The Michigan State Police and Airport Security confiscates thousands of items every year.
Some things are stolen or lost, and the police can't get them back to the rightful owner. Others are weapons travelers accidentally left in carry on luggage at the airport. Many of these things end up at the Michigan Surplus store.
"We picked some hats, some sunglasses, some furniture," Sarah Jaques, who says she stopped by the sale because she heard she could get good deals, said. "We got here a little late but I've seen a lot of people carry some wonderful stuff out of here."
Like Charlene Andrews, who bought three laptops for $200. "I've always wanted to do this, so that's why we're here," Andrews said.
There were a number of odd items, too, like a washer and dryer, a kitchen sink and a portrait of a family.
"We've had a lot of weird stuff come through here," State and Federal Surplus Program Supervisor Carolyn Rambo said. "We've had wedding dresses, jewelry, lots of watches and stuff, pretty much anything you could think of."
The state sells most of its surplus items online in bulk, but Rambo says they had an overload of stuff and decided to invite the public to an in-person sale.
"We had over a thousand items ranging from a dollar to five hundred dollars, so we had a couple of hundred people through here today so it's been very busy," Rambo said.
The sale was near downtown Lansing on Saturday, December 12.
If you missed the sale, you can bid anytime on the surplus store's online auction at http://www.michigan.gov/mibid.
