T he federal government may follow private companies into the hot electronic commerce game with plans to test next year an online auction site for federal products and surplus property, including everything from computers to houses. FinanceNet, an electronic clearinghouse that provides information on government property for sale, and the industry consortium CommerceNet plan to kick off the government's pilot project to create a single online entry point and auction site for government property. That surplus is collected from sources such as drug bust property seizures, assets from housing foreclosures and overstocked government inventories. However, people interested in buying the property have a difficult time finding out what agencies have for sale because the information is not collected in a single place. In addition, agencies take different selling approaches, such as sealed bids and auctions, and few do it online.
Agencies can have economies of scale and benefit from the exposure a portal can provide.
The public will be better equipped to find out what's available, he said. During the first phase of the pilot, FinanceNet plans to build a single portal site that will give the public access to all assets that agencies have for sale and the ability to search the information for specific items, such as a 1990 red Corvette. During the second phase, the government plans to allow the public to buy assets online via an online auction. Phase two, which would involve three to five agencies, could begin in a year. FinanceNet also would like to include sales of stamps from the U.S. Postal Service and coins from the U.S. Mint, Rich said.