# PublicSurplus Government Surplus Auction Scraper (`jungle_synthesizer/publicsurplus-government-surplus-auction-scraper`) Actor

Extract government surplus auctions from PublicSurplus.com across every browse category - vehicles, heavy equipment, computers, furniture, industrial gear and more - from roughly 9,000 US and Canadian government sellers, with agency, location, bid, and sold-price data.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/jungle\_synthesizer/publicsurplus-government-surplus-auction-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [BowTiedRaccoon](https://apify.com/jungle_synthesizer) (community)
- **Categories:** Business, Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.80 / 1,000 record scrapeds

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/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — 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

## PublicSurplus Government Surplus Auction Scraper

Scrapes government surplus auction listings from [PublicSurplus](https://www.publicsurplus.com), a marketplace where US and Canadian government agencies — states, counties, cities, school districts, and universities — sell surplus vehicles, equipment, electronics, and other assets. Returns one structured record per lot, covering every browse category, with agency, location, bid, and closing-price data.

***

### PublicSurplus Scraper Features

- Covers all 28 top-level PublicSurplus browse categories — vehicles, heavy equipment, computers, electronics, furniture, industrial gear, medical, real estate, and more
- Returns the selling government agency and pick-up location (city + state) alongside every lot, so results join cleanly against other government-surplus datasets
- Captures current bid, bid count, and — for lots whose auction ends during the crawl — the closing price
- Filter by one or more categories, or leave blank to crawl everything
- Supports resuming a large run that stopped early, without re-paying for records you already have

***

### Who Uses PublicSurplus Data?

- **Surplus resellers and flippers** sourcing inventory — heavy equipment, fleet vehicles, IT hardware, lab and AV gear
- **Municipal-fleet remarketers** tracking what government agencies are offloading and at what price
- **Asset-recovery and liquidation firms** building comparables from realized sale prices
- **Market researchers** studying government surplus disposal patterns across US states and Canadian provinces

***

### Input

```json
{
  "maxItems": 100,
  "categories": ["17", "4"]
}
```

| Field        | Type             | Default | Description                                                                                                 |
|--------------|------------------|---------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| `maxItems`   | integer          | `10`    | **Required.** Maximum number of auction lots to return.                                                        |
| `categories` | array of strings | all 28  | PublicSurplus category ids to crawl (e.g. `17` = Heavy Equipment, `4` = Motor Pool). Leave empty for all categories. |

#### Category ids

| Id | Category | Id | Category |
|----|----------|----|----------|
| 1  | Computers | 16 | Clothing |
| 2  | Electronics | 17 | Heavy Equipment |
| 3  | Office Equipment | 18 | Collectibles |
| 4  | Motor Pool | 19 | Aviation |
| 5  | Sporting Goods | 20 | Marine |
| 6  | Industrial Equipment | 21 | Motor Pool Parts |
| 8  | Food Supply | 22 | Airport |
| 9  | School Supplies | 23 | Medical |
| 10 | Building | 24 | Animals and Livestock |
| 11 | Jewelry | 25 | Scrap |
| 12 | Outdoor Equipment | 26 | Storage |
| 13 | Music and Arts | 27 | Housewares |
| 14 | Furniture | 28 | For Children |
| 15 | Real Estate | 29 | Heavy Equipment Parts |

***

### Output Fields

```json
{
  "auction_id": "4063975",
  "title": "SUM1500RMXL2U APC battery backup",
  "category": "Electronics",
  "category_id": 2,
  "agency_name": "Show Low Unified School District",
  "agency_region": "AZ",
  "location_city": "Show Low",
  "location_state": "AZ",
  "current_bid_usd": 50,
  "bid_count": 0,
  "starting_bid_usd": 50,
  "time_left_raw": "4 hours 6 mins",
  "ends_at": "2026-08-21T19:00:00.000Z",
  "quantity": null,
  "condition": "UNKNOWN",
  "description": "SUM1500RMXL2U APC battery backup untested",
  "thumbnail_url": "https://d37qv0n5b4mbzm.cloudfront.net/sms/docviewer/cdnmainaucdoc/thumb-b/4063975/70982201",
  "image_urls": ["https://d37qv0n5b4mbzm.cloudfront.net/sms/docviewer/cdnmainaucdoc/thumb-b/4063975/70982201"],
  "detail_url": "https://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/auction/view?auc=4063975",
  "is_closed": false,
  "sold_price_usd": null,
  "scraped_at": "2026-08-21T14:53:45.907Z"
}
```

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `auction_id` | string | PublicSurplus lot identifier |
| `title` | string | Lot title |
| `category` | string | Category name |
| `category_id` | integer | Category id |
| `agency_name` | string | Selling government agency |
| `agency_region` | string | State/province badge shown on the lot's listing card |
| `location_city` | string | Pick-up location city |
| `location_state` | string | Pick-up location state/province |
| `current_bid_usd` | number | Current bid price in USD |
| `bid_count` | integer | Number of bids placed so far |
| `starting_bid_usd` | number | Opening bid, populated when the lot has zero bids so far |
| `time_left_raw` | string | Time-left text as shown on the listing |
| `ends_at` | string | Auction close time, ISO 8601 |
| `quantity` | string | Quantity, where the listing discloses one |
| `condition` | string | Item condition, as reported by the seller |
| `description` | string | Full lot description |
| `thumbnail_url` | string | Primary lot image URL |
| `image_urls` | array | Lot image URLs |
| `detail_url` | string | Direct link to the lot on PublicSurplus |
| `is_closed` | boolean | Whether the auction had ended at scrape time |
| `sold_price_usd` | number | Closing price, populated when the lot closed during the crawl |
| `scraped_at` | string | ISO-8601 timestamp of when the record was captured |

***

### Resuming a large crawl

Every run emits a `resumeCursor` in its Output. If a large crawl stops before it finishes — because it hit `maxItems`, your spend cap (`maxTotalChargeUsd`), or was aborted — start a new run with **the same input** plus that `resumeCursor` to continue from where it left off. The crawl resumes from the queued work the previous run didn't reach.

- You are **not re-charged** for records the earlier run already delivered.
- Resume within your account's run-retention window — on the free tier, roughly your 10 most recent runs. Once the source run is pruned, its `resumeCursor` is no longer valid.
- `resumeCursor` is opaque — supply it unmodified.

***

### FAQ

#### How do I scrape PublicSurplus auctions?

Set `maxItems` and, optionally, `categories` — leave `categories` blank to cover every category. Run the actor; it returns one record per auction lot.

#### Can I get just one category, like heavy equipment or vehicles?

Yes. Set `categories` to any subset of the ids listed above.

#### Does this include auctions that have already closed?

Live auctions are the primary coverage. A lot that closes while its page is being crawled is captured as closed with its final sale price (`is_closed: true`, `sold_price_usd` populated) — this is opportunistic, not a guaranteed archive of every closed lot on the site.

#### How much does this cost to run?

Pay-per-event pricing — you pay per lot record returned. Exact per-event pricing is shown on the actor's Apify page before you run.

***

### Why Use This Scraper?

- **Whole-site coverage** — every browse category in one actor, not a single-category slice
- **Normalised agency + location fields** — join cleanly against other government-surplus datasets
- **Resumable** — a large full-catalog pull can pick up where it left off without duplicate charges

# Actor input Schema

## `sp_intended_usage` (type: `string`):

What will this data feed? E.g. lead lists, KYB checks, price tracking.

## `sp_improvement_suggestions` (type: `string`):

Provide any feedback or suggestions for improvements.

## `sp_contact` (type: `string`):

We'll personally help with your use case. No spam.

## `resumeCursor` (type: `string`):

Leave empty for a fresh crawl. To CONTINUE a previous run where it stopped — without paying again for records you already received — paste the `resumeCursor` value from that run's Output (the run's OUTPUT key). Resume promptly: the previous run's data expires with your account's retention window (free tier: your ~10 most recent runs).

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

Maximum number of auction lots to scrape across the selected categories.

## `categories` (type: `array`):

Government surplus categories to crawl (PublicSurplus browse categories). Leave empty to crawl all categories.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...",
  "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...",
  "sp_contact": "Share your email here...",
  "maxItems": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (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 = {
    "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...",
    "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...",
    "sp_contact": "Share your email here...",
    "maxItems": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("jungle_synthesizer/publicsurplus-government-surplus-auction-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 = {
    "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...",
    "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...",
    "sp_contact": "Share your email here...",
    "maxItems": 10,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("jungle_synthesizer/publicsurplus-government-surplus-auction-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

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

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

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...",
  "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...",
  "sp_contact": "Share your email here...",
  "maxItems": 10
}' |
apify call jungle_synthesizer/publicsurplus-government-surplus-auction-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,jungle_synthesizer/publicsurplus-government-surplus-auction-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/NN50xeN2kraB3Ovqn/builds/Wq7Tae77UPJmfeFja/openapi.json