CMU salvage auction brings bargain seekers

Kris Shafer bought a GMC Safari for $600 from Central Michigan University.

He said he plans on playing with it and then selling the van, which he bought at the annual university salvage auction on Saturday.

“I was told it runs,” the Mount Pleasant senior said. “It’s just an extra car for fun.”

Shafer said the van has more than 67,000 miles.

The auction was held to sell off items turned in from campus departments including furniture, electronics, lockers, computers, tables and bikes.

The buyers had to keep up with the fast-paced delivery of two auctioneers.

Large pallets of electronics were sold and piled into the backs of several vehicles.

“We get furniture from all over campus and put it out here for people to buy,” said Kim Wilson, a warehouse worker with University Stores. “It’s just stuff that people don’t want anymore or stuff we can’t use on campus.”

Mike Viers is the manager of University Stores and Warehouse Operations and is responsible for organizing the sales.

He said Saturday’s auction raised $20,762.

The auction and surplus sales raise about $40,000 a year for the university, Viers said.

He said there are nine surplus sales a year and the next one takes place July 30 at the corner of Bellows and Douglas Streets.

Viers said the sales provide a way to offer products to the general public and keep them out of landfills.

He said he has purchased shelves, chairs and bicycles at the sales.

“If you’re willing to be a little creative and do a little work, you’ll be able to find something you can get a lot of use from,” Viers said.

New Hampshire senior Nolan Faber bought a standard analogue classroom clock for $1.

“I just needed a clock in my kitchen,” Faber said. “The stuff is cheap.”

Frank Boles, director of the Clarke Historical Library, bought two tables for $30 each and a paper cutter for $2.

Boles said he attends about three or four auctions a summer.

“Once in a while you’ll get a real bargain,” Boles said. “I’ve never met anyone who said they didn’t.”