This morning at 9 a.m. sharp, numerous members of the Charlottesville and University communities will be ready and waiting, coffee cup in one hand and bid card in the other, for the start of another University surplus property auction.
The bitter cold January morning likely will not prevent these diehard bargain hunters, who come from near and far to acquire some "new to you" furniture for an empty room or even to buy new items for resale.
Over the years, the auction has become more and more popular. When it first began, the auction was an annual event. Now, after 23 years, there are nine auctions a year.
"We get a lot of regulars, but new people come every time," Surplus Property Manager Bobby Carefoot said. "The auction is open to the public so we get the general public, and the students sometimes come."
An auction attendee can expect to see any number of items up for bid, from the everyday desk or chair to the more unusual items that various University departments have decided they no longer need.
"When people upgrade their equipment, I get the old computers," Carefoot said. "Also, when they renovate and there are things they don't use anymore, they send them to us.
Any department of the University is welcome to donate excess items to the Surplus department for auctions.
"It comes from all over," Carefoot said. "Academic departments, the medical school, anywhere at U.Va."
One thing that has not changed from auction to auction, or even from year to year, is the incredible variety of items up for bid. Today's auction is sure to be no different.
"We've got a lot of music CDs and record albums," Carefoot said. "We're also getting those high backed Windsor chairs from the library. We don't see that too often."
The auction will be taking place all day today at the surplus property depot located behind the Barracks Road shopping center. With the possibility of having as many as 800 items up for bid, there is no set time for the auction to end.
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