If he didn’t wear a police uniform, Lake Township Police Chief Mark Hummer might be attired in the clothes of a used car salesman, a bright sport jacket perhaps.

Since becoming chief in 2004, he has sold nearly 20 surplus township vehicles to buyers across the country, using the online marketplace eBay.

A fire truck was sold to a broker in California, who sold it to a buyer in Vietnam. Two surplus ambulances were sold to officials in Altoona, Alabama and a Chevy Tahoe was purchased by an Emergency Management Agency office in Missouri.

Lake Township Police Chief Mark Hummer displays a vehicle that will be listed for sale on ebay. Twenty vehicles have been sold so far. (Press photo by Larry Limpf)

A township in Wisconsin purchased a fire truck about two months ago.

Deciding to use eBay, instead of a government surplus auction website or a vehicle auction firm in Perrysburg, the chief says, boiled down to trying to reach the biggest market of potential buyers.

“With the first couple of vehicles we ran over to the auction in Perrysburg,” he said. “They gave us a fair deal, a $400 flat fee. We would drop it off; they’d sell it, and take care of the title work.

“That’s when I started looking at a government auction website and then thought `What about eBay?’ With more bidders, hopefully there would be a higher return to the township.”

eBay listing fees for the vehicles rarely surpass $175, he said, and are generally around $125.

In all, the sales have brought more than $140,000 to township coffers and prices have ranged from $34,300 for a 1993 one-ton pumper truck taken out of service by the township’s volunteer fire department to $950 for a 1999 Crown Victoria.

“I think we’ve done far better than what we would get if we traded the vehicles in,” he said, adding he doesn’t “sugar coat” descriptions of the listed vehicles, which include a photo.

“Personal inspections are welcome and preferred,” the chief said, but the township isn’t insured for non-employees to take test drives. Cash or certified checks are accepted for payment.

Some of the cars sold have been confiscated from convicted owners in drug-related cases and sat for more than a year as the cases wound their way through court. The chief said he’s purchased used batteries for some confiscated vehicles so they can be started by potential buyers.

He suspects the retired police cars are purchased primarily by owners wanting a go-to-work car or by taxi operators. To date, he has had only one return – a Crown Victoria.

An Ontario, Canada man purchased a 1970 International fire truck for a private collection and a Kentucky man purchased a chipper/shredder that had been used by the township road department.

The Kentuckian’s check was sitting on the chief’s desk when the June 2010 tornado swept through the township and destroyed the administration building.

The check was replaced and when news of the tornado reached Alabama, officials in Altoona who purchased the ambulances contacted the chief with offers of assistance.

Hummer said his sales efforts have been helped by a demand for used vehicles.

“I think the Cash for Clunkers program took a lot of good used cars off the market,” he said.

Richard Welling, a township trustee, said he thought the use of eBay “was a pretty good idea” when the chief mentioned it.

“It’s been pretty successful,” Welling said.

Township police also monitor the eBay site to watch for possible listings of stolen property.

In 2004, police charged a Walbridge man with receiving stolen property after the owner of a boat trailer that had been stolen told police a trailer listed for sale on the auction site resembled his.

Police submitted the winning bid for the trailer and then posed as buyers to arrest the suspect.

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