A 40-inch smart TV for $32? A new online auction service is serving up deep discounts

A Lego City Passenger Airplane set for seven bucks? Yes, please.

An eight-piece Calphalon ceramic cookware set at that same price? Sure.

A big screen TV for less than $50? Absolutely.

Those types of deals are a thing via a new online auction operating from a massive Plainfield warehouse.

Hundreds of items come up for bid every day at the AllSurplus Deals website that lets consumers bid on returns and overstock items from major retailers, then drive out the facility at 1399 South Perry Road to retrieve their winnings.

It’s a service of Maryland-based Liquidity Services, a publicly traded company that operates a network of e-commerce sites selling construction equipment, real estate, bathtubs and consumer products.

Its Plainfield warehouse has been operating for about 20 years, providing goods to resellers, small stores and flea markets bidding on pallets and truckloads of merchandise through its website, liquidation.com.

The new consumer auction brand was launched in October to accommodate the shopper looking for maybe a single microwave oven or dinette set as opposed to a few dozen.

Operators are touting the service as offering products – from furniture to home electronics to toys – at steep discounts.

The goods come from the likes of Home Depot, Lowe’s and Wayfair. Liquidity Services works with eight of the nation’s 10 largest retailers, bringing their overstock and returned goods to the warehouses and reselling them.

Businesses such as Liquidity Services, part of the circular economy, help retailers who don’t want the hassle of reselling returned items or those items that failed to sell in season, said Jeff Rechtzigel, the company’s vice president and general manager for retail.

Items sit in a warehouse Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, ready for purchase at Liquidity Services, who has typically sold liquidated goods to mall businesses and organizations. The site has added a new online consumer auction business through its Plainfield warehouse, letting folks bid on items such as furniture, electronics and toys, and pick them up from the local warehouse.

About 17% of all purchases from retailers are returned.  The rate is higher for online purchases. Many are in perfect condition, as a customer might be unhappy with the color or fit, or just changed their mind regarding the purchase.

“So that's helped to create this ecosystem where there's this supply of a really good product that we can then match with consumers and businesses to get great deals,” Rechtzigel said.

Deep discounts: $32 TVs

The result is some really deep discounts.

Earlier this week, a Philips Sonic rechargeable electric toothbrush was going for $5, as was a 12-piece Wahl dog clipper kit and a Black & Decker corded blower. Meanwhile, the winning bid for a 43-inch TCL smart TV was $32.

“We let the marketplace sort of determine what it's willing to pay,” said Meredith Diggs, manager for digital marketing. “It’s a really great way for consumers to stay on budget and still get what they need.”

Meanwhile, the industry plays into sustainability efforts, as it helps reduce the amounts of products that would be headed for waste, Diggs said.

A forklift driver and warehouse team member retrieve items in a warehouse Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, ready for purchase at Liquidity Services, who has typically sold liquidated goods to mall businesses and organizations. The site has added a new online consumer auction business through its Plainfield warehouse, letting folks bid on items such as furniture, electronics and toys, and pick them up from the local warehouse.

The Plainsfield auction site is the fourth for AllSurplus Deals, following the first in Phoenix in 2021, then Pittston, Pennsylvania; and Cincinnati this spring. A Dallas site launched in late November.

The 187,000-square-foot Plainfield warehouse is ramping up to auction 700 to 1,000 items per day.

Each item is processed on-site by a worker who unloads, examines and notes the condition, including missing pieces or damage for the listing description.

How bidding on surplus goods works

It’s free to register and bid.

New items go on the block each day, with customers having 24 hours to try for the goods.

The winning bidder gets an email prompt to pay for the item and then another to schedule a pickup time when workers will bring the loot to the customer’s vehicle.

There’s no shipping.

Buyers are encouraged to use the onsite inspection area to check purchases and make sure they are not defective or not to the listing. If something's amiss, a refund can be requested. Once it's left the property, there are no refunds.

To bid for items at the Plainfield warehouse, visit AllSurplus.com/deals/indianapolis.

Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cheryl.jackson@indystar.com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on X.com:@cherylvjackson.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: A new online auction service is providing deep discounts in Plainfield