• All University-owned items must be disposed of by University of Iowa Surplus, per Ops Manual V.12.17
  • UI Surplus department will dispose of the property in one of the following ways:
    • Allow department to use as a trade-in;
    • Transfer to another Regent Institutions, state agency, or Iowa government entity;
    • Auction to the highest bidder;
    • Sell internally through UI Surplus sales open to the public;
    • Negotiate a direct sale to an outside entity when in the best interest of the institution;
    • Dismantle for parts utilization;
    • Recycle or dispose of in the best interest of the institution if de minimis residual value. 
• Departments receive reimbursement for items selling for more than $300. Sales-related expenses are deducted from the selling price.
• Fees may be levied on any transfers or trades.
• Surplus or Landfill?
  • Send items to Surplus that are re-saleable or recyclable. Re-saleable items should be intact and in working condition
  • Send items to landfill that are un-repairable, un-saleable, and un-recyclable. Facilities Management will deliver these items to the landfill. A requisition is required. Do not send items containing hazardous materials to the landfill. Broken or unusable items that contain materials such as glass, metals, plastics, wood, or paper may be recyclable.
• Safety is paramount when disposing of items containing hazardous materials. Surplus will handle such items as air conditioners, dehumidifiers, appliances, computers, monitors, televisions, and other electronics. Surplus does not handle equipment that contains biologically contaminated, chemical, or radioactive waste, contact EHS for assistance. Examples are:
  • adhesives
  • batteries
  • biohazards
  • blood pressure cuffs
  • chemicals
  • film
  • needles
  • oils
  • paint
  • solvents
  • thermometers
  • thermostats
  • x-ray equipment
• Secure items while awaiting pick-up by Surplus. Departments must remove all sensitive information from furnishings such as file cabinets and desks, as well as electronic media. Any departments unable to remove sensitive information from electronic devices should call Surplus and add this to the comments section.  UI Surplus will either wipe or destroy the media. Departments can also utilize the University's contract for document destruction.
• Transfers of active research grant assets see Ops Manual V.12.7 and V.12.8 and Capital Assets Management's website.

Surplus uses several different factors when determining the value of an item.

• Is the item complete and in working order?
• Is the item missing parts or pieces?
• Is there newer technology that has made this item obsolete?
• Does the item have service records?
• Is the market flooded with like items?
• Possible shipping issues (local sales only)

Once we have this information we will value it based on the above information and previous sales in Surplus, Heartland Recovery, eBay & GovDeals. If previous sales information is unavailable we will look at like items and determine a range.

Please ensure you place a value when submitting the removal to Surplus if the item(s) have a value greater than $300.

UI Surplus staff will evaluate items and confirm if items have selling potential. Items $300 or more are assigned a tracking number. After an item sells, selling expenses such as advertising, auction fees, shipping, and other fees are deducted from the selling price.

Departments will be reimbursed for items that sell for more than $300 after sales expenses. The reimbursement to departments is as follows:

• Items sold for $0 to $299 surplus will retain 100%
• Items sold for $300 to $4,999 75% to the department and  25% to surplus
• Items sold for $5,000 to $10,000 95% to the department and 5% to surplus
• Anything over $10,000 will be evaluated on surplus time and involvement in the sale.

*Items that are like items and sell combined over $2000.00 will be treated as a one sale and the percentages above will apply.

University of Iowa departments wishing to buy surplus items will need to register with GovDeals and bid on auctions as well.