Many people on campus would like to recover the residual value of surplus equipment and materials, or at least keep them out of the landfills. Others want to save a few dollars by obtaining used items when these are just as serviceable for the intended purpose as would be a new item. Caltech has never had a very good method for bringing these parties together. We have made do with rumor, advertisements tacked to bulletin boards, equipment left on loading docks with "Free" signs taped to them, and dumpster diving. The Surplus Exchange provides a searchable bulletin board, which is an informal but effective means for sharing information about items which are needed or in surplus.
The two parties in an exchange are described here as buyer and seller even if no money will change hands. Items may be listed on the Surplus Exchange server for indefinite periods at no charge. There are no restrictions on the type of work related items which may be listed. Nor are there restrictions on the selling prices - although items of substantial value would likely return more when sold through other channels. WTB (Want to Buy) and WTA (Want to Acquire, as in, no purchase funds are available) items may also be listed. If you do list something here you commit to deleting its entry if the item is sold or disposed of. Sellers are reminded to contact campus property accounting before releasing items to buyers. JPL users who have satisfied Government rules for disposing of surplus equipment (assuming that this is actually possible), and who have an IMSS account may also post on this site. Caltech and JPL personnel may post personal items here when these might reasonably be used for work, so computers and microscopes are OK, but clothing and toys are not. Items that are not work related should be listed instead on the Caltech Today Classifieds site.
Transferring a Caltech owned item for no cost to another lab is usually allowed so long as the proper paperwork is filled out, but selling that item, either to another lab or outside the Institute, will most likely require onerous paperwork. Be aware that above and beyond Institute requirements, each Division may also have its own rules. Before listing an item from your lab read the applicable Organization Instructions and consult the appropriate Property Accounting Authority. They can determine if that item is owned by Caltech, the Government, or some other entity, and verify that the intended method of disposal (giving it away, selling it) is allowed. This paperwork is the same as for any other means of disposal or transfer. If your Division has no such local authority, the Institute's Property Service can provide this information, and they have an asset information form ( PDF , xls ) which must be used to report the sale or transfer of a listed piece of Caltech equipment. Property Service only lists acquisitions as equipment when the cost was at least $5000, but be aware that may be the total cost, for instance, 20 computers bought together will usually be listed, even though one bought alone would not be. Biology, and presumably some other Divisions, apply their own property accounting stickers to pretty much every macroscopic piece of property, and the Division authority must be informed when such items are disposed of. Items without property tags, excluding those which were originally part of an item with a property tag, are usually categorized as supplies rather than equipment. Even so, consult with your Division level authority before listing them here.
Disclaimer. This web site is hosted on a Biology Division server. However, the Biology Division is in no way responsible for the accuracy of the item descriptions found on this site, nor will it play any role in: the financial transactions between buyers and sellers; the required property accounting; or determining when, how, or if an item may be transferred to another party.
| Level | From | Account | Viewable Items | Post Items | Search Items |
| Full | Campus or JPL Networks | Sign in with IMSS username/password | All | Yes | Yes |
| Restricted | Campus or JPL Networks | Connects as Visitor | All | No | Yes |
| Minimal | All other networks | Connects as Visitor | Only those marked for off campus access | No | No |
Click on one of the links in the first column to connect to the bulletin board at the indicated access level. In order to avoid SPAM, items shown to off campus visitors only expose the seller's name and phone number. Off campus visitors are also able to trigger a notification email to the seller. This notice contains only the visitor's name, email, phone number, and the number of the item in which they are interested. A seller's email addresses is never shown to an off campus visitor until such time as that seller responds to the buyer's email notice. Connections at the Minimal level from the Campus or JPL networks will be automatically upgraded to the Restricted level.
| Category | Examples |
| Analytical Laboratory Equipment | Centrifuges, scales, chromatographs |
| Cables | Power, ethernet, SCSI, ATA, USB |
| Furniture | self explanatory |
| Miscellaneous | Anything not appropriate for one of the other categories |
| Office Supplies and Equipment | Toner, ink, paper, hole punches, staplers |
| Parts: Computers, Electronics, Electrical | Parts for/from Computers, Electronic and Electrical devices |
| Raw materials | Sheet metal, chemicals, construction materials |
| Systems: Computers, Electronics, Electrical | Entire Computers, Electronic and Eelectrical devices |
IMSS accounts may be obtained from www.imss.caltech.edu. The Surplus Exchange server uses a self signed certificate for secure connections. To make a secure connection from your browser either allow an exception or install our CA certificate in your browser. IMSS logins are authenticated by the campus LDAP server over a secure socket, then a session cookie is sent to your browser, and until you logout, all further authentication is based on that cookie. Your password is not cached: not in the server, not in this site's script, and not even in your browser (unless you tell it to.)
| Organization Instructions | Property Accounting Contact(s) |
| Personal Property | Not Applicable |
| Biology Division | Jesse Flores, Bill Lease |
| Caltech (Other Divisions) | Property Service |
| HHMI | Chris Schuld |