GovAuctions Research · Updated daily

The Government Surplus Price Index

What does the U.S. government's castoff actually sell for, and which way are prices moving? This index tracks the median final winning bid by category across 73,567 completed surplus auctions (May 6, 2026 - Jul 16, 2026). The overall median lot sold for $300.

Over the trailing three months, 9 categories are up and 1 is down. The biggest riser is seized at +200%. The biggest faller is equipment at -18%.

Median sale price by category, and 3-month movement

Methodology: each figure is the median final winning bid on lots that closed on official U.S. government auction platforms (GovDeals, GSA Auctions, PublicSurplus, GovPlanet, PurpleWave and others) over the trailing 365days. Medians are used because auction prices are heavily right-skewed; no-bid lots are excluded and a category needs at least 5 completed sales to appear. The 3-month movement compares each category's most recent monthly median against the figure three months earlier. We snapshot the index daily, so the published series grows a permanent track record (27 days and counting). A sample of the platforms we index, not the entire government-auction universe. Free to cite with attribution to GovAuctions.