'Circus of the fabulous'

"Can't wait to move to our new building. It will have heat." That's the UW Surplus Store's tweet from this past December, written by program coordinator Eric Wahl. The store's amusing Twitter feed alerts its 1,482 followers and potential buyers to new and interesting products that have arrived. But the store, a scarcely marked warehouse tucked away from main campus in its new location across the street from the southern part of U-Village, isn't just noteworthy because of its Twitter feed. Nor is it a place many people just stumble upon. However, many of those who discover this shopping experience return. Every Tuesday at noon, a long line can be seen outside the warehouse before it opens, and familiar faces can usually be spotted in the motley crew of regulars UW Surplus has acquired over the years. "Reuse, repurpose, and recycle," is the motto of UW Surplus, which prides itself on pursuing a "greener" campus and encouraging creative repurposing. UW Surplus takes responsibility for the appropriate disposal of everything that has been bought by the university and is no longer needed. On average, it processes about 50,000 items each year. Items come in from different departments - including off-site locations - and are brought to UW Surplus where their resell values are determined. Once items are priced, they are first made available to priority groups, including UW departments, state or local government agencies, and nonprofit organizations. For about the past eight years, the UW Surplus Store has been open to the public each Tuesday. This is the day the wide variety of items it houses become available for anyone to buy on a first-come, first-serve basis. In addition, the UW Surplus Store generally holds live auctions every other month - the next one will be held Saturday, April 9 at 10 a.m. Potential buyers can preview the items in stock from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. the Friday prior to auctions, or starting at 8 a.m. the morning of the auction. "We encourage everybody to stop by and see what they can find," UW operations manager Teresa Seyfried, who has been in charge of UW Surplus for more than 20 years, said. Seyfried recognizes that many students may not have heard about the UW Surplus Store and is working with her colleagues to reach out to more of the student population through social networking. The store's Twitter account is used frequently to tweet about unique items and promotions. The store is also exploring the possibility of using Facebook to network. In the meantime, potential customers can browse some sale and auction items on the store's website. Things turn over fairly quickly at UW Surplus and while standard items such as desks, tables, chairs, file-cabinets, keyboards, computer mice, overhead projectors, exam tables, microscopes, TV's, computers and school supplies will almost always be available, each week students can find their own treasures among a large selection of new and unique items. This self-proclaimed "circus of the fabulous" has offered items all across the map in the past, including: trucks, boats, airplanes, decommissioned police vehicles, smoothie machines, antique electronics, a submarine and more. "The selection is good, they have a little bit of everything ... most of which has price tags of 15 dollars or lower," UW senior Tyler Brewer said. "If you really want to get crazy, you can find old equipment that the science classes no longer need, old pants from the baseball team, et cetera." Brewer has purchased various furniture items from UW Surplus throughout his time at the UW, and describes its staff as "rather friendly and helpful," saying that "the experience is really what makes the Surplus Store special." Another positive aspect of the UW Surplus Store is its pickup system, which allows Tuesday's buyers to come back anytime before Friday to pick up their purchased items. Helpers are around on store days to assist buyers in moving large items, and wheeled-dollies are provided. The university tends to get pretty good discounts for merchandise up-front. For this reason, Seyfried said, Surplus buyers will often get higher quality items for comparable prices to other used furniture and equipment stores in the area. Brewer appreciates that the items in the store are sustainable. "It's a nice feeling knowing that you're buying recycled items," Brewer said, "most of which are still in great condition." And in accordance with the store's Twitter feed, UW Surplus will definitely hope to "See you there." Reach reporter Rebecca Gross at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.

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