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Seattle has officially washed its hands of the five self-cleaning toilets. The toilets cost the city $5 million. They sold on eBay Thursday evening for $12,549. All five were sold to Racecar Supply, of Rochester, in Thurston County, with winning bids ranging from $1,625 to $4,899 per commode, said Pat Miller, spokesman for Seattle’s Fleets and Facilities Department. “What a buy,” said Racecar Supply owner Butch Behn. “Wouldn’t you think it’s a really good deal, considering what they paid for them? It was a gift.”
Behn said he likely will install at least two of the toilets at South Sound Speedway, a racetrack the company owns in Tenino. “I’m thinking they’re pretty spendy to repair,” Behn said. The high-tech public toilets, with sanitizing water jets and automatic doors, were installed in 2004 to accommodate tourists and transients in Pioneer Square, Capitol Hill, the central waterfront, Pike Place Market and the Chinatown International District. But the city canceled its contract this spring after the commodes became filthy hide-outs for drug use and prostitution. The city tried to sell the toilets on eBay in July, but nobody coughed up the $89,000 minimum bid. In its second attempt, which closed Thursday, the city offered no minimum, and 148 bids were cast.
“We sold them for what the market determined them to be worth,” said Andy Ryan, spokesman for Seattle Public Utilities. “Did we get hosed? I’m not sure.”
Next time Seattle, just go with Bob’s Johns.
I don’t know anything about this. But its obvious they got hosed when they bought them. Sure hope the 5 Mill involved land purchase or something else rational and non-fraudulent.
So much waste and stupidity.
Why wouldn’t the city hang on to them for use on special occasions, for example during a street fest or Santa Claus Parade?
Kind of like buying an electric car.
uhm why do these things look like an orgasmatron???
They won’t stop the standard upper decker and it cannot stop the urine drip from the ceiling during death grip pressure hold and explosive release that causes yellow rain for the next user.
$1m each?!?
They could have invested that money and paid a fulltime cleaner to scrub a real toilet 10 times a day.
Seattle Public Utilities are probably glad to wash their hands of the problem; feeling flushed at the sale; are irretrievably ‘down the pan’.
Seattle Public Utilities are probably glad to wash their hands of the problem; feeling flushed at the sale; are irretrievably ‘down the pan’…
Your shitting me !!!!
I’m sure glad the gov’t only taxes us for what is absolutely needed. LOL!
One has to wonder what company was brave enough to offer for sale a public toilet that cost $1,000,000 each.
Boeing maybe???
Normally you have to get into military contracting to charge that much for a crapper.
The B-1 toilet seat for example cost $2000 each.