Off campus on a budget: IU Surplus is your treasure trove

On my first day of college I walked in to a sad, empty room with a sad, empty wallet. All my aspirations of adulting and creating a decent space for me to live were poking fun at me.

I checked out the furniture shops in the area and the price tags almost killed me. I didn’t want a room that would feature in the Architectural Digest for heaven’s sake. I needed the bare minimum things. I wanted a desk and chair where I would be staring at my books and thinking about everything but my syllabus. And of course I’d need a couch where all my Netflix binge nights and social media stalking would happen.

Enter IU Surplus

A kind, noble soul suggested that I check out the place for budget furniture.

And I did. And since then my go-to place for all things budget — and not just furniture now — is IU Surplus.

A little bit of everything. Furniture on the massive rack is the space to always look out for

It’s a huge space on 10th st with almost a yard sale look in its interiors. It sells things like furniture including desk, chair, couch, shelf, table, computer systems, sports wear, old books, electronics like extension cords, speakers, cables and what not!

The huge warehouse. If you like a furniture piece and want more of those, chances are they are stored in that area. Ask the friendly staff for help!

Things there are sold less at a bargain price and more at an I’m-pretending-to-charge-you-some-money price. I got a huge desk for $5 and a chair for $1. And both in great condition.

Stalk their Facebook page and see for yourself

You might find your favorite novel, comic, movie etc. hidden in one of those shelves

Why are the prices so low?

The IU Surplus manager and all around friendly gent, Mr. Todd Reid, told me a little bit how things work there. They get all the things IU no longer needs. If the university orders new furniture for renovating a space, the old or existing stuff comes here. If the computer labs get upgraded systems, they send the existing electronics to the surplus store. If there is an excess of any item, it’s sent here. You get the idea — it’s the stuff that IU replaces with newer stuff. They’re just trying to get lit off their hands.

The friendly manager of the store, Mr Todd, whose love for IU is definitely reflected in his office decor

Todd says: “The idea is to not let anything go to waste and promote sustainability”. And sustainable it is. Their inventory varies and the prices vary a little bit based on that. For example, the chairs start marked as $10 but may be marked $5 after a few days based on demand. They post the details of the inventory on their Facebook page once or twice a week. If you keep an eye out for things, you might get a good steal.

You can get a laptop or a Mac desktop for really good prices. A laptop for the purpose of homework or media consumption could be purchased for a price as low as $120.  Even though the store a has a no-return, no exchange policy, Todd mentioned that with electronic items they are always willing to work out any issues and make sure that “no one leaves unhappy.”

They have all kind of electronics including printers, cables, projectors, speakers. Go get it for all your office or home needs.

Is it as pretty as IKEA? No. Is it a blessing for people like me who cry every time they look at their credit card bill? Yes.

So if you want to save a lot of money and still have good furniture or other cool budget things, or if you want to challenge yourself with some DIY furniture revamp  make sure to visit the IU surplus store.