Hobby Thread - November 14, 2026 [TRex]

Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. For this week, the Wheel of Hobbies (TM) is feeling round and decided on a surplus auction theme for this Hobby Thread.

Surplus auctions? Read on, fellow hobbyists...

[Top photo: Sam the Super Skeleton - could be yours! Auction ends November 19.]

Shopping salvage and surplus auctions can be a hobby for people who those who like the hunt for a bargain. They aren't live with a fast-talking auctioneer. Instead, you're browsing online catalogs of government surplus, warehouse liquidations, insurance salvage, store returns, and overstock that companies need to clear. The appeal is in the mix of practical bargains and unexpected finds. Auctions also have a steady flow of new listings, so you never know what you'll find.

Some people look for novel finds - at a bargain price. Some focus on a specific type of item like military surplus, restaurant fixtures, or vehicles. Some try to outfit a shop or business with usable used equipment. Some opportunistically look for commercial opportunities where overlooked goods can be cleaned up and sold later for a profit.

Online surplus auctions, especially with government surplus items, can turn up unusual or otherwise hard to find items. Rightly or wrongly, the public sector often has different use cases than many others.

Are online auctions just the modern version of the estate or garage sale hobby? Perhaps, but the online surplus auctions often have items that would not be at a residential garage sale.

Does anyone haunt online surplus or salvage auctions? Even if you don't buy, do you regularly window shop just to see what's out there? You might not need a fire truck or Humvee (or have space) but it can be fun to browse. It can also be fun to see sales prices and compare with your personal estimate or the auction estimate.

One challenge is that some government auction sites do not keep listings after the auction has ended, so you can't tell if something sold or any selling prices. Links below worked when posted but no guarantees they still work.

Give the content a chance before you judge and bail out. There's gotta be something that resonates with you. More importantly, what are you hobbying? Jump in with your hobbying, interests, stories and questions.

Anything (legal) you are hobbying is welcome. If not, offer something else relating to hobbying or just check in and say hello.

As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. Leave politics and religion to threads elsewhere (unless your hobby is building or restoring churches). Pants? Nope. As always, puns are welcome and encouraged.

Play nice and do not be rude. Do not be a troll and do not feed the trolls.

Note: I have purposely avoided auction content with TSA seizures or unclaimed personal property such as lost luggage. Please also avoid turning this thread into commentary on the government's imprudent management of resources or how many things fall off the back of trucks or otherwise become "lost." Let's stick to hobbying.

Equipment auctions are content-rich hunting grounds for YouTubers. What better content than "look at this bargain I scored!" or "we couldn't resist buying this disaster - can we get it running?" Diesel Creek regularly follows the local Ritchie Brothers auctions - lots of heavy equipment, trucks, forklifts, skid loaders, tractors and more.

Example:

This auction was the inspiration for the theme. Where else could you buy used Southwest Airlines airport tugs?

What would you do if you could buy one for $750? More importantly what kind of mayhem might you have with a bunch of friends that have their own? There are a dozen of these on the auction website (and many other airport tugs and vehicles).

If I'm reading correctly, there is a monthly online auction of airport equipment, so there may be more chances if you let this one pass by.

Football Ottoman LAST USED AT NEYLAND STADIUM, Knoxville, Tennessee

I asked Grok for a list of popular salvage/surplus auction websites (Ace of Spades makes no endorsement):

1. GovDeals (govdeals.com) - One of the largest platforms for state, county, city, and local government surplus (vehicles, equipment, furniture, electronics).

2. GSA Auctions (gsaauctions.gov) - Official U.S. federal government surplus site run by the General Services Administration (no buyer's premium on most lots).

3. GovPlanet (govplanet.com) - Specializes in military, federal, and heavy equipment surplus (vehicles, machinery, tools).

4. Public Surplus (publicsurplus.com) - State and local government surplus marketplace with a wide range of smaller lots.

5. PropertyRoom (propertyroom.com) - Focuses on police-seized, forfeited, and unclaimed property (electronics, tools, jewelry, vehicles).

6. Copart (copart.com) - The largest U.S. salvage vehicle auction platform (insurance total-loss cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats).

7. IAAI / Insurance Auto Auctions (iaai.com) - Major competitor to Copart for salvage and insurance-loss vehicles.

8. Liquidation.com - Broad online marketplace for retail returns, overstock, surplus, and liquidation lots (electronics, housewares, apparel, etc.).

9. B-Stock (bstock.com) - Runs branded liquidation storefronts for major retailers (Amazon, Walmart, Target, Costco, Home Depot, and others).

10. Municibid (municibid.com) - Popular for smaller municipal, school district, and local government surplus sales.

Anyone have knowledge?

I know what you're thinking. Stadium furniture is one thing but are there deals on fire trucks to be had? At last look, this running beauty in Arkansas has been bid to $5,000.

Presumably you would need a CDL to drive it for personal use.

Where else can you buy 40 (used) traffic barrels? Buy 'em now for $125.

On a previous Hobby Thread, we talked a little about using pallets to make things. This was a recent listing for 220 pallets but I can't tell if they sold and, if so, what the selling price was.

They need someone to remove the pallets more than they need to make money. There are a few listings for free pallets.

I don't know enough to evaluate videos for quality and don't have any background on buying surplus military vehicles, but seems like we should have something from that genre in the content. If you're interested, there are a ton of YouTube videos about military vehicles.

Where do you go shopping? govplanet.com seems like the place to find used Humvees (105 for sale when I looked). Each has a minimum bid of $3,000. Grok says vehicles in running condition typically sell between $4 and $7,000 with more desirable examples (good condition, low miles) selling between $8 and $15,000.

Similar but related - anyone want a kiddie Star Wars ride? Check out Bring A Trailer.

This children's ride was built in the style of an X-34 Landspeeder used by Luke Skywalker in the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. The fiberglass bodywork is finished in yellow and orange and features three faux "Repulsorlift" engines mounted at the rear, a faux windscreen, and side-trim graphics. Other attributes include a single padded seat, a black base, and a speaker system that plays the Star Wars theme music. This Landspeeder children's ride was purchased by the seller in 2026 and is now offered at no reserve in Miami, Florida, on a bill of sale.

Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We did a marble theme. The comments may be closed, but you can re-live the content.

Notable comments from last week:

Words of wisdom:

"Because despite all our troubles, when things are grim out in that wide round world of ours, that's when it's really important to have a good hobby." Posted by: tankascribe at June 22, 2024 07:41 PM (HWxAD).

Reminder: if you put links in the comments, use a URL shortener and describe what you're linking to. Failing to do either or both makes you barrel-eligible. Don't make people click to find out what you're linking.

Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Or just email to say hello. Do mighty things.

posted by Open Blogger at 05:30 PM

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