Show HN: GovAuctions lets you browse government auctions at once
by player_piano on 4/6/2026, 4:21:46 PM
I've long been into finding deals on government auction sites (seizures, surplus sales etc.) - right now for example San Diego DHS is selling 26 tons of lead shot, with bidding starting at $1,000 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯<p>It has historically been extremely tedious though: scanning dozens of janky sites which have interminable page loading times; back buttons take you all the way back to the homepage etc.<p>The site I built - GovAuctions - lets you search every government surplus auction at once. You can filter by location, category, and price, save items to a watchlist, and get alerts when new auctions match what you're looking for.<p>Let me know what you think, if you have any suggestions, and if you find any deals in your area!
Comments
by: carefree-bob
This is a real public service. More people can find better deals, this increases the pool of bidders, taxpayers will get more money for the auction. Discoverability is hugely important to these auctions.
4/6/2026, 5:43:23 PM
by: RationPhantoms
Doesn't seem accurate considering GovDeals has auctions in NY, NJ and CT listed but your website has nothing.
4/6/2026, 6:54:52 PM
by: showerst
Feature request:<p>Let me filter and alert based on a distance, not just sort. e.g. "Lathe" within 100 miles of Baltimore. GovDeals lets you do this, but their distance filter is very inaccurate.
4/6/2026, 6:46:06 PM
by: rurp
Very interesting project! Can anyone comment on what the buying process is like? Specifically if there are any weird hoops to jump through or if it's a normal account signup and payment process. Is delivery available or do these need to be picked up in person?
4/6/2026, 6:32:28 PM
by: BloondAndDoom
Good stuff,<p>Once an item clicked back button returns you to a reset listing, so you cannot click and item go back and retain the last position you were looking at (tested on iPhone)
4/6/2026, 5:59:31 PM
by: gnopgnip
The guides mention govdeals. But I don't see them, for instance the UC davis bike auctions are not included.
4/6/2026, 6:06:53 PM
by: SoftTalker
Seems to be missing stuff.<p>I searched "volkswagen" on govdeals and found a lot of vehicles listed but nothing on this site.
4/6/2026, 6:04:28 PM
by: dlcarrier
If you want to see how quickly this can trap you in, watch the William Osman 2 channel on YouTube.
4/6/2026, 5:35:11 PM
by: KomoD
> right now for example San Diego DHS is selling 26 tons of lead shot, with bidding starting at $1,000<p>If that's not enough for you then there's another auction too! <a href="https://www.govauctions.app/auction/gsa-4-1-QSC-I-26-226-002" rel="nofollow">https://www.govauctions.app/auction/gsa-4-1-QSC-I-26-226-002</a>
4/6/2026, 4:43:36 PM