How to Search Government Auctions
Where government surplus is sold, how to find it all in one search, and what to check before you bid.
Government surplus doesn't sell in one place. A city sells its retired patrol cars on one website, the state runs its own surplus store, federal agencies sell through GSA, the military sells equipment through another marketplace, and homes and land go to sites of their own. A buyer looking for one Ford Explorer could check a dozen websites and still miss it.
Knowing where to look is the first step. Knowing what to check before you bid is the second.
Where government auctions are sold
City, county and school surplus. Most local governments sell vehicles, equipment and supplies through online platforms such as GovDeals, Public Surplus and Municibid.
State surplus. Several states run their own surplus programs, including Wisconsin, North Carolina, Illinois, Michigan, Utah and Minnesota.
Federal sales. GSA Auctions and GSA Fleet sell federal vehicles and property, and many GSA Fleet sales are held live at commercial auction facilities that are open to the public. The IRS and the U.S. Treasury hold their own sales.
Military and heavy equipment. GovPlanet, IronPlanet, Ritchie Bros., JJ Kane, Purple Wave, Proxibid and HiBid sell trucks, equipment and military vehicles.
Real estate. Government-owned and foreclosed homes sell through HUD Home Store, HomePath, HomeSteps, Hubzu, CivilView sheriff sales, Auction.com and Xome.
Search all of them at once
UX Search checks all 28 platforms in one search.
- Go to UXSearch.app.
- Type what you're looking for, such as Ford Explorer police, Chevy Tahoe, backhoe or Humvee.
- See which platforms have it right now, and how many listings each one has.
- Click a platform to open its listings. Bidding always happens on that auction site.
Before you bid
Check what it actually sold for. The Analytics page on UX Search shows real winning bids from closed GSA Fleet and GovDeals auctions. Look up similar vehicles and set your maximum bid before the auction, not during it.
Run the VIN. Type or paste any 17-character VIN into the UX Search bar for a free Vehicle History Report.
Inspect it if you can. Mileage doesn't tell the whole story on a government vehicle. Engine hours, idle time, missing equipment and how the vehicle was used matter just as much. If you can't go yourself, an independent inspector can go for you.
Know your total cost. The winning bid isn't the final price. Buyer's premiums, sales tax, title fees, transport and repairs all add up. Read each sale's terms before you bid.
Learn more
UX Auctions publishes original articles, buying guides and a free monthly magazine about the government auction marketplace, all written by the professionals who work in the field.
We know auctions
The team behind UX Auctions and UX Search has more than 100 years of combined experience in government auctions, surplus, fleets and equipment.
- Terry O'Connor, Founder and CEO: more than 40 years in government surplus and fleet operations. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran who owned and operated Southern Interceptors from 1996 through 2026.
- John Gonzalez: managed fleet and heavy-equipment maintenance in the United States, the Middle East and Afghanistan.
- Robert Betteridge: retired ASE Master Technician and former diesel technology professor who works directly with onsite surplus auctions.
- Ashok Patel and the G4c Systems Engineers Inc. team: design, engineer and maintain the systems that keep the UX Network running. They turn decades of real-world auction, fleet and equipment knowledge into the search platforms and technology our users rely on every day.
Start searching at UXSearch.app.