Find great deals at government surplus sales
Posted
Oct 01 2008, 05:13 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Want to help out the government and your pocketbook at the same time? You can do it by buying surplus government property. Thanks to a post at Greener Pastures: Personal Finance, we found great deals on everything from cameras and calculators to mountain bikes and chain-link fence. We even found corkscrews.
This federal government Web site provides links to those states that sell surplus government property to the public. Another site, GovSales.gov, takes you to the inventory of federal government property available for online bids. The selection is impressive. Need a piano? We found several there.
"Don't expect to buy a $1 yacht," advises a U.S. General Services Administration Web site. Items offered at federal auctions have been appraised and won't be sold below a "reasonable" price.
Better bargains may be found at state government surplus sales. Often you can browse at a state warehouse or Web site and pay only a small handling fee for a used item. Many states also sell surplus items on eBay.
Vermont has the usual computer and office equipment for sale, including conference room chairs with dark blue leather upholstery -- "some in good condition" -- for $20 each. The Web site also lists a 15-year-old box trailer with a sagging but leak-free roof for $1,500, and hundreds of Swiss Army knives, Leatherman tools and those corkscrews for $1 to $10 each.
Sometimes restrictions apply. In Delaware, for instance, items became available for public purchase only after other government and nonprofit agencies have passed on them. In Idaho, similar rules apply, and then public purchasing is done at auction or by a request for sealed bids.
A recent sale by the state of Maine advertised laptops ranging in price from $200 to $500 (although used laptops are a questionable deal), a $200 PC, and a pallet of 17-inch monitors for $15. Telephones, cell phones and file cabinets were available for $5 each.
Oregon has a "general store" for public shopping, including office equipment, furniture and mountain bikes. All items are offered as is, and all sales are final, the Web site says.
