# Surplex Auction Lots Scraper (`automation-lab/surplex-auction-lots-scraper`) Actor

Scrape Surplex public industrial auction lots, bids, locations, specs, images, and auction timing for sourcing and market research.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/automation-lab/surplex-auction-lots-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Stas Persiianenko](https://apify.com/automation-lab) (community)
- **Categories:** E-commerce
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

Pay per event

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md):

```bash
npm install apify-client
```

In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md):

```bash
pip install apify-client
```

In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md):

````bash
# MacOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash
# Windows
irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex
```bash

In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md).

If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).


# README

## Surplex Auction Lots Scraper

Extract Surplex industrial auction lots, bid signals, locations, machinery specs, images, documents, and auction timing from public `surplex.com` pages.

### What does Surplex Auction Lots Scraper do?

Surplex Auction Lots Scraper turns public Surplex machinery auction pages into structured datasets.

It can scrape:

- 🏭 Industrial machinery lots
- 🚜 Agricultural and earthmoving equipment
- 🔩 Metalworking and woodworking equipment
- 🚚 Transport and logistics assets
- 💶 Current bid and starting price signals
- 📍 Lot locations and countries
- 🧾 Manufacturer, model, year, and technical attributes
- 🖼️ Image and document URLs

### Who is it for?

This actor is built for equipment sourcing and industrial auction monitoring workflows.

- Equipment dealers tracking underpriced lots
- Liquidation buyers monitoring closing times
- Resellers comparing current bid levels
- Market analysts building machinery price benchmarks
- Procurement teams watching surplus equipment categories
- Data teams enriching internal sourcing dashboards

### Why use this Surplex scraper?

Surplex pages contain useful lot data, but manual monitoring is slow.

This actor helps you:

- Save repeatable lot snapshots
- Compare auctions across categories
- Export data to CSV, JSON, Excel, or API
- Monitor Surplex without browser copy-paste
- Feed pricing and resale analysis pipelines

### Data you can extract

| Field | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `title` | Surplex lot title |
| `lotUrl` | Direct lot page URL |
| `displayId` | Surplex display ID such as auction-lot number |
| `auctionName` | Auction name when available |
| `locationCity` | Lot city |
| `locationCountryCode` | Country code |
| `currentBid` | Current bid amount and currency |
| `startingPrice` | Starting price amount and currency |
| `bidsCount` | Number of bids when visible |
| `manufacturer` | Parsed brand/manufacturer |
| `model` | Parsed model/type |
| `year` | Year of build when visible |
| `attributes` | Full technical specification array |
| `imageUrls` | Lot image URLs |
| `documentUrls` | Lot document URLs |

### How much does it cost to scrape Surplex auction lots?

The actor uses pay-per-event pricing.

There is a $0.005 start fee per run plus a per-lot extraction fee. Current per-lot prices are approximately:

| Plan tier | Price per lot | 1,000 lots |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Free | $0.000030088 | $0.0301 |
| Starter / Bronze | $0.000026164 | $0.0262 |
| Scale / Silver | $0.000020408 | $0.0204 |
| Business / Gold | $0.000015698 | $0.0157 |

Use a low `maxItems` value for quick checks and increase it for production monitoring.

### How to use it

1. Open the actor on Apify.
2. Add Surplex category, search, auction, or lot URLs.
3. Set `maxItems`.
4. Keep `includeDetails` on for full specs and images.
5. Run the actor.
6. Export the dataset.

### Input options

#### Start URLs

Use Surplex pages such as:

- Category URLs
- Search URLs
- Auction URLs
- Individual lot URLs

#### Search queries

Add terms like:

- `lathe`
- `forklift`
- `CNC`
- `excavator`
- `woodworking`

#### Maximum lots

`maxItems` limits dataset size and cost.

#### Include lot details

When enabled, the actor opens each lot page and extracts richer specifications.

### Example input

```json
{
  "startUrls": [
    { "url": "https://www.surplex.com/en/c/metalworking/0d91005a-fa8e-4e8f-98b1-f4854018329f" }
  ],
  "searchQueries": ["lathe"],
  "maxItems": 100,
  "includeDetails": true
}
````

### Example output

```json
{
  "displayId": "A1-48006-17",
  "title": "MAHO CNC milling machine",
  "lotUrl": "https://www.surplex.com/en/l/...",
  "auctionName": "Woodworking and metalworking machines",
  "locationCity": "Blaubeuren",
  "locationCountryCode": "de",
  "currentBid": { "amount": 8200, "currency": "EUR" },
  "manufacturer": "MAHO",
  "year": "2017",
  "imageUrls": ["https://media.tbauctions.com/..."]
}
```

### Tips for better results

- Use category URLs for broad market monitoring.
- Use search queries for specific equipment classes.
- Enable details for specs-heavy workflows.
- Keep small limits for frequent scheduled checks.
- Export JSON when you need nested attributes.

### Integrations

Use the dataset with:

- Google Sheets for lead review
- Airtable for sourcing boards
- BI tools for price monitoring
- CRM systems for buyer workflows
- Internal resale valuation models
- Webhooks for newly found lots

### API usage with Node.js

```js
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('automation-lab/surplex-auction-lots-scraper').call({
  startUrls: [{ url: 'https://www.surplex.com/en/c/metalworking/0d91005a-fa8e-4e8f-98b1-f4854018329f' }],
  maxItems: 100,
  includeDetails: true
});
console.log(run.defaultDatasetId);
```

### API usage with Python

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient('YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN')
run = client.actor('automation-lab/surplex-auction-lots-scraper').call(run_input={
    'startUrls': [{'url': 'https://www.surplex.com/en/c/metalworking/0d91005a-fa8e-4e8f-98b1-f4854018329f'}],
    'maxItems': 100,
    'includeDetails': True,
})
print(run['defaultDatasetId'])
```

### API usage with cURL

```bash
curl -X POST 'https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/automation-lab~surplex-auction-lots-scraper/runs?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"maxItems":100,"includeDetails":true}'
```

### MCP usage

Connect this actor to Apify MCP at:

`https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=automation-lab/surplex-auction-lots-scraper`

Claude Code setup:

```bash
claude mcp add apify-surplex "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=automation-lab/surplex-auction-lots-scraper"
```

Claude Desktop JSON config:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify-surplex": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=automation-lab/surplex-auction-lots-scraper"
    }
  }
}
```

Example prompts:

- "Scrape 100 Surplex metalworking lots and summarize the top CNC machines."
- "Find Surplex lots in Germany with current bids under 5000 EUR."
- "Export Surplex auction lots with manufacturer, model, year, and location."

### Scheduling

Schedule the actor daily or weekly to monitor new lots and bid changes.

A common setup is:

- Daily category scrape
- Low `maxItems` during early monitoring
- Webhook when the run finishes
- Export to a database or spreadsheet

### Legality

Surplex Auction Lots Scraper extracts public web pages and does not require login credentials.

### Legal and ethical use

This actor extracts publicly available Surplex pages.

Use the data responsibly, respect applicable terms, and avoid excessive request volumes.

Do not use scraped data for spam, fraud, or unlawful activity.

### FAQ

#### Can I scrape an individual Surplex lot URL?

Yes. Add the lot URL to `startUrls` and set `includeDetails` to true.

#### Can I monitor the same category every day?

Yes. Use Apify schedules and keep `maxItems` aligned with your monitoring budget.

### Troubleshooting

#### Why are there fewer items than expected?

Surplex categories may have limited active lots, filters may narrow results, or `maxItems` may stop the run early.

#### Why are some fields empty?

Not every lot has bids, documents, manufacturer data, or year information. Missing values are returned as `null`.

### Related scrapers

Explore related Automation Lab actors:

- https://apify.com/automation-lab/rockanddirt-scraper
- https://apify.com/automation-lab/machinerytrader-scraper
- https://apify.com/automation-lab/equipment-trader-scraper

### Output formats

Apify datasets can be exported as:

- JSON
- CSV
- Excel
- XML
- RSS
- HTML table

### Field quality notes

Surplex stores detailed specs as attributes.

The actor keeps the raw `attributes` array and also promotes common fields such as manufacturer, model, and year.

### Performance notes

HTTP extraction is used because Surplex exposes useful data in server-rendered Next.js JSON.

This is lighter and cheaper than browser automation.

### Changelog

Initial version extracts Surplex lots from public pages with optional detail enrichment.

### Support

If a page shape changes or a field is missing, open an Apify issue with the run ID and input.

# Actor input Schema

## `startUrls` (type: `array`):

Surplex category, search, auction, or individual lot URLs. Leave empty to scrape the default metalworking category.

## `searchQueries` (type: `array`):

Optional Surplex search keywords such as forklift, lathe, CNC, excavator, or woodworking.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of Surplex lots to save.

## `includeDetails` (type: `boolean`):

Open each lot page to enrich output with full attributes, documents, images, and descriptions. Slower but more complete.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.surplex.com/en/c/metalworking/0d91005a-fa8e-4e8f-98b1-f4854018329f"
    }
  ],
  "searchQueries": [
    "lathe"
  ],
  "maxItems": 20,
  "includeDetails": true
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `overview` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "startUrls": [
        {
            "url": "https://www.surplex.com/en/c/metalworking/0d91005a-fa8e-4e8f-98b1-f4854018329f"
        }
    ],
    "searchQueries": [
        "lathe"
    ],
    "maxItems": 20,
    "includeDetails": true
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("automation-lab/surplex-auction-lots-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "startUrls": [{ "url": "https://www.surplex.com/en/c/metalworking/0d91005a-fa8e-4e8f-98b1-f4854018329f" }],
    "searchQueries": ["lathe"],
    "maxItems": 20,
    "includeDetails": True,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("automation-lab/surplex-auction-lots-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.surplex.com/en/c/metalworking/0d91005a-fa8e-4e8f-98b1-f4854018329f"
    }
  ],
  "searchQueries": [
    "lathe"
  ],
  "maxItems": 20,
  "includeDetails": true
}' |
apify call automation-lab/surplex-auction-lots-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=automation-lab/surplex-auction-lots-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

```json
{
    "openapi": "3.0.1",
    "info": {
        "title": "Surplex Auction Lots Scraper",
        "description": "Scrape Surplex public industrial auction lots, bids, locations, specs, images, and auction timing for sourcing and market research.",
        "version": "0.1",
        "x-build-id": "izgsVcWy4ffh1ezle"
    },
    "servers": [
        {
            "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
        }
    ],
    "paths": {
        "/acts/automation-lab~surplex-auction-lots-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-automation-lab-surplex-auction-lots-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/automation-lab~surplex-auction-lots-scraper/runs": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "runs-sync-automation-lab-surplex-auction-lots-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK",
                        "content": {
                            "application/json": {
                                "schema": {
                                    "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/automation-lab~surplex-auction-lots-scraper/run-sync": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-automation-lab-surplex-auction-lots-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    },
    "components": {
        "schemas": {
            "inputSchema": {
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "startUrls": {
                        "title": "Start URLs",
                        "type": "array",
                        "description": "Surplex category, search, auction, or individual lot URLs. Leave empty to scrape the default metalworking category.",
                        "items": {
                            "type": "object",
                            "required": [
                                "url"
                            ],
                            "properties": {
                                "url": {
                                    "type": "string",
                                    "title": "URL of a web page",
                                    "format": "uri"
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    },
                    "searchQueries": {
                        "title": "Search queries",
                        "type": "array",
                        "description": "Optional Surplex search keywords such as forklift, lathe, CNC, excavator, or woodworking.",
                        "items": {
                            "type": "string"
                        }
                    },
                    "maxItems": {
                        "title": "Maximum lots",
                        "minimum": 1,
                        "maximum": 10000,
                        "type": "integer",
                        "description": "Maximum number of Surplex lots to save.",
                        "default": 20
                    },
                    "includeDetails": {
                        "title": "Include lot details",
                        "type": "boolean",
                        "description": "Open each lot page to enrich output with full attributes, documents, images, and descriptions. Slower but more complete.",
                        "default": true
                    }
                }
            },
            "runsResponseSchema": {
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "data": {
                        "type": "object",
                        "properties": {
                            "id": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "actId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "userId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "startedAt": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "format": "date-time",
                                "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
                            },
                            "finishedAt": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "format": "date-time",
                                "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
                            },
                            "status": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "example": "READY"
                            },
                            "meta": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "origin": {
                                        "type": "string",
                                        "example": "API"
                                    },
                                    "userAgent": {
                                        "type": "string"
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "stats": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "inputBodyLen": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 2000
                                    },
                                    "rebootCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "restartCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "resurrectCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "computeUnits": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "options": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "build": {
                                        "type": "string",
                                        "example": "latest"
                                    },
                                    "timeoutSecs": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 300
                                    },
                                    "memoryMbytes": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 1024
                                    },
                                    "diskMbytes": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 2048
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "buildId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultKeyValueStoreId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultDatasetId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultRequestQueueId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "buildNumber": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "example": "1.0.0"
                            },
                            "containerUrl": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "usage": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 1
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_SERPS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "usageTotalUsd": {
                                "type": "number",
                                "example": 0.00005
                            },
                            "usageUsd": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "number",
                                        "example": 0.00005
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_SERPS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
```