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GUIDE TO BUYING USED FEDERAL PERSONAL PROPERTY

Do you want to buy Government property? If you do, you need to

talk to us. We're the U.S. General Services Administration

(GSA), and we sell used personal property for nonmilitary Federal

agencies.

GSA is the Government's procurement agent for the supplies,

equipment, and vehicles that Federal workers need to do their

jobs. When items are no longer needed or are being replaced, we

stretch the Federal dollar by offering them for sale to the

public. Our sales include a wide variety of items that would

interest both individuals and businesses.

This guide will tell you what we sell, how we sell it, and how

you can be a buyer. We've also included information about sales

of military and forfeited property and real estate.

Airplanes to X-Rays

We sell cars, vans, trucks, boats, and airplanes; office and

household furniture; communications equipment; computers,

printers, copiers, and typewriters; recreational and athletic

equipment; cameras and projectors; and tools. We also sell

industrial items like hardware; plumbing, heating, and electrical

equipment; printing presses; paper products; medical and

laboratory equipment; agricultural, mining, and construction

vehicles and machinery; food preparation and serving equipment;

ores and metals; and exposed x-ray film.

Most of the vehicles in our sales were purchased new and driven

by Government employees for official purposes. They are sold

when they reach replacement age and/or mileage. Our vehicles are

one of the best buys in the marketplace today because of good

maintenance, relatively low age and mileage, and desired features

like automatic transmission, air conditioning, power steering,

and power brakes. And they don't look like institutional

vehicles, as the Government buys attractive body styles in a

variety of colors.

No Giveaways

If you're interested in buying used Federal property, there's one

thing you should know up front. The Government expects to

receive a fair price. Unless you're willing to pay fair market

value, you would be wasting your time at a sale. Every item has

an undisclosed minimum price and is seldom sold for less.

Stories about the $100 dollar yacht or Mercedes car are pure

fiction.

As a taxpayer, you paid for these items when they were new. GSA

wants to give you the best possible return on your tax dollar

when they're sold.

No Guarantees

We'll give you a chance to inspect sale property before making an

offer, and we urge you to do so. While we try to point out

deficiencies if we know about them, an item may still have

faults, and we do not guarantee condition.

How We Sell

We sell personal property by sealed bid, auction, spot bid, and

fixed price sales. No preference is given to any individuals or

groups, including veterans, senior citizens, and religious

organizations.

Sealed Bid

We sell by sealed bid when the sales items are in scattered

locations. For this type of sale, we mail an "Invitation for

Bid," or IFB, to prospective buyers on our mailing lists. The

IFB contains item descriptions, sale terms and conditions, item

locations and inspection times, and a bid form.

If you decide to bid, you fill out the bid form and mail it to

the address indicated in the IFB. We must receive your bid by

the opening date and time. Late bids are not accepted under any

circumstances. We open all bids publicly.

Auction

We hold an auction when we have a large number of items for sale

in one location. Many of our car and truck sales are auctions.

We use traditional auction methods.

You'll receive descriptions, bidding instructions, and an

opportunity to inspect the merchandise ahead of time or on the

day of the sale.

Spot Bid

A spot bid sale is similar to a "silent auction," with bids

written down rather than voiced. Property is offered item by

item and awarded to the highest bidder. Bidders may bid only

once per item, unless the item is reoffered.

Fixed-Price Sale

From time to time, we'll hold a fixed-price sale. At these, we

post the selling prices on the property and sell items on a

first-come basis.

Conditions of Sale

We sell used personal property according to the U.S. Government's

Standard Form 114C, "General Sale Terms and Conditions." You may

ask to review a copy of the form at any of the GSA regional sales

offices listed further on in this pamphlet or at a sale location.

You should study carefully the terms and conditions in the

Invitation for Bid and in any notices provided at auctions and

fixed-price sales. Be sure you understand any special terms.

Payment and Removal

You must pay for and remove your purchases within the time

prescribed for each sale, and you cannot remove merchandise

before you pay. The Government does not provide any form of

financing.

Acceptable forms of payment generally include cash, money orders,

travelers checks, cashier's checks, credit union checks,

Government checks, and personal checks accompanied by an informal

bank letter guaranteeing payment. VISA and MasterCard also are

accepted for many sales.

Removal is your responsibility; GSA will not provide shipping and

handling. If you fail to pay and remove by the deadline, the

Government will take action to collect damages from you of $25 or

20 percent of the purchase price, whichever is greater.

How We Advertise

We maintain mailing lists for frequent purchasers of Government

property. To keep down mailing costs, we periodically remove the

names of people who don't buy. To be placed on a mailing list,

write to the GSA regional sales office serving your location.

Occasional buyers can get information about upcoming sales by

dialing our telephone hotlines for recorded messages.

We also run ads in local newspapers and on radio, and sometimes

we'll post notices in public buildings. Highly specialized sales

and others that might generate interest nationwide are advertised

in national newspapers, trade journals, and periodicals.

We also advertise sales of national interest in the Commerce

Business Daily, a publication of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Copies of Commerce Business Daily may be available at libraries

and local Chambers of Commerce. For subscription information,

call the U.S. Government Printing Office order line at (202) 512-

1800 or write to the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government

Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.

You'll find a list of GSA regional sales offices, with addresses

and telephone numbers for recorded messages, on the back of this

pamphlet.

Sales by Other Agencies

The Defense Logistics Agency, part of the Department of Defense

(DoD), sells used personal property for the military. Forfeited

property is sold by the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S.

Customs Service.

Military Property

Military surplus personal property is sold by the Defense

Logistics Agency's Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service

through its regional offices worldwide. A free booklet, How To

Buy Surplus Property from the U.S. Department of Defense, lists

these offices and some 20 categories of goods. To request a

copy, call 1 (800) 222-3767. For additional information write to

or call Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service, National

Sales Office, P.O. Box 5275 DDRC, 2163 Airways Blvd., Memphis, TN

38114-5210; (901) 775-6427

Forfeited Property

Forfeited property offered for sale may include vehicles,

vessels, jewelry, clothing, household items, art, and antiques.

For information on sales by the U.S. Marshals Service, contact

U.S. Marshals Service, National Seized Assets and Forfeiture

Service, 600 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, VA 22202-4210; (202)

307-9087.

For information on sales by the U.S. Customs Service, contact E G

& G Dynatrend, Inc.; U.S. Customs Service Support Division; 2300

Clarendon Avenue, Suite 705; Arlington, VA 22201; (703) 351-7887.

Real Estate Sales

GSA sells most surplus Government real estate. For information,

call 1 (800) 472-1313 or request a free copy of U.S. Real

Property Sales List from the Consumer Information Center,

Department 514A, Pueblo, CO 81009.

A number of other Federal agencies, including the Department of

Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Veterans

Affairs, also sell real estate. Consult local real estate

agents, watch for newspaper advertisements, or contact the

agencies directly.

If you have a computer equipped with a modem, you can access the

Federal Real Estate Bulletin Board for information on Federal

real estate sales. Set your communications software to 8 data

bits, no parity, and 1 stop bit. Dial 1 (800) 776-7872; in the

Washington, D.C., metropolitan area dial (202) 501-6510.

How To Find Us

For information on GSA sales of used Federal personal property,

or to be placed on a mailing list, write to Personal Property

Sales, U.S. General Services Administration, at the address

serving your location. Remember, mailing lists are for frequent

purchasers. For recorded information about upcoming sales, call

the hotline telephone number listed with each address.

Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Area

470 L'Enfant Plaza East, SW

Suite 8214

Washington, DC 20407

(703) 557-7796

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island,

Vermont

10 Causeway Street

9th Floor

Boston, MA 02222-1076

(617) 565-7326

New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands

Room 20-112, Box 10

26 Federal Plaza

New York, NY 10278

(212) 264-4823

1 (800) 488-7253

Delaware, Maryland and Virginia (except Washington, D.C.,

metropolitan area), Pennsylvania, West Virginia

P.O. Box 406571289

Philadelphia, PA 19107-3396

(215) 656-3400

Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina,

South Carolina, Tennessee

Peachtree Summit Building

401 West Peachtree Street

Atlanta, GA 30365-2550

(404) 331-5177

Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin

230 South Dearborn Street

Chicago, IL 60604

(312) 353-0246

Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska

4400 College Boulevard

Suite 175

Overland Park, KS 66211

(913) 236-2565

Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas

819 Taylor Street

Fort Worth, TX 76102-6105

(817) 334-2351

Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming

P.O. Box 25506

Denver Federal Center, Building 41

Denver, CO 80225-0506

(303) 236-7705

Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada

525 Market Street

San Francisco, CA 94105

(415) 744-5120

1 (800) 676-7253

Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington

400 15th Street, SW, Room 1478

Auburn, WA 98001-6599

(206) 931-7566



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