Where is the Best Place to Find Government Auctions? If you're a thrifting fan or love getting more for less, auctions might be the pastime for you. Government auctions, specifically, are public sales events where the government (federal, state, or local) sells property that has been forfeited or seized. Unlike other types of auctions (like an auto auction), which tend to be more specific to particular items of interest, government auctions offer tons of different items. Some of these include real estate, vehicles, electronics, boats, clothing, heirlooms, and more. You can also find government auctions that offer surplus items from the government entities themselves, like office equipment or even buildings that are no longer needed for government work.
Very Good
Gov Deals is another site in our review that's part of the Liquidity Services brand family. This includes 5 different government auction websites. The experience, design, and story for Gov Deals is almost identical to its sister sites. However, unlike some of the other Liquidity Services brands, Gov Deals only focuses on government auctions. There aren't options for business auctions or personal sellers at this company.
100% government auctions
All of the auctions available through Gov Deals are government auctions or items sold by government entities. You can find auctions from colleges like University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Tennessee, University of Kentucky, and more, fiscal courts, state surplus operations, military surplus, and beyond. Our research also showed auctions from the United States Postal Service and county governments. There are notably different government auction options listed here than with Gov Deals' sister sites (though there is some overlap).
Find over 21,000 auctions with no reserve
Gov Deals gives you a few different ways to join government auctions, so you can choose what works best for you. Gov Deals offers No Reserve/Reserve Met, Reserve Not Met, and Buy Now auctions. In No Reserve or Reserve Met auctions, the item is guaranteed to go to the highest bidder, no matter the final bid. On the other hand, Reserve Not Met auctions require the price to hit a certain minimum before the seller agrees to let it go. If that price isn't reached, the item won't be sold. For those who want to skip the bidding process, the Buy Now option lets you grab an item at a set price instantly. At the time we checked, Gov Deals had over 21,139 auctions where the item was sure to sell (No Reserve or Reserve Met), 1,929 with unmet reserves, and 1,900 listings you could buy on the spot.
Tons of options for consumer goods
Browsing at Gov Deals is similar to other sites in the Liquidity Services family. You can filter by categories like transportation (4,780 items), consumer goods (8,679 items), or real estate (707 items). Plus, there are helpful filters for the type of auction, the preferred currencies, what region or location you're in, price limitations, and the condition of the item you want to buy There were more government auctions at Gov Deals than we saw at some of its sister sites, with 23,068 different auctions active at the time of our review.
Prices from $1 to $2,400,000
To compare costs across different government auction sites, we looked at three popular categories for fantastic deals at Gov Deals. Notably, outside of the main cost comparison, there were free items available for request on this auction site. While some items had buyers' premiums, most of the items we researched did not list premiums on the product page. The terms and conditions state that premiums are listed on the Bid Box (which you can't access until you've created a profile on Gov Deals with an email and password). For the entire range of prices across all auctions, we found items from $0.50 for 9 purple yoga mats up to $2,400,000 for a 1990 Beechcraft King Air 350 private plane (this is a common item we spotted across the different Liquidity Services-affiliated auction sites). Here's what we found for the other popular categories:
Impressive BBB ratings for parent company
Gov Deals did not have its own page with the Better Business Bureau. Instead, we had to check out its rating under the parent company, Liquidity Services. Impressively, Liquidity Services held a top "A+" rating and accreditation with the Better Business Bureau. However, on third-party review sites like Trustpilot, Gov Deals' reputation isn't as stellar. Trustpilot shows a 1.6-star average out of 5 stars for this government auction service. Customers did not like the lack of communication from Gov Deals when they inquired about the auction process. Also, one customer noted that in a mistaken purchase where the item needed to be picked up in person (and the buyer lived in a different state), the mistake caused the buyer's account to be locked unless he paid a fee to unlock it. On the other hand, if you're careful with your buying (and are familiar with the auction process), you may not have any issues at Gov Deals.
Best for those who have auction experience
According to reviews for Gov Deals, this is not a site for those brand new to auctions. You have to know what you're doing because Gov Deals isn't going to help you out if you make mistakes. However, with its high inventory and unique selections of real estate, vehicles, and other major favorites, Gov Deals stands out as a fun choice if you want lots of options for your next government auction. Plus, with buy now auctions (not offered everywhere), you can get some items without any bidding at all. For this reason, Gov Deals earns a highly competitive score in our review.
Continued from above...
If you're a thrifting fan or love getting more for less, auctions might be the pastime for you. Government auctions, specifically, are public sales events where the government (federal, state, or local) sells property that has been forfeited or seized. Unlike other types of auctions (like an auto auction), which tend to be more specific to particular items of interest, government auctions offer tons of different items. Some of these include real estate, vehicles, electronics, boats, clothing, heirlooms, and more. You can also find government auctions that offer surplus items from the government entities themselves, like office equipment or even buildings that are no longer needed for government work.
The best thing about government auctions in the modern age is that you can choose how you want to attend them. While in years past, finding a local government auction was the only way to get some of these goods at great prices, you can now attend many auctions online, which allows you to bid and manage your buys from the comfort of your home. While some auctions are still conducted in person, you have a lot more choices now than you did before.
But where do you find reliable government auctions? There are tons of websites, some offering their own auctions only, and others that collect auctions or lots from various government agencies and provide you the opportunity to get in on the great finds. For example, one auction platform offers surplus and seized items auctioned off by the police, and proceeds from the auction go to support that particular group. This means you can pick and choose what government agencies you'd like to support while you get great deals on items that might be hard to find elsewhere.
The bottom line? Government auctions are a great way to find potential savings on high-value items, especially real estate or vehicles. Whether you're looking for new furniture, a plot of land to build your dream home, lower-cost business space to start building your new company, electronics for the gamer in the family, or even a new car, there are tons of ways to score low-cost must-haves from a government auction.
If you're in the market for those savings, but you're not sure where to look for legit (and easy to use) government auctions, don't worry - we've done the research for you. Here are a few factors that can help you narrow the field:
To help you find the best spots for major savings, unique finds, and a way to support your favorite local (or state) government agencies, Top Consumer Reviews has reviewed and ranked the best government auctions available online today. This way, you can browse to your heart's content, find those must-have items for much lower costs, and trust that your money is going to a cause you believe in. So, what are you waiting for? Go grab your fantastic deals before they're gone!
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