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PublicSurplus has a rating of 1.66 stars from 86 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about PublicSurplus most frequently mention credit card, and next day problems. PublicSurplus ranks 182nd among Auction sites.
One must understand that buying salvage products that there is risk involved. What may be junk to one man may be reusable equipment to another. Descriptions given are usually given by untrained people doing the best they can. They are not auctioneers. They are folks doing their jobs. With that in mind, be specific. Ask questions about what you are buying. I've always gotten straight answers. I've used this websight many times and have not one time been disappointed when We unloaded the delivery truck.
They charged a dollar for address verification. For what? To get money. They are scammers that have high jacked this business. Buyer beware. They charge more than the additional 10% as well. And when you talk to them they have the accents of the regular scammers. Beware who you give your card info to. Not a trustworthy company. There are 100s of other auction company's GO SOMWHERE ELSE.
Public Surplus does not monitor Sellers in any way! Furthermore; If you have a problem with a seller and they don't like that you had a problem with them they can block you from bidding on their auctions. You may ask why should I care if they block me from their auctions? Because if they block you from their auctions then many other agencies will block you because you have been blocked by another agency. This is like a virus, one block becomes two then four then eight then sixteen blocks (you can see where this is going). I have communicated with Public Surplus and their response is that it is up to the Buyer to resolve any issues with the agencies and it is not Public Surplus's problem. Public Surplus is also not concerned with any consequences for
Sellers who misrepresent auction items.
Caveat emptor!
I try to conduct business over my cell phone. Everything OK as far as long in, search and or browse. But try to make a bid their system sucks. I have lost four bids because thier system will not take a bid! I have get in via lap top that my situation requires driving to WiFi hub. Customer service response is slow. It takes time to go thorough the learning curve but worth the trouble so far. Bottom line they are lacking in customer service on the buyers end.
Public Surplus.com is been down for over four days now. It intermittently came on last night however you're not able to put any credit card information in so you cannot bid on anything over $500. I'm watching two vehicles that I really want to bid on slip away because the timers are running and the website doesn't work. Can't public surplus hire an IT person that knows what they're doing?
I have been dealing with Public Surplus for about two years. The site is not a scam, one needs to know how and when to bid. You need to pay close attention to details... times listed for end of auctions to change (not sure why) times zones vary. My biggest issue is most sellers require items to be picked up. This limits their potential buyers... Washington State and Colorado are an exception. This is not a required by PublicSurplus but the sellers issue. PublicSurplus needs improvement in customer service... contacting seller via email is a plus. Just keep in mind you dealing with a computer and the learning curve is totally up to you. PublicSurplus really dose not care one way or another. They are a broker working on a percentage to provide liquidation of misc goods for small city police departments. From what I have experienced they do not bump bidding and will extend auctions based on activity. You can find deals.
I have purchased 5 vehicles on the web site. Most of the problems are that the sellers do not give, or wont give full disclosure. Some sellers are better than others.
Check with the seller and press for answers.
I had bids on two vehicles and the web site has been down since Feb 27, that is 5 days and I did not have the chance to check bids.
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Public Surplus is the best government surplus auction system available. Find great deals on heavy equipment, cars, buses and even airplanes.
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