From a green playground fish to three-ton forklifts, security wands to sump pumps, nearly everything that kept the Hawai'i Superferry running during its brief, controversial stay in Honolulu was parceled and sold at a four-hour auction yesterday at Piers 19 and 20.

More than 300 discerning shoppers turned out to bid on some 260 lots. Some came looking for great deals for home, others came seeking lightly used equipment for their own businesses.

"Business is business," said Leland Dao, a family practice and sports medicine physician who came to the auction in search of basic office equipment. "You've got to do what you can in this economic time. Everyone is looking for a deal."

The Hawaii Superferry shut down operations and sent the vessels Alakai and Huakai back to the company's base in Mobile, Ala., after the Hawai'i Supreme Court ruled in March that a state law allowing the ferry to operate while environmental impact studies were conducted was unconstitutional.

In an e-mail to The Advertiser last week, Superferry president and chief executive officer Thomas Fargo said the auction was a logical move given the length of time it would take to "set the conditions for any future operations in Hawai'i."

Save for the ferry itself, nearly everything the company had acquired for its Hawai'i operations was available for bid, including the Optoma projector used to display the individual lots.

A similar auction was held last weekend at Kahului Harbor on Maui.

Mary Koanui, co-owner of Small Kine Kennels, came specifically to bid on kennels for her dogs. She paid $225 for three extra-large kennels, which retail new for $275 apiece.

"My dogs are my kids," she said of her five pit bulls and two Maltese dogs. "This was a super deal."

Cindy Moniz, 47, of Wai'anae picked up a dog kennel for $75 and had enough money left over to place a winning $50 bid on a Samsung mono-laser multifunction printer.

"It's my first time at an auction," Moniz said, beaming.

The bidding on most lots went quickly, with many buyers walking away with pinch-me deals on otherwise pricey items.

While televisions, power tools, file cabinets and air-conditioning units topped off at 50 percent to 75 percent of new retail prices, the best deals came with the higher-end items.

One bidder paid $10,000 for five hand-held explosives detectors, which retail for $25,000 each.

For some, however, the deals were bittersweet.

Tom Keener, president and founder of Keener Technologies, sold the Hawaii Superferry about $200,000 in security monitoring equipment.

Yesterday, Keener bought back two $25,000 video surveillance systems for $4,300 and $4,500. He said he'll recycle components of the specially designed systems.

"Hawaii Superferry was one of our largest clients," Keener said. "When they went out of business and had to leave Hawai'i, that had a big effect on our company. They were such a great customer and they spent a lot of money. To see my stuff in a big pile was pretty emotional."

Of course, being able to buy back the equipment at pennies on the dollar offered some consolation.

"It made me feel a little better," Keener said.