auction still managed to raise $80,000 for MWR. The money will now go back into various MWR programs.
"We had a very lively auction," said Chris Bullard, manager of Air Assault Auto Repair Center. "The turnout was bigger than we expected. It was great."
In total, auctioneer Len Garrison sold 32 vehicles, two campers, three trailers, five or six boats and a variety of children's furniture, toys, restaurant equipment, computers and a plethora of other items.
"All of the extra equipment comes from MWR," Bullard said. "The vehicles are abandoned vehicles that have been abandoned on Fort Campbell somewhere."
Bullard said MWR goes through an extensive process to make sure the vehicles can be sold free and clear so the new owners don't have to worry about someone else making a claim on their newly-purchased vehicle.
"We've covered everything that we need to, make every effort to find the last known owner, give them the opportunity to pick it up," Bullard said. "There's certain rules and regulations we have to follow before they make it to the auction lot."
The auctions themselves take several months to plan out, and the next one is tentatively planned for August. Bullard said she's hoping to have another one sooner. The dates are set based on how many items they have to sell and how much time it takes to prepare everything.
"It's going to take another two weeks to get all this out of here, and then we can start planning the next one," Bullard said.
FUTURE auction
•The next auction is tentatively planned for August.
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