One way to find great deals online is to check out online auction sites that specialize in surplus and seized items being offered by government agencies. Merchandise on surplus auction sites runs the gamut and include: cars, houses, land, office products, clothing, furniture, boats, computers; pretty much any items you might find listed on Craigslist. I’m in the market for a new office chair and desk and was able to find several of these items being auctioned off for $1 with no bids.

The drawback of most surplus auctions is that you have to pick up your items on location as they do not offer shipping. This limits you to auctions being offered by nearby agencies. However, this also helps limit the pool of potential bidders thus keeping bids down. It may be worth your time to find out where nearby agencies like city and county governments list their surplus and seized items.

Property Room– – A popular site that runs online police auctions.

GovDeals– – Nice online directory format listing seized and surplus items from government agencies. Allows you to search by zip to find auctioned items nearby.

Public Surplus– online auction platform open to all local and federal government agencies. Many county and city governments list surplus items through this site.

Bid4Assets – Is a large online surplus and seizure auction site. It features scheduled auctions for the US Marshals Service, County Tax Sales, and other local and federal government agencies.

This post was inspired by a post on FiscalZen which features daily updates on money saving tips and deals. Check them out: FiscalZen

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