Guide to Federal Government Sales Introduction

Although some surplus and forfeited items of the Federal Government are transferred to other Federal agencies or given to state and local governments, a staggering variety of items from vehicles to office equipment to real estate finds its way to the public through Federal Government sales.

This revised guide is published by the U. S. General Services Administration (GSA) in cooperation with 20 Federal sales programs. With informative listings from each Federal sales program, combined with practical consumer tips, this guide is designed to help you do business with the Federal agencies that sell items to the public. This guide :

• Gives information about sales methods and sale locations,
• Describes items for sale,
• Lists addresses, telephone numbers, and websites for further information, and
• Has a glossary on page 29 that explains the sales terminology used by Federal agencies to describe the types of property available and the methods by which it is sold.

Use this guide to contact the appropriate government sales program. Uncle Sam may have something to sell that interests you.

A great online resource for finding out the latest on government sales and auctions is the Shopping and Auctions page at FirstGov.gov (www.firstgov.gov/shopping/ shopping.shtml). This page takes all of the Federal Government's sales and auctions of property, real estate, cars, souvenirs, books, and gifts and organizes it one easy-to-read-and-navigate page. Sales and auctions are broken down into eight categories:

• Auctions
• Cars and Transportation
• Loans and Investments
• Real Estate
• Souvenirs/Books/Gifts
• Supplies and Equipment
• For Government and Non-Profit Buyers
• Find Sales by Agency

Back to the Table of Contents