Military Auctions: Good to Know Stuff -

When new equipment is brought in, much of the old military equipment is put up for auction.

I have decided to give you a variety of good things to know about military auctions. If you are interested in purchasing used military equipment or supplies, you will understand how and where you can do this.

How the military auction process works

The government has various affiliated who are allowed to list items up for auction on their websites. If the item sells to a bidder via that website, the site is given a commission of the total sale.

These websites inspect the military items to ensure they are in the condition stated in the listing.

Some of the military auction websites

There are a wide variety of websites where you can bid on military items. In some cases, the items were already purchased and the site is reselling the items. Or the website may be working in affiliation with the military to auction the goods. And in some cases, the auction is running live where people can bid both in person or online.

Besides military auctions, there are also many websites that sell many other government items.

These are a few of the military auction websites I have discovered:

GSA Auctions

GSA Auctions is one of the premiere websites to bid on government surplus. You can discover this auction site at:

You can find military items such as:

Aircraft and aircraft parts
Boats and marine equipment
Communication equipment
Computer equipment
Electrical equipment
Furniture
Hand tools
Vehicles
Real estate
and much more

Gov Planet and Iron Planet

These websites are owned and operated by the same people. In most cases, these are auctions where someone bought equipment or supplies and are reselling it. There is much more than just military equipment.

You can see each site at:

I started just browsing through the wide variety of military surplus up for auction. I found things like:

Mobile cranes
Electrical distribution equipment
Frac tanks
Generators
Humvees
Trailers
Trucks and other vehicles
and a whole lot more

There is even a government military auction starting April 5^th that has a whole lot of items – mostly Humvees.

Government Liquidation

This is another great website where you can get military surplus at rock bottom prices. According to the about us page of the Government Liquidation website:

Government Liquidation (GL), a Liquidity Services marketplace, is the exclusive contractor of the DLA Disposition Services for the sale of surplus and scrap assets of the United States Department of Defense.

So you can purchase nearly anything the military has no use for anymore.

Uniforms and field gear
Aircraft
Scrap metal
Industrial equipment
and a whole lot more

If you would like to see all the listings, just visit the website at: http://www.govliquidation.com/

Gov Deals

This is a website that is open for all government agencies to use to list items to be auctioned. You can

discover nearly anything at GovDeals website.

All terrain vehicles
Boats
Compressors
Dairy equipment
Exercise equipment
Firearms
Generators
HVAC equipment
Industrial equipment
Janitorial equipment
Lumber
Precious metals
and a whole lot more

Some things you should know about purchasing military surplus

Just looking at the picture does not mean you will be purchasing something that works great. Keep in mind that some items must be demilitarized. You may purchase some laptops just to discover that they have been completely “bushwhacked.”

The government must ensure that no one can find the information that was once on those laptops. They may be useful for parts but you may not be able to use them again as a normal computer.

Each item sold is given a “Demil code.” They are:

Non-MLI/Non-CCLI – Demilitarization not required
MLI (Non-SME) – Demilitarization not required. Trade Security Controls (TSCs) required at disposition.
MLI (SME) – Remove and/or demilitarize installed key point(s), as prescribed in DoD 4160.21-M-1, or lethal parts, components and accessories.

Some key points to know about bidding on government surplus:

Nearly everything is AS IS. That means there are no refunds. Plus, you will have to pick it up within a certain amount of days. You need to know where it is. You may have to pick something up in the middle of a desert or forest. Plus, you need to know when someone will be there.
I recommend that you read all the terms of the sale in detail. Be sure you understand completely what your obligation is.
Sometime buying from a surplus military dealer is wiser then purchasing directly from the government auction. Dealers will usually fix many of the small problems before reselling the items. Sure, you will pay more but you are apt to get items in better condition.

There are many forums where people experienced offer advice for newbies. Here is an example:

Take Nothing for granted. Inspect every vehicle as some of the pics aren’t even to the vehicle you’re bidding on. When you inspect, make sure of not only the vehicle number but also the sale number. Many vehicles from the same yard have the same item numbers but different sale numbers. You might be looking and a runner and bidding on a residue truck.

Final Thoughts

Wouldn’t it be great to own a surplus F-15 or a Humvee?

You can by bidding at these military auction websites.

I would love to hear from anyone who has purchased from military auctions before. Please share your experiences in the comment area below.

If you have any questions, you can ask them here too.

Thank you for visiting and please share this on social media.

Sincerely,

Chuck Holmes
Former Army Major (resigned)
Publisher, Part-Time-Commander.com
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com

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1 thought on “Military Auctions: Good to Know Stuff”

Stephen Ryan
November 18, 2021 at 07:30

Military surplus is excess materials that the military no longer needs. Rather than dumping them in a landfill, they are bought and resold, usually by entrepreneurs, at surplus stores.

Military Auctions: Good to Know Stuff