MSU Surplus Store FAQs

The Surplus Store is open for curbside pickup Monday – Friday and for in-store purchases Fridays only. View our store hours here.

Our public drop off center is open 24/7. It’s located directly across the street from the Surplus Store at 468 Green Way, East Lansing, MI 48824.

In-store items are available for purchase Fridays only during our sale hours. You can shop any time online.

The MSU Surplus Store is located at 468 Green Way, East Lansing, Michigan 48824. For directions to the store please see our Driving
Directions.

Our parking lot is free and open to Surplus Store customers during our sale hours.

CATA route 32 stops directly in front of the Surplus Store at stops 5802 (SBD Farm Lane past Green Way) and 5803 (NBD Farm Lane before Green Way).

Maybe! We post our student openings on MSU Handshake, but you can also fill out a Student Employment application on our website. For questions regarding job opportunities, please contact us at surpluss@msu.edu.

The Surplus Store does not purchase items from the public or MSU community.

No, unfortunately, it is against MSU policy to donate any items of value.

No.

No, the Surplus Store does not offer discounts to members of the MSU Community.

No.

No. All items are priced as marked. Although we can hear offers from the public, we are unable to adjust prices on request. Check back for price markdowns by:

• Calling us at (517) 355-1723
• Emailing us at surpluss@msu.edu
• Signing up for our newsletter at the bottom of our website

You can subscribe to our newsletter at the bottom of our page. To unsubscribe from our newsletter, go to the bottom of any newsletter and click unsubscribe. You can also email us at surpluss@msu.edu and let us know that you no longer wish to receive our newsletter.

All kinds! Our stock comes from MSU departments, but also faculty, staff, students, alumni, and retirees. We sell everything from farm equipment to desks to lab equipment to household decor. Check out our social media accounts or sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of the page for a peek at some of our many items.

Our stock changes daily. For the most up to date information on items we have in stock, visit our social media accounts or sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of this page. You can also contact us with questions regarding specific items.

The items on our website represent only a small selection of the items we have available in store.

We don't offer holds on items, except for vehicles and items offered for sale over $5,000. General merchandise will not be reserved or held for individuals, including University personnel who are purchasing for personal use. Once you purchase an item, we can hold it for five (5) business days.

Yes! Simply head to our Service Counter in the back of the store and ask to see the item(s) you are interseted in.

We will attempt to contact customers who have shown interest in an item but cannot guarantee that you will hear from us. For regular updates on products and sales, you can follow us on social media or sign up for our weekly newsletter at the bottom of the page.

If we are unable to sell an item, we generally will try to give the item away. If we are unable to do so, we will recycle the item appropriately based on the item type.

No, unfortunately University Stores who previously sold these also no longer sells diapers. You can learn more about University Stores at their website.

All vehicles are listed for auction. The highest bidder reserves the right to test drive and purchase the vehicle. If the bidder declines to purchase the vehicle, it will go to the next bidder in line. If there are no bids or all of the bidders have declined, the vehicle will be listed for sale at the minimum bid price. See our Policies & Procedures for more details regarding vehicle sales.

Yes, vehicles may be placed on hold for one business day as long as the vehicle is available for sale. You can place a vehicle hold in-store or over the phone. See See our Policies & Procedures for more details regarding vehicle holds.

No, you will have one business day to come up with payment. See our Policies & Procedures for more details regarding vehicle sales.

Most vehicles for sale through the MSU Surplus Store are maintained on a regular basis by the University. Detailed vehicle history records are unavailable to the MSU Surplus Store.

Five (5) business days, unless pre-arranged.

General merchandise may be picked up during sale hours, within five (5) business days from purchase. You can pull your vehicle up to our Merchandise Pickup on the north end of the building, and a sales associate can assist you with loading. A copy of your sales receipt must
be presented when picking up merchandise.

Loading merchandise for customers is a courtesy. For full details regarding our loading policies, visit our Policies & Procedures page.

You will receive an email when your order is ready for pickup. You can pull your vehicle up to our Merchandise Pickup on the north end of the building, and a sales associate can assist you with loading.

We don’t offer delivery for in-store purchases, unless the purchase was made on an MSU account number and is being delivered to an on-campus address. We do offer free delivery for small online purchases made by staff, faculty, and students that are going to on-campus addresses and can be sent through campus mail.

We do not offer pickup services for general items. Large donations may be picked up, for a fee. Please Contact Us with questions regarding donation pickup.

We accept cash, personal check, business check, certified check, money order, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. For more information regarding payment methods, view our Policies & Procedures.

Yes, although some exclusions do apply. For more information regarding payment methods, view our Policies & Procedures.

Michigan State University.

Yes, 6% Michigan sales tax applies to most customer purchases. Taxes for vehicle purchases will be paid at a Michigan Secretary of State branch. Customers with tax exempt status will be asked to fill out a brief form at checkout to remove tax.

No. Purchases must be made online or in-store.

Yes! For online purchases, add items to your cart and proceed to checkout. In the notes field, enter your department account information. During checkout, select Department Account for the payment method. For in-store purchases, provide your contact information and account number at time of checkout.

Yes, we do offer returns on eBay and Amazon purchases. We don’t typically offer returns on our own website, although some exceptions may apply. Please Contact Us for details regarding your return.

No, returns are not accepted for purchases made in-store, although some exceptions may apply to specific merchandise. Please Contact Us or speak to a sales associate for details regarding your item.

Your confirmation email has a link to your purchase’s tracking information. You can also log in to your account on msusurplusstore.com and find tracking information within your Order History.

No.

Members of the MSU community, including faculty, staff, students, alumni, and retirees can drop off items during our sale hours. Items can be dropped off at our Merchandise Pickup, located on the north end of the building. For more information, visit our Community Reuse page.

The MSU Surplus Store accepts a wide variety of items from the MSU community. A full list of accepted items can be seen on our Community Reuse page.

Items can be dropped off at our Merchandise Pickup, located on the north end of the building. Pick up the phone in the yellow box to the right of the Merchandise Pickup door and a sales associate will assist you with your items.

We charge a $10 fee for TVs and monitors dropped off. All other items can be dropped off free of charge.

MSU Surplus will remove any data that is on equipment sent by an MSU department or the public. If we are unable to remove the data, an item may be recycled/destroyed to ensure that the data is not recoverable.

Yes, if desired by the parties, the MSU Surplus Store can assist with providing valuation and processing of the transaction.

All University owned items that are being decommissioned should come to the MSU Surplus Store to be made available for purchase by the public. MSU employees wishing to purchase something from their department would do so under the same guidelines as all other public sale purchases. If the item is too large or difficult to move, MSU Surplus may conduct an onsite sale for the item(s).

You can submit a service request on our website.

Assets need to be transferred to MSU Surplus before they are picked up or dropped off. Please see Capital Assets for more information on how to transfer a capital asset to Surplus.

Surplus pickups are a courtesy service on-campus, but some exceptions may apply. An SSRC staff member will contact you if charges may apply to your request.

You can submit a service request on our website. You will login with your MSU NetID.

You can see the status of your request by logging in to the service request system on our website.

There is a 48-hour turn around on Surplus requests, unless otherwise discussed/scheduled. You can submit a service request on our website.

Generally, credit is only given for items valued at $100 or more, although some exceptions
do apply. When submitting a service request, you can select evaluate for credit on the request. For questions regarding credits on Surplus items, please Contact Us.

We can only provide credit back to account numbers that start with AA, AB, AM, AN, AR, AS, AU, DN, DS, DT, GV, PN, XA, XH, or XT.

Generally, credit is only given for items valued over $100. If an item sells for more than $100, generally credit of 80% is provided back to the MSU department the item came from. For questions regarding credits on Surplus items, please Contact Us.

The Surplus Store & Recycling Center provides confidential shredding services to MSU Departments. Shredding services are not available for the public.

No. Check with your local waste/recycling program to learn how/where to properly dispose of mattresses.

No. Check with your local waste/recycling program to learn how/where to properly dispose of batteries.

No. Check with your local waste/recycling program to learn how/where to properly dispose of light bulbs.

No. Check with your local waste/recycling program to learn how/where to properly dispose of paint.

Members of the MSU community, including faculty, staff, students, alumni, and retirees may bring their Styrofoam to the Surplus Store’s Merchandise Pickup. Styrofoam must be rinsed clean of food waste and placed in large clear plastic bags. Loose foam may not be accepted. Please visit our Community Reuse page for more information.