Carolinian

Issue date: 11/14/06 Section: Campus News

Media Credit: JERRY ARNOLD/THE CAROLINIAN ALL THAT REMAINS: Computer cables, unattached keyboards and empty boxes filled the once crammed tables after nearly 200 people visited the monthly UNCG surplus sale on Friday morning.

Bargain hunters with shopping carts full of computers, televisions, power tools and swivel chairs clanged through the aisles of the UNCG Surplus Property Warehouse last Friday morning.

Fifteen minutes earlier, these shoppers were the make-up of an anxious, twisting line of around 150 people, some of whom had been waiting for over an hour.

Surplus is the quantity left over after conducting an activity. In this case, everything in the sale was left over from UNCG.

The variety of stuff up for grabs was far and wide, but most importantly, cheap.

Computers, the same Macs found in the library, were $35. Desks and rolling chairs were as low as a buck. Couches, love seats and exercise machines were $5. Pianos, with 88 functioning keys, ran $99.

"I got here about eight this morning and there were already 25 people lined up," Jeff Belton, the warehouse director said. "If you want the computers you have to beat the crowd here."

The surplus sale was authorized by the North Carolina State Surplus Property Agency, whose mission statement is to "Dispose of property declared surplus…in a manner that provides the most benefit to North Carolina and its citizens."

Friday's sale wasn't the largest, but by 9:15 a.m., over half the stuff for sale was gone.

"Sometimes we get 200 people lined up," said Belton. "We can have up to 30 percent more stuff for sale than is here today."

By 10:30 a.m. the only things remaining were in boxes: an old typewriter, some vacuum bags, a ton of tangled computer cables, twenty half-empty bottles of peroxide, a Christmas tree stand and a few rolls of orange fabric.

The surplus sales, which are held once a month, bring some of the same people out every time.

"I've been to the last three and found something," said Bill, a Greensboro resident. "Today I'm looking for some shelves for my tools."

The next surplus sale is Dec. 8 at the warehouse, which is located at 2900 Oakland Ave. It's open from 9 a.m. until noon, but getting there early guarantees a better selection.

Standing near the check-out line, one woman remarked to another, "Where's your husband at?"

She simply answered, "Oh, over there by the desks. He's just in heaven right now."



For more information or directions to the warehouse, visit their website at http://warehouse.uncg.edu/surplus.html.

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