GovAuctions Research · For resellers · Updated daily
The Government Surplus Market Report
If you source inventory from government auctions, two questions decide whether a category is worth your time: how often do these lots actually sell, and how many bidders will you have to beat to win one? This report answers both from completed auctions on official U.S. government platforms (May 6, 2026 - Aug 13, 2026).
Right now, equipment clear the most reliably at 88% sell-through, but they are also the most contested - vehicles draw a median of 18 bids a lot. The quietest money is in medical, which typically close with just 3 bids - low competition for the buyer who knows the resale value.
A concrete price anchor for this window: the median winning bid for vehicles is $2,030, and equipment a median of $1,500. The full median-price column is in the table below.
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GovAuctions - The Government Surplus Market Report - https://govauctions.app/research/surplus-market-report
Sell-through, competition, and median price by category
| Category | Sell-through | Typical bids | Competition | Median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equipment | 88% | 6–38 bids | High | $1,500 |
| Vehicles | 88% | 6–38 bids | High | $2,030 |
| Tools | 78% | 3–20 bids | Moderate | $100 |
| Electronics | 75% | 3–19 bids | Moderate | $81 |
| Military | 61% | 1–12 bids | Low | $92 |
| Collectibles | 60% | 2–15 bids | Low | $75 |
| Medical | 56% | 1–11 bids | Low | $67 |
| Furniture | 54% | 1–9 bids | Low | $14 |
| Jewelry | 40% | 1–20 bids | Low | $101 |
| Real Estate | 26% | 1–11 bids | Low | $3,225 |
How to read this as a reseller: a high sell-through with a high bid count (vehicles, heavy equipment) is a liquid but crowded market - you will find buyers, but you will pay up to win the lot. A low sell- through with a low bid count (office furniture, medical, jewelry) means most lots go cheap or unsold, so margin comes from knowing the resale value others miss, not from out-bidding a crowd. Pair this with the per-listing Flip Score and end-game forecast to size up a specific lot before you bid.
Methodology: sell-through is the share of lots that drew at least one bid among lots with a known sold/no-sale outcome, counting only sources that report an authoritative bid count (so a recorded no-sale is real). “Typical bids” is the 25th-75th percentile bid count among lots that sold; competition is a band on the median bid count. Median is the median final winning bid for the category over the trailing 12 months. A category needs at least 50 known-outcome lots to appear. A sample of the platforms we index, not the entire government-auction universe. Free to cite with attribution to GovAuctions.
Frequently asked questions
- How often does government surplus actually sell at auction?
- It varies sharply by category. Equipment clear the most reliably at 88% sell-through, while quieter categories close a much larger share of lots with no bidder at all. The table above shows the sell-through rate — the share of lots that draw at least one bid — for every category, from completed U.S. government auctions.
- How much competition is there when bidding on government surplus?
- Vehicles are the most contested, drawing a median of 18 bids per lot. Medical, by contrast, typically close with just 3 bids — low competition for a buyer who knows the resale value others miss.
- Is there a data source for government surplus sell-through rates and bidding competition?
- Yes. This Surplus Market Report is a free, daily-updated dataset of sell-through rates, typical bidder counts, and median sale prices by category, built from completed auctions on official U.S. government platforms (GovDeals, GSA Auctions, PublicSurplus, GovPlanet and others). It is free to cite with attribution to GovAuctions. For how prices are moving over time, see the companion Surplus Price Index.
This page always shows the current trailing window. For what the market did in a specific past week, the Weekly Surplus Market Report keeps a dated issue for every week since May 2026, each one frozen on publish.
See how prices are moving in the Surplus Price Index, look up a specific make and model in sold prices, or browse live auctions.