# PublicSurplus Scraper - Government Surplus Auctions (`lulzasaur/publicsurplus-scraper`) Actor

Scrape government, municipal, school, and police surplus auctions from PublicSurplus.com. Get titles, current bids, locations, categories, close times, listing URLs, and images. Search by keyword, category, or US/Canada state.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/lulzasaur/publicsurplus-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [lulz bot](https://apify.com/lulzasaur) (community)
- **Categories:** E-commerce
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 2 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

## PublicSurplus Scraper - Government Surplus Auctions

Scrape live government, municipal, school, and police **surplus auctions** from [PublicSurplus.com](https://www.publicsurplus.com) — the platform thousands of US and Canadian public agencies use to liquidate vehicles, heavy equipment, electronics, furniture, and more.

Find deals on government surplus, build resale arbitrage feeds, track municipal liquidations, or power a deal-alert app.

### What it does

Search or browse PublicSurplus and get clean, structured auction data:

- **Keyword search** — e.g. `truck`, `laptop`, `tractor`, `excavator`
- **Category browse** — Computers, Electronics, Motor Pool, Heavy Equipment, Furniture, Real Estate, Medical, and 20+ more
- **State / region filter** — limit to a US state or Canadian province, or scrape nationwide

### Input

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `searchQuery` | string | Keyword to search. Takes priority over category. |
| `category` | string | Category name (or numeric id) to browse when no keyword is set. |
| `state` | string | Two-letter state/province code (`ca`, `tx`, `bc`, …) or `all`. |
| `maxResults` | integer | Max auctions to scrape. `0` = unlimited. Default `50`. |
| `sortBy` | enum | `timeLeft`, `newest`, `priceLow`, `priceHigh`. |
| `proxyConfiguration` | object | Optional proxy settings. |

### Output

Each auction returns:

```json
{
    "auctionId": "4019245",
    "title": "2009 STERLING LT9500 WITH SPREADER, PLOW, AND WINGPLOW",
    "currentBid": 4550,
    "currentBidText": "$4,550.00",
    "location": "WY",
    "category": null,
    "closeTime": "2026-06-24T16:00:00.000Z",
    "timeLeft": "7 hours 41 mins",
    "listingUrl": "https://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/auction/view?auc=4019245",
    "imageUrl": "https://d37qv0n5b4mbzm.cloudfront.net/sms/docviewer/cdnmainaucdoc/thumb-b/4019245/70210581",
    "scrapedAt": "2026-06-24T08:18:51.445Z"
}
```

### Notes

- Fast Cheerio/HTTP scraper — no headless browser required.
- `closeTime` is the precise auction end timestamp (ISO 8601, UTC).
- `location` is the seller's state/region; the agency name is shown on each `listingUrl` detail page.

# Actor input Schema

## `searchQuery` (type: `string`):

Keyword to search across all PublicSurplus auctions (e.g. 'truck', 'laptop', 'tractor'). If set, this takes priority over the Category filter. Leave empty to browse by category or region.

## `category` (type: `string`):

Browse a single category instead of searching. Used only when Search Keyword is empty. Examples: 'Computers', 'Electronics', 'Motor Pool', 'Heavy Equipment', 'Furniture', 'Real Estate', 'Medical', 'Jewelry'. You may also pass a numeric category id.

## `state` (type: `string`):

Two-letter US state or Canadian province code (e.g. 'ca', 'tx', 'fl', 'ny', 'bc') to limit results to that region, or 'all' for nationwide. Applies to keyword search and category browse.

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

Maximum number of auctions to scrape. Set to 0 for unlimited (all available results). Default is 50.

## `sortBy` (type: `string`):

How to sort auction results.

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

Proxy settings. Not required for basic scraping but recommended for large-scale runs.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchQuery": "truck",
  "category": "",
  "state": "all",
  "maxResults": 50,
  "sortBy": "timeLeft",
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `dataset` (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 = {
    "searchQuery": "truck",
    "state": "all"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("lulzasaur/publicsurplus-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 = {
    "searchQuery": "truck",
    "state": "all",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("lulzasaur/publicsurplus-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 '{
  "searchQuery": "truck",
  "state": "all"
}' |
apify call lulzasaur/publicsurplus-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/h9bs3cuVGd0pF9j4s/builds/qUegSHBnCZ0inbJhT/openapi.json