$10,000 Star Wars Collection Going “Under The Hammer”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Friday, October 25th, 2013 (Rancho Cordova, CA) – The force was definitely not with a California man that was convicted in July of this year for defrauding the California Department of Transportation out of nearly $1.9 million.  The money was used to buy real estate, cars, expensive trips and, in an odd twist, hundreds of pieces of Star Wars memorabilia valued at over $10,000.

Even though the extensive collection came from the “dark side,” Caltrans will use its existing vendor contract with Bar None Auction to conduct a live, online auction in an effort to recover the money spent on the memorabilia.  The auction will be held on November 20th, just ahead of the holiday buying season.

“We’re pleased to assist Caltrans in the liquidation of the Star Wars collection and look forward to using our online auction technology to deliver for them,” said Brian Whalster, GM for Bar None Auction in Sacramento.  The memorabilia is being secured and stored at his location.

In addition to their normal auction marketing efforts, Bar None Auction is actively engaging the worldwide Star Wars community in order to assure the maximum number of collectible buyers is made aware of the auction, as well as getting input on the specific items.

“We started sending feelers out to the operators of the largest Star Wars fan forums and news sites on the web and their response has been overwhelming positive.  The Star Wars fan base is not only huge but very passionate.  They have been terrific about volunteering their expertise and have told us they will promote the auction as much as possible.  We’re excited about the momentum we’re building and are really looking forward to fantastic results on auction day.  It’s going to be a lot of fun,” said Tony Pulicella, Marketing Director for Bar None Auction.

A key knowledge source for Bar None Auction has been Philip Wise, founder of rebelscum.com as well as theforce.net, home of the largest Star Wars fan-based community on the web.  Mr. Wise provided his expertise on how the lots should be set up as well as many estimated values for the collectibles, which should give bidders extra confidence on auction day.

Those interested in viewing all the items up for bid can do so by visiting barnoneauction.com and clicking on the “Star Wars Collectibles” link on their home page. Bidders can also register for the auction and sign up for email updates from Bar None Auction while there.  The auction is free to the public and all terms and conditions are listed as well.