A hidden gem: Inside the university’s Surplus Storefront
Victor Flores hands a customer their purchase at the storefront. Transactions are finalized in an office where purchases can be completed with credit or debit cards.
Kendall Sternberg/University Communications
Hidden just a few minutes’ drive south of campus at 3740 E 34th Street, the Surplus Storefront might be the university's best-kept secret for community members and university departments who enjoy finding a bargain and supporting a sustainable lifestyle.
The Surplus Storefront is a resource for secondhand furniture, equipment and other items from across the university. It starts with departments on campus contacting the team with items that are no longer in use and ready to be picked up.
"We get everything from filing cabinets, laptops, office supplies, desks, tables, and even lab equipment," said Paul Tomaine, surplus and materials handling manager.
In addition to items available for browsing, the store offers special bid auctions for larger items like vehicles, heavy machinery – and even a ticket booth.
The Surplus Storefront is located within the Paul and Alice Baker Distribution Center at 3740 E 34th Street.
Kendall Sternberg/University Communications
Customers browse the day’s selection at the Surplus Storefront, where available items vary from day to day.
Kendall Sternberg/University Communications
Surplus carts wait in a quiet corner of the Paul and Alice Baker Distribution Center.
Kendall Sternberg/University Communications
The store boasts dozens of chairs for use in your office or at home.
Kendall Sternberg/University Communications
Filing cabinets are a popular item at the storefront, often finding new uses after being purchased.
Kendall Sternberg/University Communications
Auction items line one of the many rows within the Surplus Storefront warehouse. To learn more about the live and special bid auctions, visit the storefront's website.
Kendall Sternberg/University Communications
While most of the things you find in the storefront are for sale, the items in this display, unfortunately, are not.
Kendall Sternberg/University Communications
Victor Flores talks with a customer at the storefront. Flores has worked at the university for 10 years and started in his current position in August 2025.
Kendall Sternberg/University Communications
From surplus to secondhand
Surplused clothing is popular at the store, with many items coming from major athletic brands.
Kendall Sternberg/University Communications
Once the Surplus Storefront team receives the items, they determine what can be sold. Laptops, computers and other electronics receive light refurbishment, if needed. Items then move to the floor or an auction lot to find a new home.
Popular items include filing cabinets, bookcases, computers and athletic equipment and apparel. While these items may no longer be needed by university departments, they can still serve a purpose – whether it was originally intended or not – at work or at home.
"Customers mount wheels underneath filing cabinets and put tools in them," Tomaine said. "Or I've seen customers turn them into planters. It gives people the opportunity to repurpose things."
Because items can come from anywhere on campus, employees never know what might come through those doors.
"We once had a replica of the Lunar Lander for auction," Tomaine said.
Encouraging sustainability one used desk at a time
Choosing used office furniture and equipment from the Surplus Storefront is a simple way for departments on campus to reduce their environmental impact without disrupting their budgets or workflows.
A variety of items, from hardhats and backpacks to desk lights and projectors, can be purchased during the Surplus Storefronts special bid auctions.
Kendall Sternberg/University Communications
"A lot of departments come here and are surprised by the prices," said Victor Flores, assistant director of warehouse operations. "It can be a big savings for them and also helps the environment because we are recycling and reusing good quality stuff and not throwing it into landfills or sending it off for scraps."
Every new piece of office furniture also comes with a hidden carbon footprint from raw material extraction, energy-intensive processing, transportation, packaging and delivery, said Trevor Ledbetter, senior director in the Office of Sustainability.
"When we buy something brand new, we're paying for all of that upstream impact," Ledbetter said. "By choosing a used item, you're essentially skipping that entire emissions-heavy phase."
Extending the lifespan of furniture and other items is a core principle of sustainability, he said. For example, a filing cabinet that's already been manufactured has already paid its carbon cost.
"Buying that used filing cabinet and then using it for another five, 10, or even 20 years dramatically lowers its overall environmental footprint," Ledbetter said. "Sustainability doesn't always require a major policy change. Sometimes it's about making a purchasing decision with resources we already have on campus."
Repurposing for a purpose
Andrew Brennan
Because the Surplus Storefront is open to the public, it brings value to the local community as well, said Chief Procurement Officer Andrew Brennan, who oversees the Surplus Storefront.
"For campus, it provides an efficient, compliant channel for redeploying surplus goods, giving departments affordable, timely access to quality items while reducing unnecessary new purchases," Brennan said. "For the Tucson community, it extends the impact of our resources by offering access to surplus items and reinforcing the university's role as a responsible public institution."
One of the many community outreach efforts that Surplus Storefront offers is helping local teachers stock their classrooms affordably.
"One of the biggest things we do is our free binder bins," Flores said. "Teachers who must buy their own supplies for their classrooms can come in and pick up binders – and they go quickly."
Flores said the store also offers boxes of leftover shirts made for campus events to local school nurses' offices and social services organizations for students in need of clothing.
By reusing what the university already owns, the Surplus Storefront turns surplus into sustainable, affordable opportunity for the university, the environment and the community.
To check out everything the Surplus Storefront has to offer, head to 3740 E. 34th Street. Items are available for in-person purchase with credit or debit card Tuesday through Friday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. University departments who purchase items through the Surplus Storefront receive free shipping to campus when using their department’s account number at checkout.