Government Liquidation—Saving Money and the Planet

Reusing products is a smart way to save the environment. Government Liquidation sells used equipment and parts, computer and office equipment, trucks, construction and heavy equipment, and even has a surplus retail outlet. Their site says that more than 2 billion pounds of scrap material and more than 5.6 million surplus items have been sold, which has saved them from the landfill.

Government Liquidation is the exclusive contractor for the sale of surplus and scrap assets of the United States Department of Defense. The site is a nicer version of eBay where you bid on an item. The item’s open and close bidding time is listed, as well as the current bid, the item’s location and the approximate value. You will find a description of each item to go along with several pictures. Some items have preview dates, where you can view the item if you are near the location. Contact details are provided in case you have questions.

At the time of this writing, I found a John Deere lawn tractor, specialty tools, dump trucks, engines, transmissions, truck cabs, trucks, storage containers, shop compressors, vacuum pumps, and much, much more.

The site is divided into the following main categories, which are further broken down into subcategories: aircraft parts; audio video parts; boats and marine; computer and office; construction and heavy equipment; electrical equipment; industrial equipment, machinery; material handling; medical and dental; non metallic scrap; plumbing; scrap metal; test equipment; trucks and other vehicles; uniforms and field gear; and surplus retail outlet.

You can buy 700 desktop computers (without hard drives) for $150 (current bid) or 25 laptop computers for the same. I even found a Ford Model T—probably not something you need for your business, but it was just too cool not to list it.

If you don’t feel like perusing through each category, the site offers a search feature where you can type in a specific item. You can also narrow your search by state or opening bid dates.

The site also includes a link to the Uncle Sam’s Retail Outlet, which features 13 pages of cold weather gear such as glove liners, coat liners, weatherproof ski gloves, cold weather gloves, and pants. I found inexpensive North Face gear.

Like the other site, it is broken down into the following categories: cold weather gear; clothing and footwear (including boxer shorts); duffels and bags; boots; survival and preparedness; firearm accessories; hardware and tools; fitness and recreation; outdoor and camping; audio, video, and photo; and computer and office.

With the retail outlet, it looks like the items are new. Therefore, you really need to look around to see if it is a good deal. Some items, like the North Face gear, are marked cheaper than what I’ve found in stores. However, there are other items that appear to be priced similar to what you might find at a store, especially their office supplies.

The retail site gives you the option of searching for sale or clearance items, doing your own search, or narrowing your search by price or brand.

Items change on the site so if you don’t find what you are looking for, you can always check back again later.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Americans generated approximately 250 million tons of trash in 2010. Thankfully, we recycled almost 35 percent. Reusing equipment, containers, and other products is a great way to reduce the amount of waste produced, which means that purchasing from this site, or others like it, not only saves you money, it also helps to save the environment.

For more information, visit www.govliquidation.com

Story by Jennifer Taylor