About Purdue Surplus Store

History

Though operations have evolved over time, the Purdue Surplus Store has been in existence since the mid-1960s. A one-day auction was held annually in July until 1968 before operations moved to the N. Ninth St. warehouses in Lafayette, which allowed more frequent auctions to occur.

These auctions were eventually phased out and replaced by the physical Purdue Surplus Store at the same location. In the spring of 2004, the Surplus Store relocated to the INOK building at the intersection of Sagamore Parkway and Duncan Road in Lafayette and remained there for more than a decade. 

To provide more convenient store access to the campus community, the Surplus Store migrated to Purdue’s Materials Management and Distribution Center (MMDC) at 700 Ahlers Drive, West Lafayette, in October 2015. The store sold, distributed or recycled surplus items from the university’s West Lafayette, Fort Wayne and Northwest campuses — reducing waste and environmental impact.

In July 2024, the Surplus Store moved to more optimal space just next door in the Printing Services Facility (PRSV) at 698 Ahlers Drive, where on-campus printing operations had been located until that time. With the change in services at that building, the facility was renamed to the Surplus Operations Building (SRPL) in April 2025.