| What does the government do with all the unwanted | | | | *Land |
| things they bought with our tax money? They | | | | *Jewelry |
| auction it off at levels much below what they paid. | | | | Depending on which auction you attend, even more |
| Federal surplus, seized and forfeited assets make up | | | | kinds of items are available. Interested participants |
| the majority of items at these auctions. Just about | | | | can freely browse the GSA data base on the web. In |
| everything and any thing is auctioned. The most | | | | order to participate in an actual auction, you first |
| extensive data base with government auction events | | | | need to register with GSA. The registration process |
| is the General Services Administration. Also referred | | | | is simple and does not require too much of your time. |
| to as the GSA, they provide a factual resource | | | | The GSA requires you to simply assign yourself a |
| without misleading the public into thinking government | | | | user name and password. Secondly, you need to |
| auctions are secret and for the few select. This is a | | | | provide a credit card on file for identification |
| government sponsored resource and does not cost | | | | purposes. Once you have created this profile with |
| the public money to be a part of. The General | | | | the GSA, you can determine how you want your |
| Service Administration has its own website with | | | | information presented on paperwork for a completed |
| categorized auctions. Each auction has a brief | | | | auction winning. Its important to have your |
| description and picture of the item(s) being sold. The | | | | information in order before preceding to bid on |
| website is easy to navigate and is broken down into | | | | auctions. If your profile is incorrect, you cannot |
| states. | | | | change the information you supplied in your |
| Categories of Auctions | | | | registration. For example, if you are bidding on behalf |
| *Agricultural Equipment and Supplies | | | | of a company, you must register as that company in |
| *Aircraft and Aircraft Parts | | | | the profile. You may also create separate profiles if |
| *Boats and Marine Equipment | | | | you are only participating as an individual. |
| *Communication Equipment | | | | In 1996, in accordance with public Law No. 104-134, |
| *Computer Equipment and Accessories | | | | The Debt Collection Improvement Act was passed. |
| *Construction Equipment | | | | What this means to you, is that you must provide a |
| *Electrical and Electronic Equipment | | | | Tax Identification Number in order to conduct |
| *Vehicles (Firetrucks,cars,etc.) | | | | business with the Federal Government. This isn't |
| *Furniture | | | | something to be worried about, its actually just using |
| *Shop Tools | | | | your Social Security Number or if a business, you use |
| *Household/Personal Items | | | | an Employer Identification Number. |
| *Horses | | | | Government auctions are an excellent resource for |
| *Treasury Bills | | | | the public to find deals on just about anything. In |
| *Financial Assets | | | | addition to this being a free service, no buyer fees |
| *Lab Equipment | | | | are associated with these auctions. If you come |
| *Medical Dental Equipment | | | | across any organizations claiming to be affiliated with |
| *Office Supplies | | | | government auctions but require a fee, avoid doing |
| *Trailers and Tractors | | | | business. Your tax money pays for this service, there |
| *Houses | | | | is no need to pay a middle man for free information. |