Finding Free Government Auction Items on GovDeals

By UX Auctions Editorial Staff

This story comes from Anna, co‑owner of Grace & Anna's Antiques, a small shop known for its unique antiques and hard‑to‑find collectibles.

Anna began attending public auctions years ago with her late husband. What started as a hobby quickly grew into a passion, and eventually into a business. Over time, she discovered that government surplus auctions were one of the best sources for unusual and overlooked items. After collecting so many unique pieces, she partnered with Grace and opened Grace & Anna's Antiques.

Anna says her experience sourcing inventory through online government surplus auctions has been excellent. And with the launch of UXAuctions.com, searching for live auctions has become far easier. Instead of visiting each auction platform separately and spending hours searching one site at a time, she can now scan multiple surplus auction platforms quickly and even narrow results by state.

After reading several user‑submitted stories on UXAuctions.com, Anna realized she had a tip of her own worth sharing — a trick she has used for years.

Yes, GovDeals Has Free Government Auctions

According to Anna, GovDeals does in fact list completely free government surplus items. The challenge is knowing how to find them.

Most people search the keyword "free," but that usually brings up listings with phrases like "free shipping" rather than actual free surplus items. Anna's method is different. She uses a combination of keywords and filters:

Search the keyword: Buy Now

In the price filter, enter:

• Min Price: 0
• Max Price: 0

Click Go.

This reveals all active $0 listings — items the government is giving away at no cost. Anna says these auctions move extremely fast, especially local pickup items where buyers can avoid shipping costs entirely.

What surprises most people is the variety. Free listings have included everything from vehicles, furniture, office products, IT hardware, industrial equipment, school surplus, storage cabinets, and many other items agencies simply need removed quickly. Many are perfectly usable, and some can be resold for profit.

Anna wanted a simpler way for people to access these listings without repeating the same search steps every time. She asked if UXAuctions.com could create a direct Smart Search button that links users straight to live GovDeals free‑item auctions.

So we built it.

A Direct Smart Search for Free Government Auctions

UXAuctions.com now includes a Smart Search button called "Free Government Auctions."
It links directly to live GovDeals listings already filtered to show $0 items.

These listings change constantly, and free items disappear quickly, so checking often is essential.

The Numbers Might Surprise You

Anna tracked the results herself. According to her records, 957 free items were marked "sold" on GovDeals within the last year in the United States alone. Many were small items, but others included furniture, office equipment, tools, and even vehicles that agencies simply needed removed from inventory.

Final Thoughts

Stories like Anna's are a reminder of why UXAuctions.com exists. Real people use government surplus auctions every day to build businesses, find inventory, save money, and uncover opportunities most buyers never knew existed.

Sometimes the best deals aren't the expensive ones.

Sometimes they're completely free.

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