IU Surplus Store downsizes, still offers 'bare bones' prices

Surplus Sam is a life-sized, plastic skeleton, once moved from the IU Health Rehabilitation Services to the IU Surplus Store, but who is now certainly resting in peace with a “Not For Sale” sign taped to his left shoulder.

Sam has been named unofficial mascot of the Surplus Store and is the only item not for sale among desks, dressers and computers in the 5,000-foot warehouse located at 2391 East 10th Street.

The Surplus Store collects and sells used University products to promote sustainability and conserve tax dollars.

Todd Reid, manager of the Surplus Store, said Sam represents the “bare bones prices” the store offers to the community. And, with PCs priced at just $75, about a third less than the Craigslist asking price, “bare bones prices” might be right.

In January, the Surplus Store moved locations and lost about 15,000 square feet of space. The cramped quarters have forced the store to consolidate, as well as price products and advertise more effectively.

Sales Representative Jon Paquette said both actions have generated a flurry
of sales.

“It’s almost impossible to find things this quality at a better price,” Paquette said. “It’s a pretty addicting place to shop, so I try and remember to leave my checkbook at home.”

Reid said sales have increased by 100 percent, or more than doubled, since the move. He estimated that the store now generates upwards of $60,000 per month.

All revenue received benefits the IU general fund, an account that serves the primary objectives of the University, such as instruction, research and public service.

But if a product sells for more than $200, Reid said half the proceeds go toward the department the item originated from. The program can use these funds at its discretion.

Increased marketing has also increased the store’s customer base.

Before the store started advertising online, utilizing social networking sites and selling through live auctions, Reid said individuals would come from no more than 100 miles away to shop at the Surplus Store and would often re-sell the goods for profit.

“We’re essentially cutting out the middleman that used to make a lot of money off of IU, and using tax dollars more efficiently,” he said.

Now, the Surplus Store has shipped overseas and to almost every U.S. state.

Recently, Reid said two individuals bought optometry equipment and used it to create a small clinic in rural Mexico.

Paquette said products such as furniture and electronics are the most common and are often received from University Information Technology Services or IU Residential Programs and Services.

He estimated that the largest discount is a $1,300 Mac computer that would normally sell for about $5,000.

Bloomington resident Adam Covey works at Upland Brewing Company and was browsing computers and furniture for the office Tuesday.

This time, Covey said he couldn’t find what he came for.

But he said he has purchased a variety of personal items from the store, such as a “big, solid” desk he uses at his home office.

The desk traveled the University circle of surplus and, like Sam the skeleton, ended in a state of rest.

“The whole point of the store is reduce, reuse, recycle. We don’t want anything to go to waste,” Paquette said. “It’s taxpayers’ dollars, so we want that money to get the maximum value it can and to be used as efficiently as possible.”