Department FAQs
How do departments arrange to send Excess University Property to University Surplus and Salvage?
Complete a Retirement-Transfer (RT) Form. Make sure no hazardous or government owned property is listed on the form. Please have a signed RT Form ready when US&S picks up the equipment. Contact Surplus and Salvage to arrange pickup. You may contact us one of three ways:
• Submit a request for pick up. Click Here >>>>> Preferred Method
• Fax a copy of the RT form(s) to University Surplus and Salvage at (801) 585-3051. We will call back with the scheduled pickup date.
• Call (801) 581-7917 to schedule a pickup date.
Please keep the original copy to the Retirement-Transfer Form(s) so the we can sign the document(s) at the time of removal of the property. After the documents are signed, keep a copy of the form for your departments records and give the original to us. For further information, review University of Utah Regulations (Policy 3-040) .
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Are deliveries of property from departments accepted at University Surplus and Salvage?
Yes, deliveries are accepted.
If delivering property to University Surplus and Salvage please arrange a date and time for each delivery. For large deliveries sufficient notice, usually a week, is appreciated. The reasons arrangements must be made are:
- Man power to unload and put away the property delivered needs to be scheduled. The warehouse is small and creating space ahead of time for the expected property and having appropriate man power available speeds the time to unload the delivery vehicle(s).
- Limited dock space at our facility needs to be scheduled.
- We have a small staff and unscheduled deliveries may interfere with other scheduled orders.
Departments delivering property to our facility need a Retirement-Transfer (RT) form completed prior to the time of delivery. Trailers larger than 27′, attached to tractors, will not fit in the dock. Equipment larger than 94″ wide by 82″ high will not fit inside the building. Please make other arrangements with us if the equipment is too large for our facility.
Do University of Utah departments have to send surplus equipment to University Surplus and Salvage?
University policy, federal government and Utah state regulations require university surplus property to be handled by University Surplus and Salvage. This includes property purchased for less than five thousand dollars ($5,000). Departmental sale of university property is prohibited, except for transfer to another university department or sale through our department. See Policy 3-040.IV.H.2.
Are there any exceptions to the above question?
Yes, hazardous products, oils, barrels, chemicals, fluorescent tubes, unknown substances, materials with Freon, and debris from construction projects.
How do I dispose of fire extinguishers?
View information at Environmental Health and Safety.
How does my department surplus X-Ray type equipment, scintillation units or other like property?
Please contact the Radiological Health Department before sending this type of equipment to University Surplus and Salvage.
What is the disposal procedure for refrigeration equipment or equipment containing Freon?
View refrigeration equipment and appliance disposal information at Environmental Health and Safety.
Is there a recycling program on campus?
View recycling information at Environmental Health and Safety.
How often should departments turn in surplus property?
Turn in your surplus as soon as possible. Do not wait to gather enough property for a large truckload. Some surplus pieces lose value quickly, your space is valuable, and it is easier and faster for University Surplus and Salvage to remove the equipment.
Are donations of property allowed?
No. The University currently does not have a policy authorizing such donations and providing a process for such transactions to be handled fairly and consistently.
Why should computers be erased before coming to University Surplus and Salvage?
It is the transferring department’s responsibility to eliminate all sensitive data, research data, personal identification data, software programs and operating system(s), from the computer’s hard drive, for privacy, security and because of software licensing agreements. We recommend using a wipe utility to eliminate data on hard drives. Recoverable data remains on a hard drive until the entire drive is written over multiple times. Partitioning a drive and/or formatting a drive does not erase information permanently.
The Office of Software Licensing offers a free program to wipe clean a hard drive. It is Darik’s Boot and Nuke (DBAN) and it is available for Windows and Linux. To completely erase a Macintosh hard drive (OS X 10.3.x or above) you can use the Disk Utility that is built into the Macintosh operating system.
After a computer is received by University Surplus and Salvage, we will verify that drives are wiped clean using a commercial program. If a hard drive is unable to be wiped, unclean sectors are found on a hard drive, a drive cannot be sold because of age or size, or a department requests the hard drives be destroyed, we will crush the hard drives in a hard drive crushing machine or the drives will have a hole drilled through them where the platter resides inside the drive. Information Security Office (ISO) has procedural guidelines for electronic media disposal including hard drives.
How do you sell large and expensive property?
It is advertised and put out to bid. Please contact us if you have a valuable piece of excess property that you would like to advertise or that you would like University Surplus and Salvage to advertise. The transferring department may advertise the property, after receiving written permission of University Surplus and Salvage. If permission is granted, University Surplus and Salvage will receive and open any and all bids, create bid procedures, documents, and any sale agreements as necessary.
What if an item is too large for University Surplus and Salvage to handle?
Occasionally, an item is too large for our warehouse too handle. We can advertise and sell the item from its present location or The department sending the property to us could arrange with the Transportation Department or a private moving service to send the property to our facility. If the property is too large for us to handle and is too large for our warehouse please contact us to make other arrangements. (Please read question “Are deliveries of equipment from departments accepted at University Surplus and Salvage?”)
How are vehicles sold?
They are sold through a sealed bid sale process. Vehicle stickers and license plates are removed by the Motor Pool before coming to Surplus.
Will University Surplus and Salvage empty building(s), floor(s), suite(s) and /or pick up multiple truckloads of property from departments?
It depends on the volume of property needing to be moved and the time allotted to remove the property. Departments needing building(s), floor(s), suite(s) and/or multiple loads of property picked up, need to give prior notice, at least 45 business days, of the required completion date. Department(s) requesting removal of property may need to involve the Space Planning and Management Department, Environmental Health and Safety Department and/or Campus Design and Construction Department in the clean out of the property. In addition, the requesting department may need to retain a professional moving company(s) and/or the Transportation Department to bring the property to us.
Will University Surplus and Salvage disassemble, dismantle or take apart property or furniture being turned over to them?
University Surplus and Salvage will not dismantle equipment or furniture attached to walls, floors, ceilings, roofs, pipes, electrical conduit, ducting, plumbing, etc… and property like modular cubicles which becomes one large unit. The department is responsible to have the property dismantled or have Plant Operations prepare the property for removal.
Will University Surplus and Salvage pick up emergency orders?
Because of limited staff, material handling equipment, trucks and the prior scheduling of orders, University Surplus and Salvage will pick up an emergency order only if another order is canceled, we are going to that location anyway, or the orders scheduled that day do not take as much time as allotted. Frequently in an emergency, the department will need to arrange to bring the property to us. Property placed in hallways and under stairs (which is unsafe and prohibited due to fire code) is not considered an emergency order.
Is the surplus property guaranteed?
All surplus is sold “as is” with faults known and unknown. Many items for sale are in good condition and may meet your needs, and some items are incomplete or broken and are sold for parts. The buyer must check each item carefully before purchase. The buyer assumes all liability after purchase. University Surplus and Salvage does not offer refunds and does not offer exchanges. The only exception to this policy is on monitors which go bad in the first thirty (30) days after purchase.
Does University Surplus and Salvage approve trade-ins?
University Surplus and Salvage does not approve trade-ins, only the proposed amount. University Surplus and Salvage has the option of matching trade-in amounts if more value can be realized through selling the item.
Why does University Surplus and Salvage require Retirement-Transfer forms to be completed before the pickup of property?
The Retirement Transfer form is the document that authorizes us to receive property and to track it.
Is delivery provided?
Delivery is provided to University Departments.
Surplus and Salvage - 210 Connor Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84113-5026 - Phone: 801.581.7917 - Fax: 801.585.3051