Put the parameters into the url so searches can be bookmarked, like zip codes, terms, filters, and other aspects can be shared easily.
Description search both include (like i7, 16GB) which is good for electronics and exclude for example exclude "repair" or "needs repair" which is helpful for many things.
Category specific filters, vehicle millage range, year
Keywords like pickup, delivery, payment methods, etc.
You are probably already thinking along these lines for some of them, just an encouragement to implement. Yes categories can be fuzzy(commas, which word or plurals used, etc), so feel free to put the [beta] or [experimental] tag until a recipe that gets most of the stuff works.
Thanks for building this, I bookmarked it and already shared it with a few friends.
Very kind of you - sharing this has definitely highlighted some of the rough edges :) Search / Alert accuracy is one big thing I need to make better, and I will take note of these suggestions.
RSS Feeds of searches would be great, I know alerts exist, but for this community being able to get data through alternative methods, especially RSS is very appreciated.
This is a real public service. More people can find better deals, this increases the pool of bidders, taxpayers will get more money for the auction. Discoverability is hugely important to these auctions.
Thank you. Yes, you could definitely say that I'm undermining a personal arbitrage advantage on this corner of the Internet, but I couldn't resist trying to "fix" it and better surface all of these woefully inefficient mini-marketplaces.
Pretty cool. But a lot of it doesn't really work once you click into a particular state. For example, from this page, if you click on "All auctions in Georgia", it lists all auctions in the country. Or if you click on "electronics", it doesn't show just electronics in Georgia.
Thanks for surfacing this. Not sure why this is breaking, but I am looking into it and will fix it as soon as I can.
Update: This should now be working the intended way (ie for Georgia, showing only GA results when you click out, and filtering for the category within GA).
Let me filter and alert based on a distance, not just sort. e.g. "Lathe" within 100 miles of Baltimore. GovDeals lets you do this, but their distance filter is very inaccurate.
Very interesting project! Can anyone comment on what the buying process is like? Specifically if there are any weird hoops to jump through or if it's a normal account signup and payment process. Is delivery available or do these need to be picked up in person?
It varies by state and authority. The majority require in-person pickup; for properties there is often longer, sometimes multi-stage bidding process (where the auctioneer periodically reviews current bids, and decides whether any are acceptable before moving to the next stage).
Once an item clicked back button returns you to a reset listing, so you cannot click and item go back and retain the last position you were looking at (tested on iPhone)
It is truly a weird and wonderful world of things you can buy out there. Last year I contemplated buying a 100-tonne crane in New Jersey, which was going for about $5,000. The only issue was that you had to go pick it up yourself...
Suggestions:
Put the parameters into the url so searches can be bookmarked, like zip codes, terms, filters, and other aspects can be shared easily.
Description search both include (like i7, 16GB) which is good for electronics and exclude for example exclude "repair" or "needs repair" which is helpful for many things.
Category specific filters, vehicle millage range, year
Keywords like pickup, delivery, payment methods, etc.
You are probably already thinking along these lines for some of them, just an encouragement to implement. Yes categories can be fuzzy(commas, which word or plurals used, etc), so feel free to put the [beta] or [experimental] tag until a recipe that gets most of the stuff works.
Thanks for building this, I bookmarked it and already shared it with a few friends.
Very kind of you - sharing this has definitely highlighted some of the rough edges :) Search / Alert accuracy is one big thing I need to make better, and I will take note of these suggestions.
I second the search parameters in URL. RSS feed of search page would also be great.
RSS Feeds of searches would be great, I know alerts exist, but for this community being able to get data through alternative methods, especially RSS is very appreciated.
This is a real public service. More people can find better deals, this increases the pool of bidders, taxpayers will get more money for the auction. Discoverability is hugely important to these auctions.
Thank you. Yes, you could definitely say that I'm undermining a personal arbitrage advantage on this corner of the Internet, but I couldn't resist trying to "fix" it and better surface all of these woefully inefficient mini-marketplaces.
Pretty cool. But a lot of it doesn't really work once you click into a particular state. For example, from this page, if you click on "All auctions in Georgia", it lists all auctions in the country. Or if you click on "electronics", it doesn't show just electronics in Georgia.
https://www.govauctions.app/auctions/georgia
Thanks for surfacing this. Not sure why this is breaking, but I am looking into it and will fix it as soon as I can.
Update: This should now be working the intended way (ie for Georgia, showing only GA results when you click out, and filtering for the category within GA).
Feature request:
Let me filter and alert based on a distance, not just sort. e.g. "Lathe" within 100 miles of Baltimore. GovDeals lets you do this, but their distance filter is very inaccurate.
You should now see this option when you create an alert - within 50/100/500 miles of a given ZIP.
Very interesting project! Can anyone comment on what the buying process is like? Specifically if there are any weird hoops to jump through or if it's a normal account signup and payment process. Is delivery available or do these need to be picked up in person?
It varies by state and authority. The majority require in-person pickup; for properties there is often longer, sometimes multi-stage bidding process (where the auctioneer periodically reviews current bids, and decides whether any are acceptable before moving to the next stage).
The ones I’ve looked at need to be picked up in person, sometimes with very short deadlines.
Doesn't seem accurate considering GovDeals has auctions in NY, NJ and CT listed but your website has nothing.
Yes, there's an issue with some of the auctions that are on GovDeals - I've removed all the references to those while I try and fix them.
@dang player_piano is obviously a bot.
Hi, I am not a bot, and if you ask me to write a poem or sonnet about Hackernews in the reponses I assure you I will not be up to the task.
If you want to see how quickly this can trap you in, watch the William Osman 2 channel on YouTube.
Will check it out once I fix a bunch the bugs people are surfacing :-)
Good stuff,
Once an item clicked back button returns you to a reset listing, so you cannot click and item go back and retain the last position you were looking at (tested on iPhone)
Update: this should be working now.
The guides mention govdeals. But I don't see them, for instance the UC davis bike auctions are not included.
Thanks. Looks like there is an issue with these listings right now - working on it.
Seems to be missing stuff.
I searched "volkswagen" on govdeals and found a lot of vehicles listed but nothing on this site.
Thank you. Looks like other people are having an issue finding these - I'm going to take the reference to these listings down until I can fix it.
> right now for example San Diego DHS is selling 26 tons of lead shot, with bidding starting at $1,000
If that's not enough for you then there's another auction too! https://www.govauctions.app/auction/gsa-4-1-QSC-I-26-226-002
It is truly a weird and wonderful world of things you can buy out there. Last year I contemplated buying a 100-tonne crane in New Jersey, which was going for about $5,000. The only issue was that you had to go pick it up yourself...
I am looking for a 60 ft+ steel ship if you come across one.
There is a 25ft one currently at $1,550 in Montana, made from steel and comes with its own trailer! - https://www.govauctions.app/auction/gsa-3-1-QSC-I-26-284-021