Home / Surplus auctions by state / Texas

Texas government surplus auctions

Published November 1, 2026 · GavelGap · Original data

Texas sells state surplus through the State Surplus Store in Austin and online auctions, both run by the Texas Facilities Commission. Cities, school districts and the Comptroller's unclaimed property division sell on GovDeals, where we tracked 9,757 Texas auctions with a confirmed result from May 22 to October 31, 2026, for $29.8 million in winning bids.

The Texas State Surplus Store and state auctions

The Texas Facilities Commission runs the State Surplus Store at 6506 Bolm Road in Austin, open to the public Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., according to the TFC. Property outside the Austin area is mostly sold through online auctions, which the TFC runs through Public Surplus as needed. Vehicles are sold both online and at the store.

Anyone can buy, with exceptions: TxDOT surplus, for example, is offered only to eligible Texas entities for its first 10 business days before the public can bid. The TFC reports about $9.3 million in surplus sales for fiscal 2024. That's the state program; the rest of this page covers Texas sellers on GovDeals.

Texas on GovDeals: the numbers

Every GovDeals auction with a Texas pickup location that closed from May 22, 2026 to October 31, 2026 with a confirmed result:

MetricTexas on GovDeals
Auctions with a confirmed result9,757
Sold8,853
Median bidders per sold lot15 (all GovDeals: 11)
Median winning bid$550 (all GovDeals: $175)
Total winning bids$29.8 million
Selling accounts429
Auctions from commercial sellers25.2%
Lots open on November 11,758

Unclaimed property and trucks drive the Texas market

The biggest Texas seller on GovDeals is the Comptroller's unclaimed property division: 1,301 auctions and $1.59 million in winning bids, which the Comptroller describes as unclaimed safe deposit box contents, including jewelry and coins. That's why jewelry drew a median of 24 bidders in Texas against 4 nationally, and coin collections 26 against 8, at a median $802 per lot.

Texas pickups sold for a median $4,650 with 42 bidders, and forklifts for $5,075 against $2,205 nationally. Fort Worth sold 261 lots for $1.4 million. Cars were the quiet exception: 15 bidders against 27 nationally.

What sells

The busiest categories (at least 10 sales each), with the GovDeals-wide figure for comparison:

CategorySoldMedian biddersMedian winning bid
Jewelry81624 (all GovDeals: 4)$375 (all GovDeals: $100)
Pickup Trucks55742 (all GovDeals: 38)$4,650 (all GovDeals: $3,850)
Coin Collections50126 (all GovDeals: 8)$802 (all GovDeals: $52)
SUV43127.5 (all GovDeals: 30)$3,150 (all GovDeals: $3,000)
Automobiles/Cars30415 (all GovDeals: 27)$2,294 (all GovDeals: $2,200)
Computers, Parts, and Supplies32519 (all GovDeals: 15)$425 (all GovDeals: $220)
General Merchandise28111 (all GovDeals: 3)$135 (all GovDeals: $35)
Furniture and Furnishings1753 (all GovDeals: 2)$25 (all GovDeals: $15)
Fire & Police Equipment1783 (all GovDeals: 6)$57 (all GovDeals: $65)
Furniture, Miscellaneous1211.5 (all GovDeals: 3)$20 (all GovDeals: $21)
Forklifts12417 (all GovDeals: 16)$5,075 (all GovDeals: $2,205)
Industrial Equipment, Miscellaneous8213 (all GovDeals: 8)$293 (all GovDeals: $145)
Commercial Food Service and Cafeteria Equipment888 (all GovDeals: 7)$83 (all GovDeals: $103)
Computer accessories699 (all GovDeals: 5)$130 (all GovDeals: $58)

Computers: Laptops is left out of this table: bulk lots of 5 to 10 laptops listed as one lot push the per-lot median above $1,000.

Who sells

SellerTypeAuctionsSoldWinning bids
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts – Unclaimed Property DivisionGovernment1,3011,300$1,592,390
Rev 1 PackagingCommercial431305$470,608
UNICORGovernment420412$1,390,959
El PasoGovernment271270$302,089
Fort WorthGovernment261261$1,399,506
Round Rock Independent School DistrictGovernment202172$172,157
Account 29440—170170$965,655
Account 31615—16793$286,771
USPS – Asset Accountability Service Centers - EastGovernment167154$528,339
MKM Trading LLCCommercial156130$4,465

Where

CityAuctionsSoldMedian winning bid
Austin1,7991,770$410
Houston745575$1,005
Fort Worth695580$1,013
El Paso463436$135
Texarkana440432$615
Round Rock377335$92
San Antonio309265$700
Garland223197$35

By month

MonthSoldMedian winning bid
May 2026*455$1,200
June 20261,171$433
July 20261,366$581
August 20261,414$775
September 20262,175$500
October 20262,272$475

* Partial month: our tracking starts May 22, 2026.

What's open right now

1,617 Texas lots were open on GovDeals when this page was last updated (Nov 8, 11:23 PM ET). These 8 have the highest current bids among lots closing in the next few days. Bids move fast, so open the listing for the current bid, the pickup address and the removal deadline before you bid.

Listings and photos from GovDeals, refreshed every 6 hours. We don't publish resale estimates for individual lots.

The winning bid is your cost, not the item's value. Everything above is what buyers paid. Your profit is what the item resells for, minus the winning bid, the buyer's premium, tax, removal and shipping. See GovDeals fees explained and sold prices by item.

GavelGap puts the other half of the math on every GovDeals listing: what the lot resells for, what it costs you landed, and the pickup-only, title and condition problems that sink a deal, right in your browser.

Try GavelGap free →

Methodology

Our GovDeals figures include every GovDeals auction with a Texas pickup location that ended from May 1, 2026 through October 31, 2026 and whose outcome GovDeals confirmed by status, bid history or bid count. Lots we couldn't confirm either way are left out, as are real estate and land sales and sellers that sell at a fixed price with no bidding (at least 90% of 20 or more sales with no recorded bid). "All GovDeals" figures use the same rules nationwide over the same dates. "Bidders" is the bid count on the sold lot, which can include several bids from one person, so read it as a measure of how contested a lot was. Category medians are per lot, so a multi-unit lot counts as one sale at its full price. Categories need at least 10 sales. Commercial sellers are businesses and remarketers selling on GovDeals rather than government bodies, using GovDeals' own seller type. We don't show sell-through: before September 2026 our tracking didn't record every unsold auction, so early months would overstate it. We don't publish per-lot resale estimates. Facts about Texas's own surplus program come from the official sources linked above; programs change, so confirm terms with the agency before you buy.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the Texas State Surplus Store?

At 6506 Bolm Road in Austin, run by the Texas Facilities Commission and open to the public Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., per the TFC. Check its site before you go.

Does Texas sell surplus online?

Yes. The TFC sells property outside Austin mostly through online auctions on Public Surplus. Texas cities, school districts and the Comptroller's unclaimed property division also sell on GovDeals: 9,757 auctions with a confirmed result from May 22 to October 31, 2026.

Why is there so much jewelry in Texas government auctions?

The Comptroller's unclaimed property division auctions unclaimed safe deposit box contents, including jewelry and coins, and sells on GovDeals. It ran 1,301 auctions in our window, and Texas jewelry drew a median of 24 bidders against 4 nationally.

What do Texas government pickups sell for?

On GovDeals, a median of $4,650 with 42 bidders, above the national median of $3,850.

Related: Pickup truck sold prices · How to flip surplus jewelry · Government auctions near you

Other states: Alabama · Arizona · Arkansas · California · Colorado · Florida · Georgia · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maryland · Michigan · Minnesota · Missouri · Nebraska · New Jersey · New York · North Carolina · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · South Carolina · Tennessee · Utah · Virginia · Washington · Wisconsin