USU Surplus Store
Utah State University offers many services to the surrounding community, but one of the less-known services is the USU Surplus Store.
According to Dave Ferrin, one of the managers of the surplus store, the USU Surplus Store was first opened in the 1980s but only opened its doors one time every year. Then as more items began to pile up, the store sold items one day every three to four months until eventually there were enough products to keep the store open almost every day.
Today the USU Surplus Store is located behind the Health and Wellness Center at 880 E 1250 N and sells a wide variety of items. It is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“We literally sell everything,” Ferrin said.
From furniture and clothes to computers to cars and livestock, the surplus store has almost anything that a person can imagine. According to Ferrin, some of the stranger items that have been sold include an urn that once held oil for the head lamps miners wore, an entire sound-proof room and survey equipment from the 1930s.
The items sold at the store come from universities and colleges all over Utah. When items first arrive they are put on a two-week hold to first allow professors and departments the opportunity to buy them. After the two weeks are up the general public is allowed to buy the items. The money made from the items is then given back to the university with a small amount withheld in order to keep the store operating, but not all items that are given to the store can always be sold.
“Once or twice a year we’ll get chemicals or radioactive material here that we have to take care of,” Ferrin said.
After identifying any potentially dangerous materials, the Surplus Store makes sure they are disposed of properly.
“Our first goal is to sell it but if we can’t do that we always try to recycle it or dispose of it the proper way… we don’t just send things to the landfill,” said Mike George, the head manager at the USU Surplus Store.
Not a lot of things are thrown out though.
“We usually never have to throw things out… there are a lot of community members there who come here and to buy a lot of weird stuff,” Ferrin said.
Although the Cache Valley community utilizes the store often, both Ferrin and George expressed concern that USU student aren’t getting the chance to use the store as much as they could due to lack of awareness.
“We sometimes have students come in and say how great this place is and that they had no idea it even existed… we’ve tried to do more advertising but most students hear about it word of mouth,” George said.
Despite the lack of recognition the store receives, George claims the store gets new items every day.
“Every day is a new adventure here,” George said.
— shaniehoward214@gmail.com