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Monday, February 10th
Public Surplus is an auction site that focuses on providing an experience beyond being a mere auction site. The site appears to have been opened in 2003, and by the look of its interface, the site hasn't been updated since. The user experience on this site is completely subpar. We know government auctions interface with government sites, but we expect them to be better designed than a basic government database.
Site is out of date
If you're in search of a user-friendly government auction site with a modern design, Public Surplus might not be the best option. This website is one of the most outdated. It doesn't even fit a standard browser window. On top of that, all of the categories for the listings are written on the left side of the browser and there is no way to filter anything except by alphabetizing the listings by title or by price.
Unnecessarily complex
Additionally, they have two separate buttons for seller and buyer registration, which is unnecessarily complex for one site to have two different kinds of accounts. And, if that isn't complicated enough, they note that in order to finish registering your account, a Public Surplus account representative will be in touch with you to activate your account. Why?!
Extremely low number of listings
On top of our other concerns, the site also doesn't offer a wide variety of items for sale. There are 7+ pages of vehicles on Public Surplus with an average of 25 vehicles per page. While this can look like a lot if you're scrolling through each listing the way the site forces you to, it is a fairly low total of around 175 listings. The number of listings for technology also had around 175 listings total.
Cluttered listing descriptions
Unfortunately, the listings themselves aren't super helpful. The descriptions are cluttered and hard to read at a glance. On the listings we checked out, the main details about the auction were available like the current price and the starting point for the bid. The description usually included whether or not shipping would be provided by the seller, which was helpful. However, we couldn't find any details about fees or taxes which might impact the final cost once the sale has gone through.
Free for buyers but not sellers
Interestingly, while Public Surplus is free to use and join for customers, for the agencies that are selling on the site, there is a cost. According to the Public Surplus FAQ, they have departed from the "one size fits all" pricing approach. Instead, pricing is now determined on a case-by-case basis, taking into account various factors such as the agency's business volume, the value of listed items, and unique needs. So, they don't tell agencies how much it will cost to list on Public Surplus, but there will be a fee in most cases.
Site is "shady” according to reviewers
When we find customers on discussion boards asking questions like "Has anyone ever heard of X”, we get a little worried. And that was exactly what we found when looking for customer reviews for Public Surplus. The reviews we did find on SiteJabber were disappointing. The average score was 1.7 stars out of 5 and customers repeatedly left reviews stating that Public Surplus was the "worst” online auction site or that they had "shady” practices. On top of it all, the company has a horrible "F” rating from the Better Business Bureau, so it might be safer just to stay away.
Don't trust Public Surplus
In almost every way Public Surplus falls short of expectations and can be considered one of the worst options in our review. The site's outdated design and lack of user-friendly features make it difficult to navigate and browse listings. While they do offer a decent number of items for sale, the cluttered listing descriptions and absence of crucial details such as fees and taxes hinder the overall experience. The site's reputation is also questionable, as numerous reviewers have labeled it as one of the worst auction sites out there. Better off looking somewhere else for your next government auction.
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To simplify the process of finding the best government auction for you, Top Consumer Reviews has checked out and evaluated the best options online today. Hopefully, this helps you enjoy browsing the vast array of items and get some dream deals on your next government auction bid!
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