UNCLE SAM'S SURPLUS SALES

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BE PATIENT

Try not to let auction fever get the better of you, because if you get infected with that bug, you might wind up with a payload of 3,482 neckties, or a year's contract to haul mess-hall scraps (to sell as pig food). I'd also advise that you never be in a hurry to purchase stock for your store. If what you would like to bid on doesn't show up at the first sale, don't fret: It will at some point. For instance, when our teenagers asked for a typewriter, an adding machine, a certain kind of bed, and some ski equipment, we told them just to wait . . . and, sure enough, those items eventually turned up at a sale for a fraction of what they would have cost in a retail store. Uncle Sam does require that all of the goods be paid for before they're hauled away. Business checks, money orders, and cash are all acceptable to the government . . . though an extra amount will be charged if a check fails to clear the bank, or if the purchased items aren't picked up within a certain number of days. In addition, a 20% deposit is often required on a sealed bid (it's refunded if a bidder is unsuccessful).

MORE THAN MILITARY

At our first sale we bought a wrecked helicopter for $66.66, those huge velvet drapes I mentioned before, and 200 pairs of khaki pants. My husband and I tore the helicopter apart and sold the aluminum for a good profit. The undamaged rotor also brought us a nice tidy sum. Our khaki pants sold like hotcakes at 59¢ a pair, and we used the drapes for our walls. After those successes we were hooked as surplus dealers.

Best of all, DOD Sales isn't the only agency that handles government auctions. The General Services Administration also sells a lot of merchandise. (For more information, write the GSA Business Service Center, Dept. TMEN, 7th and D Streets S.W., Washington, D.C. 20407.) Then, too, the U.S. Postal Service sells all dead letters and packages . . . some for as little as $1.00. Ask your local post office to notify you of the time and place of the next sale.

Even the Customs office runs auctions . . . to get rid of goods seized by the Internal Revenue Service for nonpayment of taxes and to sell articles confiscated from ports of entry into the United States. Some of these items are as exceptional as fine Jewelry, while others are as mundane as jogging shoes.

There are also some good publications available that can help you locate the correct office to contact regarding sales. For example, the U.S. Government Printing Office sells a book titled How to Buy Surplus Property (Publication No. 008-007-02939-8) for $3.25. Write to the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Dept.

TMEN, Washington, D.C. 20402. Another guide, U.S. Government Surplus—A Complete Buyer's Manual by J. Senay, can be ordered for $7.95 from Rainbow Publishing Company, Dept. TMEN, P.O. Box 397, Chesterland, Ohio 44026. (In fact, Mr. Senay has offered to send any MOTHER-reader the name and address of his or her nearest Surplus Sales Headquarters free. Write to him at Rainbow Publishing Company and enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope.)

So why not check out the surplus opportunities in your area and give "Uncle Sam's Discount House" a try. You, too, may end up—as the auctioneer says—"sold" on surplus shopping!  

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