Sourcing & Selling Avenues
Where to buy government surplus, where to resell it, and how to validate demand before you bid — with the compliance rules that keep “sell before you buy” legal.
An A-dec 511 dental patient chair sells new for ~$20,000. A county-clinic surplus unit in used-good condition might hammer at $500 on GovDeals. But 'buy $500, sell $20,000' is fiction. Realistic used A-dec 511 units sell for ~$6,000–9,000 (see eBay/DOTmed sold comps). Against that, subtract the 10% buyer's premium, ~$500 in freight (320 lb, pickup-only), pickup labor, testing, refurbishment, ~13% marketplace fees and payment fees. GovArbitrage runs exactly this math per listing and reports the honest expected net profit, ROI, and a recommended maximum bid — so you bid to a target return instead of a fantasy spread.
Where to source
US government agency surplus — often no buyer's premium.
Federal personal property; frequently $0 buyer premium.
Largest gov-surplus marketplace (state/county/federal); ~10% premium.
Heavy equipment, vehicles, military rolling stock.
State DGS/facilities programs and county auctions.
Municipal, school-district and agency surplus nationwide.
State of California surplus personal property.
Texas state surplus program.
Local government surplus — vehicles, equipment.
County tax-defaulted property + surplus.
University asset-recovery programs, strong for lab & IT gear.
University of Washington.
Michigan State University.
UC Davis.
Where to sell & validate demand
Where the flipped item actually gets sold.
Deepest buyer pool for used equipment; ~13% final-value fee.
Best for local, heavy, freight-averse items.
Refurb electronics at scale (approval required).
Medical & lab equipment verticals — higher-value buyers.
Industrial / heavy equipment.
Faster, lower-price exits when you don't want to retail one-by-one.
Bulk B2B liquidation auctions.
Pallet/lot liquidation.
Use these to prove resale price and demand before committing to a bid — this is research, not a sale.
Free sold-price history — the single best comp source.
New-retail anchor across sellers.
For collectibles/electronics with model-level pricing.
International — source & resell abroad (Europe · Japan · HK · Australia · China)
Pan-European industrial/surplus auctions + high-end curated marketplaces.
NL-based, industrial/machine surplus across 10+ EU countries.
Leading B2B auction group — BVA, Vavato, Klaravik, etc.
Belgium — industrial, overstock, bankruptcy goods.
Government + military surplus, EU.
Curated high-end auctions (art, design, collectibles).
Global heavy equipment (EU yards).
Government surplus + the region's top resale app.
Government surplus/unserviceable stores + confiscated goods.
Dominant HK second-hand marketplace.
The largest JP auction + resale platforms (also host government auctions).
Dominant JP auction site; also runs 官公庁 government auctions.
Largest JP C2C resale marketplace.
Government, council, ex-military and salvage auctions.
Government/council/industrial + clearance auctions.
Vehicles, industrial, salvage, Defence surplus.
Fleet + government vehicle auctions.
Court-seized/judicial asset auctions + luxury/art houses in Beijing/Shanghai/Shenzhen.
Alibaba court-seized asset auctions — property, vehicles, luxury.
JD judicial + surplus auctions.
High-end art/collectibles (Beijing/HK).
Wholesale sourcing + resale reference pricing.
Compliance — selling before you own read this
You do not own an auction lot until the auction closes in your favor and you have paid. Any marketing before that must be framed as CONTINGENT interest ('I intend to acquire this; contingent on winning'), never 'for sale now'.
eBay allows pre-sale listings only for items you have a firm commitment to supply and can ship within 40 business days (listing must state the ship date). You cannot list an auction lot you might lose. Practically: validate demand and collect contingent buyer interest off-platform, then list once you actually win and hold the item.
Collecting names, emails and non-binding offers on a 'buyer interest' page is compliant as long as it is clearly contingent and non-binding until you own the item. GovArbitrage's buyer workflow enforces the contingent flag and shows a disclaimer on every interest page.
Gov surplus is sold AS-IS, often pickup-only, with removal deadlines and payment windows. Model those costs (pickup labor, freight, storage) before bidding — the cost engine does this. Missing a removal deadline can forfeit the item and your payment.