# GovDeals Government Surplus Auction Scraper (`lulzasaur/govdeals-scraper`) Actor

Scrape GovDeals government surplus online auctions. Per-lot data: title, current bid, starting bid, bid count, seller agency, category, city/state/zip, lat/lng, start/end dates, time remaining, image, and listing URL. Search by keyword or browse all active lots.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/lulzasaur/govdeals-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [lulz bot](https://apify.com/lulzasaur) (community)
- **Categories:** E-commerce
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $5.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## GovDeals Government Surplus Auction Scraper

Scrape live **[GovDeals](https://www.govdeals.com)** government surplus online auctions — the marketplace where U.S. federal, state, and local agencies sell surplus vehicles, heavy equipment, electronics, real estate, and more. Powered by GovDeals' own search API (operated by Liquidity Services), so results are fast, structured, and complete.

Perfect for **resellers, fleet buyers, equipment dealers, arbitrage hunters, and market researchers** tracking government auction prices and inventory.

### What it does

- Search GovDeals by **keyword** (e.g. `truck`, `tractor`, `laptop`, `police vehicle`) — multiple queries per run
- Or **browse every active auction lot** nationwide (leave the query list empty)
- Returns clean, structured records for each lot with bids, location, seller agency, dates, and images
- Sort by best match, time left, current bid, or bid count

### Input

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `searchQueries` | array | Keywords to search. Empty = browse all active lots. |
| `maxResults` | integer | Max records across all queries (default 100). |
| `sortField` | string | `bestfit`, `timeLeft`, `currentBid`, or `bidCount`. |
| `sortOrder` | string | `asc` or `desc`. |
| `proxyConfiguration` | object | Proxy settings (Apify datacenter proxy is enough). |

#### Example input

```json
{
  "searchQueries": ["dump truck", "excavator"],
  "maxResults": 200,
  "sortField": "timeLeft",
  "sortOrder": "asc",
  "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true }
}
```

### Output

Each item is one auction lot:

```json
{
  "assetId": 1015,
  "auctionId": 1,
  "title": "2022 Caterpillar 745 Articulated Haul Truck w/ Tailgate",
  "description": "2022 Caterpillar 745 articulated haul truck equipped with a tailgate...",
  "url": "https://www.govdeals.com/en/asset/1015/1",
  "currentBid": 342000,
  "startingBid": 7500,
  "bidCount": 75,
  "currencyCode": "USD",
  "isReserveNotMet": false,
  "category": "Articulated Dump Trucks",
  "categoryCode": "36H",
  "makeBrand": "CAT",
  "model": "745",
  "modelYear": "2022",
  "seller": "Pennsylvania State Surplus, PA",
  "sellerType": "General Public",
  "accountId": 29652,
  "inventoryId": "WAVE #5 Asset 41",
  "city": "Lemoyne",
  "state": "PA",
  "stateName": "Pennsylvania",
  "zip": "17043",
  "country": "USA",
  "address": "330 S 3rd St",
  "latitude": 40.2431,
  "longitude": -76.89,
  "startDate": "2026-06-10T08:00:00",
  "endDate": "2026-06-24T16:00:00",
  "endDateUtc": "2026-06-24T20:00:00Z",
  "endDateDisplay": "June 24, 2026 01:00 PM PDT",
  "timeRemaining": "0:0:41:6",
  "image": "https://webassets.lqdt1.com/assets/photos/29652/29652_1015_....jpg?cb=...&w=800&webp=true",
  "searchQuery": "truck",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-06-24T20:00:00.000Z"
}
```

### How it works

GovDeals is an Angular single-page app whose storefront sits behind Akamai Bot Manager, but its public search API (`maestro.lqdt1.com/search/list`) is reachable directly with the anonymous API keys the site ships. This actor calls that JSON API and normalizes each lot — no headless browser, no CAPTCHA solving, fast and reliable.

### Pricing

Pay-per-result: a small charge for starting the run plus a per-item charge for each auction record returned. You only pay for the lots you actually get.

### Notes & disclaimer

- Only **active/listed** auctions are returned; closed lots eventually drop off the search index.
- Bid amounts and time-remaining are snapshots at scrape time — re-run for fresh values.
- This is an independent tool and is not affiliated with or endorsed by GovDeals or Liquidity Services. Use responsibly and in line with the site's terms.

# Actor input Schema

## `searchQueries` (type: `array`):

Keywords to search GovDeals auctions, e.g. 'truck', 'tractor', 'laptop', 'police vehicle'. Each query is searched separately. Leave empty to browse ALL active auctions.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of auction lot records to return (across all queries combined). Default 100.

## `sortField` (type: `string`):

How to order results before scraping.

## `sortOrder` (type: `string`):

Ascending or descending order for the sort field.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Proxy settings. The GovDeals JSON API has no anti-bot protection, so Apify datacenter proxy is sufficient; use residential only if you hit rate limits.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchQueries": [
    "truck"
  ],
  "maxResults": 100,
  "sortField": "bestfit",
  "sortOrder": "desc",
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "searchQueries": [
        "truck"
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("lulzasaur/govdeals-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "searchQueries": ["truck"],
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("lulzasaur/govdeals-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "searchQueries": [
    "truck"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}' |
apify call lulzasaur/govdeals-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=lulzasaur/govdeals-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/iyg9YqoWKnEyErVKX/builds/MLTXXor3EsIcMyLoB/openapi.json