"Kind of gets to be a sport:" Online auction site has government surplus items available for bidding

WISCONSIN (CBS 58) -- Online auction sites with countless government surplus items available for bidding can be a way to shop at bargain prices.

The website has dozens of live auctions at any given time.

“You can darn near find just about anything,” said Mark Elmer, a surplus auction enthusiast from Monroe, WI.

Wisconsin Surplus Online Auctions takes virtually anything off the hands of state agencies, police and fire departments and school districts.

A shed on the company’s Mt. Horeb property is filled with items that were confiscated in police seizures or by the DNR.

Elmer says he’s on the site almost daily, looking for anything he might need or want to resell.

It’s common to find sporting equipment, electronics, jewelry, vehicles such as police cruisers or snow plow trucks, and office equipment.

“I get a high out of [the bidding],” Elmer said. “Kind of gets to be a sport.”

Elmer is one of 87,000 registered bidders on the site from all over the world.

It’s free to register and bid. There’s a small fee associated with each purchase.