How do you check what similar government surplus items sold for?

Look up the item on our sold prices pages. Each page shows the median winning bid, the middle half of prices and the number of sales from completed U.S. government auctions over the last 12 months.

For example, over the last 12 months a retired police Ford Interceptor Utility sold for a median of $3,965, and a pickup truck for a median of $1,856. These are winning bids, so add the buyer's premium, tax and transport before you compare them to anything.

For an item without its own page, the what's it worth tool matches a description against past sales. Use the result to set your maximum bid before the auction, not during it.