University surplus items sold for `cheap`

Campus
MAY 25, 2010
PAGE 7
University surplus items sold for ‘cheap’
LEE LOVELL
Scroll Staff
Bowls. Couches. Televisions. Apple
iMacs. Tables. Toasters. These are all
items that can be found at a retail store
for a high price.
But for those familiar with surplus
sales at BYU-Idaho, that is not the
case. Usually items at the sales cost a
comparatively small amount.
“We take the university’s surplus and
sell it here for cheap,” said purchasing
director and surplus sales manager
Darin Lee.
When the university buys new items
to replace old ones, the old items are
sent to the surplus sales division of the
purchasing department and then sold
to the public. This allows people to buy
these items at significant discounts.
For example, cereal bowls sell for
$0.25 a piece. Televisions go for around
$30. For those who often seem to lose
their chemistry goggles, they are sold for
$1 each.
A great variety of items are sold and
new items are added every week for
purchase. Lee said that they will receive
furniture possibly by the end of summer.
The Outdoor Resource Center often
sells used items through surplus sales
as well.
“We evaluate [the items’] wear and
tear at the end of the season, repair if
needed and sell them,” said ORC comanager Pete Benson, a junior studying
recreational therapy.
The next lot of items from the ORC
to be sold through surplus sales will be
available around October, said outdoor
resource center supervisor Scott Hurst.
There are two different ways to
purchase items through surplus sales.
The first is a quick sale, the other is a
sealed bid.
HARVARD PROFESSOR COMES TO BYU-I
Quick sale items are typically of lower
value and are sold on a first-come, firstserved basis.
Examples of quick sale items might
include televisions, printers or football
shoulder pads.
Sealed bid items give prospective
buyers an opportunity to bid for an
item anytime before midnight on the
Thursday of the sale. Winners then have
one week to pick up the item.
“A person can bid less [than
the minimum bid], but it is up to
department to decide [if it is accepted],”
Lee said.
Examples of sealed bid items might
be Mac minis or amplified speakers.
A list of surplus sale items can be
found at web.byui.edu/SurplusList.
The surplus sale’s operations are
Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 2
p.m. It is located through north entrance
of the Auxiliary Services Building.
JOSHUA SMITH | Scroll Photography
New items are added every week for purchase
at the surplus sales division of the purchasing
department.
CAMPUS NEWS IN BRIEF
Parking Closure
Effective Tuesday, May 25,
(weather permitting) the Biddulph
parking lot will be opened and the
south side of West Campus Drive will
be closed to pedestrian and vehicular
traffic.
No eastbound vehicular traffic will
be allowed beyond the entry to the
Biddulph parking lot. Westbound
vehicular traffic will be one way,
allowing access to parking on the
north side of the street. This parking
closure is in affect until mid-July.
Sidewalk Closure
Beginning Monday, May 24, the
university may need to close the
sidewalk north of Biddulph and Rigby
halls. This activity will take 2­-3 weeks.
Employees and students should use
the access south of these buildings.
Source: www.byui.edu
JAQUELINE GIRALDO | Scroll Photography
Students and faculty had the opportunity to hear from Clayton Christensen at the forum
on May 20. According to the BYU-I website, www.byui.edu, “Clayton M. Christensen is
widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost experts on innovation and growth.” Brother
Christensen has served as a director on the boards of a number of public and private
companies. Christensen discussed how to ask the right questions to get the right answers.