About GovAuctions

GovAuctions is a search engine for government surplus auctions. More than 1 million people a year use it to find vehicles, equipment, real estate and seized property, and to check what comparable lots sold for before they bid. We index 66,528 live listings from 53 official sources in 8 countries, with new listings every 30 minutes.

What GovAuctions does

Government surplus is sold across dozens of separate auction sites. GovAuctions puts them in one search, and helps you know what you should bid. You can filter by location, category and price, save items to a watchlist, and get email alerts when new lots match. When you find something, you click through and bid on the official platform. We never sit between you and the seller.

We keep the final prices from 310,000+ completed government auction sales, so you can see what an item is worth before you bid: the median and typical range comparable lots sold for. Look up any item on what's it worth, or see the deal score on a live listing. Every U.S. source and its live count is on the sources page.

GovAuctions covers 8 markets: the United States (this site), the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Poland. You can find ex-MoD, police and council surplus in GBP at govauctions.app/uk, GCSurplus, GovDeals.ca and provincial/police surplus in CAD at govauctions.app/ca, ex-government & ex-fleet surplus (Allbids, Grays, Pickles) in AUD at govauctions.app/au, Zoll-Auktion, VEBEG and Justiz-Auktion, in German, in EUR at govauctions.app/de, Agorastore public-sector lots, in French, in EUR at govauctions.app/fr, Domeinen Roerende Zaken and local-government lots on Onlineveilingmeester, in Dutch, in EUR at govauctions.app/nl, or court bailiff and tax-office auctions of seized goods, in Polish, in PLN at govauctions.app/pl.

What we publish

Search shows you what is for sale today. The rest of the site is about what it sells for, and what is happening across government surplus as a whole:

• Government auction news: upcoming county, city, police and sheriff sales reported in local news, plus stories we write from our own sales records (the biggest sales, the fiercest bidding wars, the strangest lots).
• The weekly market report: how many lots closed, what they sold for and how often they sold, by category, every Monday.
• Government auction statistics: every number we publish on one page, each with its sample size and a citation line.
• Sold prices and the Surplus Price Index: what common items actually go for at government auctions.
• Original research and a free open dataset under CC BY, plus buying guides for first-time bidders.

How we keep it accurate

• Every number shows its sample. A median comes with how many sales it is based on and the window it covers. If we do not have enough sales to say something, we do not say it.
• Published numbers do not move. Weekly reports and news stories are frozen the day they publish, so a figure you cite from us still says the same thing next year.
• We link to the source. Every listing links to the official auction, and every news item links to the outlet that reported it. Our news summaries are checked number by number against the original article before they appear.
• Corrections. If something we published is wrong, tell us and we will fix it. How the numbers are computed is on the methodology page.

Who uses GovAuctions

• Resellers and flippers who source inventory from government surplus and need to judge margin before they bid
• Small businesses buying equipment, furniture and vehicles below retail
• Enthusiasts: military surplus collectors, homelab builders, makers
• Bargain hunters looking for their next car, tools or electronics

Hundreds of buyers and resellers subscribe to GovAuctions Pro ($7/month) to bid with numbers instead of guesses. Pro shows the recommended max bid on each eligible lot, what comparable lots sold for at past government auctions (25th, median and 75th percentile), an estimated resale margin, and an end-game forecast of the closing price. Every strong lot shows a comp-verified Flip Score free.

Working with government sellers

Government surplus programs work with us directly, to list their lots, or to promote and advertise their listings. Run a public surplus program and want more bidders? Get in touch.

Free, and how we make money

There is a long history of fake "government auction" sites that charge for "exclusive access" to listings that are already public. GovAuctions works differently:

• No bid packs or credits. Browsing, searching, filtering and saving are free. No account required.
• No middleman. Every listing links to the official platform (gsaauctions.gov, hudhomestore.gov, govdeals.com and others). You bid there, not here.
• Real, dated listings. New listings every 30 minutes from the official sources. Verify any listing on its source with one click.
• Live bid prices, free. Open a listing on a major source and we pull the current bid from the platform.
• Listings are never paywalled. Pro is optional research on top.

We earn money four ways: advertising, our Pro subscription, our Data API for developers and AI agents, and bulk data licensing.

We don't touch your bids. No cut of your winning price and no commission from the auction platform. Results are ordered by how good a deal each lot looks against what similar items sold for. Sponsored lots are labeled and kept separate from that ranking, and nobody can pay to move a lot up it.

Who runs GovAuctions

GovAuctions is a U.S. company founded by Ben Wallace. Ben has followed government auctions for more than a decade, since he saw a flier in a coffee shop in New Hampshire, and learned you could buy seized Lamborghinis and gold bars from the government. He built GovAuctions in early 2026 and launched it that April, when it reached the top of Hacker News.

Since then it has grown into a business: more than 1 million visitors a year, hundreds of Pro subscribers, a Data API and data licensing customers, and direct work with government surplus programs. Ben writes the buying guides and reads every message that comes through the contact page.

Other resources

• Government auction news, updated every morning.
• Guides for buying from government surplus auctions: finding deals, evaluating listings, and your first purchase.
• Data API and hosted MCP server for code and AI agents: live listings, sold-price comps, price trends and the Flip Score. Free to start, with prepaid credits when you need more.
• A free open dataset of completed federal surplus sales under CC-BY.
• Weekly updates on new features, metrics, and the wackiest listing of the week.