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November 2008

Volume 8



Letter From the President

"As the effects of the financial crisis are ricocheting around the globe [school business officials should] LEAVE NO STONE UNCOVERED: either for expenditure reducing or revenue producing alternatives." -- John Musso, Executive Director, ASBO International


InterSchola Provides Help in Tough Economic Times


Dear Business Official,

 

As means of an introduction to our final newsletter for calendar year 2008, I would like to quote from John Musso, Executive Director, ASBO International (ASBO Newsletter October 23, 2008).  Mr. Musso said, "As the effects of the financial crisis are ricocheting around the globe, every day school business officials are faced with more questions about the effects on our school systems' fiscal stability. Not only will these challenges be with us over the next year, many of them will continue to pull on school districts years after the current crisis is under control. Now is our time to come together to preserve education for our students. School business officials are some of the most creative individuals I know. It's time to exercise that creativity."

 

There is no escaping the news that the projection for our schools and our local agencies is that there will be extremely difficult economic conditions ahead.   In these tough economic times, I want to commend the decision makers and staff of our current clients for their participation to date in InterSchola's program to help sell surplus or no longer needed assets in return for much needed funds.  To those that are not yet working with InterSchola, you may be asking yourself, what can be done locally to help mitigate the severe impact of the large scale financial crisis on our school or agency budget?

 

As President and Founder of InterSchola, a company that provides a full service solution to help school districts and local public agencies sell their surplus goods, I would like to invite you to speak with us regarding how we have already helped over 250 school districts, including more than 20% of the school districts in the state of CA, put millions of dollars back into their general funds. We have helped these same districts save countless more dollars previously spent on labor, storage and disposal costs by partnering with us.

 

In our 4+ years of operations, InterSchola has returned millions of dollars to our existing school clients from the sale of surplus goods.  This is REAL money to your district - not to mention the tremendous time/cost savings for your staff – as we do the lion's share of the work to help you sell your surplus goods!  Today, I am writing to solicit your feedback regarding our service and also to ask if your district is leveraging our service to the maximum potential? 

 

Statistics show that during tough economic times, people become more frugal.  When times are good, sellers get rid of OLD "stuff" and replace it with NEW "stuff". When times are tough, sellers look around for things to sell.  When times are good, people buy "stuff".  When times are tough, people buy USED "stuff".  The market for used or surplus goods and equipment is strong, NOW. 

 

Thus, we believe that now is the time to dig deep to determine if your staff is holding onto to things that are not being used - things that sold to others who need these goods now - could mean revenue to your district.

 

We invite you to schedule an appointment with one of our trained surplus inventory specialists and your department staff to explore the possibilities further.  Please contact us at auction-info@interschola.com or call us at 1-888-653-7360 x2.  Our Field Auction Manager will be happy to meet with your district to conduct a free "surplus inventory audit".  We are confident there may be many items in storage that could bring good money for the district's general fund.   

 

I believe that by working together, we can strengthen budgets in these tough times and make a difference in our communities.  I invite you to read the stories of some of our clients in the newsletter below.

 

We wish you happy holidays and a brighter future in 2009!

 

Regards,

Melissa Rich

President, Founder
 


Changes to InterSchola Vehicle
and eWaste policies - California


Below please find important and timely information that we have received with regard to Salvage Vehicle and eWaste pickups and related InterSchola policy changes resulting from a significant change in market conditions.  

 

As you may be aware, the current economic crisis has hit the scrap metal markets.  Scrap metal values have dropped precipitously in recent weeks.  These are commodity markets and pricing for scrap metals are reflected in the supply and demand of goods being bought and sold for their precious metal value.

In order to ensure that InterSchola can obtain the highest end values for your surplus items, we have made some policy changes regarding the handling of the above asset categories. 

 

Salvage Vehicles:

InterSchola was recently informed by each of our Salvage Vehicle partners independently that the current estimated minimum value of a vehicle sold for salvage has been reduced from $200 - $275/per vehicle to $10 - $70/per vehicle in a matter or weeks!  This is a dramatic change. 

 

In an effort to continue to assist you with disposal of your surplus vehicles, including vehicles that would have been sold for salvage, we have developed a new policy for vehicle sales.   The new policy will take effect for all vehicles that are to be inventoried and listed for sale by InterSchola after December 1, 2008.  Please read below carefully.

 

If InterSchola deems that a vehicle is worth more than $700.00, your InterSchola Field Auction Manager will inventory and list this vehicle for sale at auction on eBay, as provided under your current InterSchola Services Agreement.  In this event, InterSchola will launch the auction with a minimum start price of $699.00 on eBay – a start price that we believe has yielded excellent sell thru and final values in an open market environment for good condition vehicles. 

 

As a matter of policy, if the vehicle is listed on eBay for a 5, 7 or 10 day auction and does not sell, we will automatically attempt to sell the vehicle again at auction with a lower start price of $499.00 in the hope of attracting interested parties.   Note: Most running vehicles are still selling very well on eBay thanks in part to the decrease in the price of gas and diesel fuel and will command prices that may be significantly higher than the $699.00 start price. 

 

If InterSchola deems that a vehicle is worth less than $700.00 but at least $350.00, InterSchola will now offer to inventory and list the vehicle for sale at auction.  In the past, InterSchola would have recommended that the client approve the vehicle for immediate salvage pickup to recoup a minimum $200-$275/vehicle. 

 

In order to ensure that we can offer this service to list lower value vehicles on eBay with the hope of recouping maximum value for these vehicles, InterSchola will assess the client a $40 per vehicle listing fee to be deducted from the proceeds of the successful sale of the vehicle or other items auctioned at that time.   Each client will be given the option of listing lower value vehicles according to these terms.

 

If the vehicle does not sell, we will attempt to sell the vehicle again at auction with a lower start price. If the vehicle does not sell a second time, we will either release the vehicle back to you or, with your approval, arrange for a salvage pickup by one of our partners.  (Please NOTE reduced salvage vehicle prices of $10-$70/vehicle).

 

If during the initial inventory, InterSchola deems that a vehicle is worth less than $350, InterSchola will gladly work with our salvage partners to obtain the best price for sale of the vehicle as salvage. For the time being, the price paid for such vehicles will likely be between $10 and $70/vehicle.

 

InterSchola will keep apprised of the market situation related to scrap metals and will review this policy change as scrap metal prices recover.

 

In all situations, when we are successful in selling the vehicle, our standard commission rates will apply.

 

eWaste:

The eWaste business is also affected by current scrap metal prices.  Although computers, monitors and TVs etc (Covered Electronic Waste Materials) are still covered by a state of California program  to pay end users to recycle these items, please note that our state certified eWaste Partner has informed us that previous prices paid for many materials are affected by the slowdown.  Our Partner has confirmed the following price schedule for computers and other certified eWaste pickups arranged by InterSchola on behalf of our clients effective immediately:


Monitors and TV's (SB-20 materials) $0.20 / lb
CPU's (computers) $0.10 / lb
Other non covered materials COST for P/U

 

Please note that our Partner has suggested that with current market conditions,  it is no longer feasible for them to pickup miscellaneous items (other non-covered materials) at no upfront cost to our clients due to the reduction in scrap metal prices that they receive for such items.  In order to avoid having our eWaste partner refuse a pickup of eWaste, we ask that our clients PLEASE be careful to eliminate "non covered electronic waste materials" from the pickup request so that we may continue to offer very competitive pricing for such pickups.  Our partner will do everything possible to keep prices stable but the market determines the worth of these items.  Please keep in mind the price could change at any time.  InterSchola's salvage commission rate will apply to all pickups arranged by InterSchola.

 

We are pleased to be able to continue to offer the services above with the recommended changes to our policies in spite of a very difficult economic climate.  Like you, we hope and anticipate that market conditions will improve in the future and we will keep you informed as we learn more.


Client Testimonials

School Districts Reclaim Space
and Turn Surplus to Cash

Recently the Purchasing and Warehouse Supervisor of Merced County Office of Education, Chuck Hergenraeder, had a dilemma; he had been storing three 15 passenger school buses (circa 1980) that were no longer suitable for school district use and he needed to reclaim the space in his bus yard. Hergenraeder had previously worked with a company called InterSchola to dispose of several smaller surplus items and remembered the success of that venture.

 

Hergenraeder contacted his local representative and from that point on, InterSchola took over management of the sale of his busses via online public auction. A church in Texas won the busses at auction for a significantly higher price than Hergenraeder would have been able to generate by his own efforts.  Within a short period, three members of the church drove from Texas to pick them up. A delighted Hergenraeder said, "More important than the money received from the sale of the buses, was the ease of the process; the only effort on my part was to make a call to InterSchola. They did the rest. It was great!"

 

School districts from San Diego to Northern California are struggling with budget cuts and looking for ways to be more efficient with their limited financial and personnel resources. InterSchola has partnered with many agencies, such as Merced COE, to offer a helpful solution.  InterSchola gives California school districts and other local public agencies an alternative way to manage the "end" of their asset lifecycle by providing a full service solution to help these agencies sell their surplus goods via eBay. Districts dealing with full warehouses have found that InterSchola helps manage the sale of their surplus inventory from start to finish.

Ron Bennett, President of School Services of California, the premier business, financial, management, and advocacy resource for educational agencies in California said, "InterSchola frees up staff time by expertly handling the entire surplus inventory and evaluation process. Their service is a tremendous help to busy school administrators plus there is no cost to the district. In fact districts actually receive dollars from the sale of their surplus. In a time of budget concerns, the service is very valuable to schools."

 

San Jose Unified School District's Pat Day works with InterSchola on an ongoing basis.  Due to budget cuts, Day wears many hats as the District's Director of Maintenance, Operations, Purchasing, and Contract Management. When Day first learned about InterSchola, the district's warehouse was overloaded to the point that the district had begun to fill several additional storage containers. Many items - including old pianos and several tons of rock salt used in water softeners that had long ago been replaced - had been sitting in the warehouse for ten years or longer. Not only did InterSchola sell much of the District's inventory to make room in the warehouse for future shipments, they even sold the temporary storage containers that were no long needed as a result of the successful sales. A surprised Day said, "It was amazing what sold. InterSchola even managed to find a buyer for an old water truck that leaked so much, there was no water left by the time it reached its destination."

 

When asked if the money was helpful to the district Day replied, "Making money from selling unneeded items is not our mission, educating students is OUR mission. Still, unusable inventory takes up valuable warehouse space and impedes efficient warehouse management. With the help of InterSchola, my staff now has more time and resources to focus on our core mission of providing an excellent learning environment for our students."


School District Gets Help with Green
Initiatives from Unique Sources


School districts throughout California are implementing new ways to recycle and to divert waste from going to landfills using a variety of tools, resources and partnerships. One such school, Union School District in San Jose, has taken this challenge to the max by implementing a lofty goal to be a "Zero Waste" District. This past fall Mary Allen, Union's Supervisor of Maintenance & Operations, entered into a pilot program with the city of San Jose to divert as much of their trash as possible to recycling or composting. At the same time, Allen sought a way to reuse, recycle , or redistribute the district's surplus goods into the community to divert these goods from winding up in landfills as well. For help with this effort she looked to InterSchola, a local firm who finds new homes for school districts' surplus inventory.

 

Mary Allen struggled for years to efficiently sell and dispose of Union's surplus or no longer needed goods. Stored outside, her surplus inventory was exposed to the elements, so for lack of a better solution, her staff started throwing things away. Allen knew she had to find a better way. She tried many strategies to try to "recycle" the goods - including a sale for district employees - but each effort took manpower she didn't have and did little to reduce her surplus. When Mary Allen discovered InterSchola, this all changed.

 

InterSchola's mission is to make it easy for schools to sell their surplus assets, to provide additional revenue for the district and to help keep still usable goods and materials out of landfills. School districts are always surprised that most of their surplus is wanted and needed by others who will pay good money to purchase these items at public auction.

 

Mary Allen is planning to be with InterSchola for the long run, "We are using them on an ongoing basis. In the past we would bring in 40-yard debris bins that would cost the district hundreds of dollars and ultimately, these bins would be brought to landfills. Now this money stays with the district and the extra money from the surplus sales goes back into the general fund. With today's tight budgets this helps with our district's core mission to successfully educate our students - plus, the service also helps preserve the environment for all of us."

 

One step at a time Union School District, the city of San Jose, InterSchola, and Mary Allen are helping Union School District edge closer to their goal to be a "Zero Waste" district.


InterSchola School Surplus Blog


As you can see from the stories above, we believe that creative solutions can have a positive impact on any problem.  If you have an interesting story to share about your surplus efforts, please contact us at auction-info@interschola.com so that we may share these with your colleagues.  We look forward to hearing from you.


In order to facilitate communications with our clients, we've created a blog at http://schoolsurplus.wordpress.com/ Our staff will post news and information to help District officials maximize the value of their no longer needed surplus items.

Please bookmark this site, and feel free to add your comments to the articles posted.

 

 

 

 

Visit our website:

www.interschola.com

For information about partnering with InterSchola or to learn more about our services, contact:
auction-info@interschola.com
1-888-653-7360 ext 2