With the expansion and updates within the university’s departments, various objects become obsolete, but rather than discarding the outdated items, MU sends them to [Surplus Property](http://www.surplus.missouri.edu/).

“Anything that the university gets rid of has to go through surplus in order to make sure we’re trying to get as much money as possible for it rather than throwing it away or giving it away,” UM Surplus Property Manager Bo Solomon said. “Because a lot of things have value, you might not think of if you don’t sell it.”

Dave Bartlett, director of production for the Athletic Department, said Surplus Property acts as a department that essentially disposes of surplus equipment for university departments. It performs its duty by hosting monthly auctions throughout the year.

Three weeks prior to auctions, the surplus equipment is available for other university departments to purchase.

“We are sometimes able to find equipment that has significant remaining value that we can take advantage of without depleting our limited funds and gain value for our student athlete experience that we might not otherwise have,” Bartlett said.

Items not purchased are then sold at the public auction. These events are hosted every three weeks, on Wednesdays at the warehouse.

“The general public gets a lot of things for much less than retail price,” Solomon said.

Every time residence halls remodel, the public benefits from the bunk beds and desks available at the surplus, he said.

Surplus Property also receives items including computers, scientific equipment, car and scrap metal in large quantities.

It also receives many non-traditional items.

Recently, the surplus sold a buckboard wagon from the College of Veterinary Medicine and a 1918 Louis Vuitton trunk from the Department of Textile and Apparel Management, Solomon said.

“Think of anything and everything a department might buy,” he said.

The large number of departments and programs at MU offers a variety of items for the auctions.

“At MU, they cover just about all of it; you can find just about everything,” said Dan Batson, a frequent Surplus Property auction buyer who works full-time buying and reselling. “You’ll see a lot of variation at MU’s over any of the others”

This variation has allowed the auction to build up a reputation over the years that attracts a wide number of buyers, enabling them to generate a lot of money, Batson said.

Recently, Surplus Property has further increased its audience by taking auctions online, operating through sites like eBay and Govdeals.

From the profits, 35 percent is allotted for the operation of the surplus, as they are self-funded. The remaining 65 percent goes back to the university’s departments, where the money is spent on new equipment and funding of student work, Solomon said.

“Last year we gave about $540,000 back to the university,” he said.

Through the surplus’s redistribution of items throughout both the departments and the community, the university is able to maximize the effects of its operations in an economical manner.

“We’re ultimately charged with providing the entire university community with a great experience in the educational process,” Bartlett said. “So if we can do so in a way that is fiscally responsible, then that’s a good thing, and that’s really where surplus has filled in the gaps.”