The interior of the University of Colorado Boulder surplus store. (Greta Kerkhoff/CU Independent)
Located on the side of an unassuming beige warehouse, the store is tucked away and hard to find. Commercial trucks line up to unload all around the building, blocking off large sections of the parking lot like an incomplete game of Tetris.
At 8:30 in the morning, the line of ten or so people begins to shuffle in.
Upon entering the huge room, shoppers are confronted by rows and rows of discarded items; it looks like a yard sale. An island of Mac monitors and tech supplies catches the eye. Textbooks, office chairs, speakers, tables, coffee pots and even indoor bicycles all reside.
The space is home to the University of Colorado Boulder Surplus Store. Located at 3300 Walnut St Unit A, the store resells discarded items from the university. On Monday, the store opened to the public. CU Boulder property management has been selling unused university items for years, but only previously by appointment. Now, with a big storefront, they hope to get more items off their hands.
Denise Worthington, the property services program manager, has been advocating for a storefront since she was hired, citing most major universities that already have surplus stores, including Arizona State University and the University of Washington.
“Nobody wants to make an appointment to buy a stapler,” she said.
The store provides students with the unique opportunity to get college supplies and other goods at a discounted price. While some say that searching for textbooks or working technology at Goodwill can be a gamble, the surplus store guarantees quality to shoppers.
“So far, I’m finding what I’m looking for,” said Emma Davis, a CU Boulder senior studying mechanical engineering student as she browsed the bookshelf closest to the store’s front door. Davis already had two textbooks in hand.
Previously, the store had received many engineering and graduate students who came to purchase materials. Now that the store is physical, they hope a broader range of students can benefit.
“I think a lot of students could benefit,” said Francisco Galindo, the store manager. “We definitely have laptops that they could purchase here.”
In fact, laptops are abundant. The store is filled with technology. All of it is wiped before being taken from the university and must be confirmed as working before being priced to sell. The store also comes equipped with a testing center, where potential buyers can test technology before buying. Store experts are also around to help answer questions.
“If you get something and you find out it doesn’t work, bring it back. If we have a like item, we’ll give you a like item or we’ll try and work something out,” said Worthington, explaining a worst-case scenario.
Sales also benefit university departments, as a percentage of proceeds will go back to the department the item came from. The in-person store is likely to increase sales and may increase the amount of passive revenue for departments.
More than anything, staff want to keep items out of the landfill.
“Keep it green,” said Galindo. “We’re just trying to sell it as cheap as we can.”
Contact CU Independent News Editor Greta Kerkhoff at Greta.kerkhoff@colorado.edu
