Crunch hit governments turn to eBay

With tough times upon us, state and local governments in the US are looking to make a few quid by auctioning surplus goods online.

Businessweek reports that everything from helicopters to armored personnel carriers to deep fat fryers are up for grabs on sites like eBay and specialist outfit GovDeals.com.

The Spartanburg County, SC, Sheriff's Office is even offering lucky punters the chance to buy their very own "old, framed picture of two camels". They won't take less than $55 though.

Businessweek also mentions a story that did the rounds during the Presidential election. Sarah Palin claimed to have used eBay to sell an aeroplane bought by her predecessor as governor of Alaska. The tale was designed to demonstrate her credentials as a reformer not interested in the trappings of power (apart from the clothes, obviously).

Unfortunately, according to a Huffington Post article by Jason Linkins, it wasn't true.