GSA Auctions vs GovDeals vs Public Surplus — Which Is Best?
A detailed comparison of the three biggest government surplus auction platforms. Fees, selection, user experience, and which one is right for you.
If you're looking to buy government surplus, you'll quickly discover there's no single place to find everything. Instead, there are multiple platforms, each serving different levels of government with different fee structures, different interfaces, and different types of inventory.
The three biggest are GSA Auctions, GovDeals, and Public Surplus. Here's how they compare.
GSA Auctions
What it is: The official federal government surplus auction platform, run by the General Services Administration. When federal agencies — from the DEA to the USDA to the Department of Defense — need to dispose of surplus property, it goes through GSA.
What you'll find: Federal fleet vehicles, office equipment, scientific instruments, electronics, heavy equipment, seized property, and occasionally unusual items like aircraft or vessels.
Fees: No buyer's premium. You pay what you bid, plus applicable taxes. This is a significant advantage over other platforms.
User experience: The website looks and feels like a government website from 2005, because it essentially is. The search is basic, the interface is cluttered, and mobile support is minimal. That said, it works.
Registration: Free. You'll need a valid email and mailing address. Payment is typically by credit card (up to $24,999.99/day) or wire transfer for larger amounts.
- No buyer's premium — you save 7.5-12.5% compared to GovDeals
- Federal agency surplus tends to be well-documented
- Unique items you can't find elsewhere (military, scientific, seized)
- Dated interface
- Smaller selection than GovDeals
- Some items require military base pickup (clearance complications)
GovDeals
What it is: The largest marketplace for state and local government surplus. Cities, counties, school districts, transit authorities, and state agencies use GovDeals to sell surplus property. Owned by Liquidity Services (a publicly traded company, LQDT).
What you'll find: Municipal fleet vehicles, school district electronics (laptop lots are common), county heavy equipment, city office furniture, police surplus, transit buses, utility vehicles — essentially anything a local government owned and no longer needs.
Fees: Buyer's premium of 7.5-12.5% on top of the winning bid. This is the main downside.
Numbers: 6.2 million registered buyers, $903 million in sales in FY2025, 264,000 completed transactions per quarter. It's massive.
User experience: Better than GSA Auctions but still dated. The search and filtering are more functional, and they have a mobile-responsive site. Text alerts for outbids and closing auctions are available.
Registration: Free, but new buyers face a probation period — Level 1 limits you to $1,000 purchases via PayPal or credit card. You need to complete 3 full transactions (win, pay, pick up) over at least 30 days to advance to Level 2. Full restrictions take 90+ days to clear.
- Largest selection by far — new listings daily across thousands of agencies
- Better search and filtering than GSA
- More variety (local government sells everything)
- Text alerts available
- 7.5-12.5% buyer's premium adds up
- 90-day probation period for new buyers is frustrating
- Customer service has poor reviews (1.8/5 on Trustpilot)
- "As-is" descriptions can be vague
Public Surplus
What it is: A competing platform to GovDeals for state and local government surplus. Smaller but still significant, with agencies across the US and Canada.
What you'll find: Similar to GovDeals — municipal vehicles, school equipment, office furniture, tools, and miscellaneous surplus from local government agencies.
Fees: Buyer's premium varies by seller but is typically similar to GovDeals (around 10%).
User experience: The weakest of the three. The interface is bare-bones, the mobile app has poor ratings ("keeps getting worse, with glitches lasting for long periods"), and the search functionality is limited.
Registration: Free. Similar to GovDeals but with fewer restrictions for new buyers.
- Some agencies list exclusively on Public Surplus (not on GovDeals)
- Less competition means potentially better prices
- Simpler registration than GovDeals
- Worst user experience of the three platforms
- Smaller selection
- "F" rating on BBB
- Limited customer support ("no working phone service")
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | GSA Auctions | GovDeals | Public Surplus |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Government level** | Federal | State & local | State & local |
| **Buyer's premium** | None | 7.5-12.5% | ~10% |
| **Selection** | Medium | Largest | Smaller |
| **User experience** | Poor | Moderate | Poor |
| **Mobile** | Minimal | Responsive | Poor app |
| **New buyer limits** | None | 90-day probation, $1K limit | Minimal |
| **Best for** | Federal surplus, no fees | Largest selection | Less competition |
Which Should You Use?
The honest answer: all of them. Each platform has different inventory from different agencies, and a great deal on one platform might not exist on the others. Government agencies choose which platform to use, so a city in Texas might sell on GovDeals while the county next door uses Public Surplus.
This is exactly the problem GovAuctions solves — instead of checking three (or more) websites separately, you can search all of them in one place, filter by location and category, and save items to a single watchlist.
If you're just getting started and want to pick one, GovDeals has the largest selection and will give you the most options. Just factor in the buyer's premium when calculating your max bid.
If you want to avoid fees, GSA Auctions has no buyer's premium — but the selection is limited to federal surplus only.
And always check Public Surplus too — fewer bidders means less competition, which can mean better prices.