By Attendees braved temperatures in the high 90s as students anxiously waited to see what thrifted bargains they could bag at the annual Lost and Found auction on Wednesday.
Cal State Long Beach’s annual sale opened approximately 10 minutes early this year due to the growing line of students along Friendship Walk Central.
The open sale was held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m, with items varying from keychains to sunglasses and computer cases. Prices ranged from 25 cents to $5.
The auction of bigger items such as bicycles, skateboards and electronics was held from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
“I think the auction is pretty cool. I can’t believe that they would have this on campus,” said Bianca Valdivia, senior communications studies major. “I’m really happy with what I bought. I got this beautiful bike for $40 and I’ll probably just use it to ride around Long Beach. I’ve always wanted one that looks like this.”
The highest item sold at the auction was a beach cruiser that went for $155.
One lucky student walked away with a $7 bike.
“As the Support Services Manager, I guess I would be the main organizer, but my team does just as much organizing as I do,” said Chris Ramirez. “I couldn’t do it without them. My Lost and Found Guru, Gary Corbin organizes the Lost and Found Items throughout the year. His team deserves most of the credit.”
According to Ramirez, funds collected from the auction are given back to the student body in the form of student scholarships.
“The auction was pretty interesting,” said Catherine Marin, sophomore animation major.
“I was going to buy a new scooter which costs $70 on Amazon, but I bought this blue Razor scooter for $25. It’s a little worn out but it’s not that bad. I was determined to get myself a one today. I commute from LA and a scooter is pretty convenient.”
Ramirez said his team researches the items online in order to find the fair market value to put them up for sale.
Items remaining in any of the eight lost and found locations on campus ranging from one year to one month leading up to the event are eligible to be auctioned off at the annual sale.
The bicycles auctioned off varied from worn out to practically brand new.
“I don’t understand [how someone would forget their bike], I feel bad for the people who lost them. Some are new and I wonder how [those people] feel,” said Valdivia.
During the final half hour of the sale, remaining items were sold at an additional 50 percent off.
