Online surplus sales reach $1 million for Gainesville's Resource Recovery Center

Gold-painted trophies, riot helmets, a transmission jack, a snowman paper towel holder and even a bus can all be yours with the click of a button — for the right price.

For the past five years, Gainesville government has joined other municipalities around the country in auctioning off items through GovDeals.com to the highest bidder. The goal is to scrape together some extra cash while also allowing people to reuse items no longer needed by the city, as part of its zero-waste initiative.

Earlier this year, the city surpassed $1 million in sales through the website, city officials said.

“The listings are going up constantly,” said Keith Hampson, a program assistant for the city's Resource Recovery Center.

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Every few days, Hampson picks through an assortment of items to add to a heaping stack of usable products collecting dusk. Sometimes, that means pulling old crosswalk signals from dumpsters outside the recovery center. His goal is to "keep stuff from going to the landfill," he says.

Previously, and more at least two decades, the city auctioned items in-person every six months outside the city's Public Works Department building. The auction site has allowed the recovery center to continuously list items instead of accumulating its inventory. The online sales have been averaging around $200,000 since 2020, selling more than 2,000 items each year, Hampson said.

Furniture, bicycles, clothing and even a pair of Air Jordans have made it to the bidding block.

Last month, the city sold one of its 40-foot Regional Transit System buses for $5,050. After fees and taxes, the bill for the 2002 bus came to $6,072.

Laurenda Thomas, one of three recovery center storekeepers, keeps tabs on where items go.

“Some of the items get reissued to city departments,” she said.

Staff members photograph items and send detailed listing information to the website host, which collects a 12.5% premium after the final selling price.

Aside from Gainesville buyers, visitors from all over the country can find items they want and in the region they live. Hampson recalled a buyer from Nevada recently purchasing 42 refurbished and retrofitted cooling systems from RTS buses that sold just above "scrap value."

“Someone came and picked them up,” he said, adding that he often sees buyers from south Georgia and the Tampa area.

Some items up for auction come from cleared evidence by the Gainesville Police Department. The city has listed bolt cutters, a hammer, and some brand new items such as a Dell computer tower and TV.

Most of the chairs, desks and wood bookshelves have been deemed surplus items by various city departments. And with less paperwork being used, filing cabinets are stacking up and need to go.

Hampson says he tries to get rid of the thousands of items within six months to a year once in the hands of the recovery center.

“It’s a constant cycle,” he said, adding that he enjoys dumpster diving.

He often separates out aluminum poles and generic road signs to sell in piles for buyers.

“They used to go in trash, but now we pull them and sell them in a lot,” he said.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Gainesville has surpassed $1 million through online surplus auction