About Us
Who are we and why do we exist?
While building my first house just west of Boulder, Colorado, I was astounded at how quickly the costs were mounting. Not being afraid to ask, I checked in regularly with all the supply houses I dealt with for deals on discontinued items, returns or rejects (amazing what gets rejected!). Often, I met with success. Most of the doors and windows in that home were bought at discount: The wood-burning fireplace, the slate floors, even the carpet was a bargain.
By my second and third projects, I had figured out that buying surplus materials saved me a substantial amount of money. A new cast-iron Kohler Steeping Tub sells for around $2,000. I bought the very model used, but clean for $35.00. Most of us like a bargain, and with the abundance of surplus material out there, there are plenty to be had.
On the flip side, most suppliers have what’s called a “Boneyard”, an area within their warehouses where they store their returns, mis-orders, or otherwise rejected materials they would love to liquidate.
As well, many homeowners would love to have their garages back! How long has that perfectly good window been taking up space in the garage? A remodel back in ’03, you say!?
What is the solution?
The solution was to create a place, BuildingSurplus.com where all can come together…locally!
Why are we better than Craigslist and Ebay..
Craigslist, while a valuable resource, is a broad spectrum marketplace. Because there is no organization within categories, all building materials get lumped together, making it difficult to quickly locate a given item. In addition, since Craigslist is sorted by date, items get buried in the site after only a day or two, making it doubly hard to find what you are looking for.
Ebay, clearly the king of buying and selling used items, does not lend itself well to building materials. Building materials are often bulky, heavy, and difficult to ship. Many listings offer local pickup only. And although the auction format usually creates fair market value, builders often need to purchase and pick up their materials immediately.
On Being Green
Buildingsurplus.com encourages people to tread a little lighter on our planet by recycling their surplus. Reusing and recycling building materials keeps them out of our landfills and reduces the overall carbon footprint of the manufacturing process.
Thank you for being part of the BuildingSurplus community!
Steve Stein
(Founder)
BuildingSurplus Headquarters
Logs were harvested from standing dead forest.
While building my first house just west of Boulder, Colorado, I was astounded at how quickly the costs were mounting. Not being afraid to ask, I checked in regularly with all the supply houses I dealt with for deals on discontinued items, returns or rejects (amazing what gets rejected!). Often, I met with success. Most of the doors and windows in that home were bought at discount: The wood-burning fireplace, the slate floors, even the carpet was a bargain.
By my second and third projects, I had figured out that buying surplus materials saved me a substantial amount of money. A new cast-iron Kohler Steeping Tub sells for around $2,000. I bought the very model used, but clean for $35.00. Most of us like a bargain, and with the abundance of surplus material out there, there are plenty to be had.
On the flip side, most suppliers have what’s called a “Boneyard”, an area within their warehouses where they store their returns, mis-orders, or otherwise rejected materials they would love to liquidate.
As well, many homeowners would love to have their garages back! How long has that perfectly good window been taking up space in the garage? A remodel back in ’03, you say!?
What is the solution?
The solution was to create a place, BuildingSurplus.com where all can come together…locally!
Why are we better than Craigslist and Ebay..
Craigslist, while a valuable resource, is a broad spectrum marketplace. Because there is no organization within categories, all building materials get lumped together, making it difficult to quickly locate a given item. In addition, since Craigslist is sorted by date, items get buried in the site after only a day or two, making it doubly hard to find what you are looking for.
Ebay, clearly the king of buying and selling used items, does not lend itself well to building materials. Building materials are often bulky, heavy, and difficult to ship. Many listings offer local pickup only. And although the auction format usually creates fair market value, builders often need to purchase and pick up their materials immediately.
On Being Green
Buildingsurplus.com encourages people to tread a little lighter on our planet by recycling their surplus. Reusing and recycling building materials keeps them out of our landfills and reduces the overall carbon footprint of the manufacturing process.
Thank you for being part of the BuildingSurplus community!
Steve Stein
(Founder)
BuildingSurplus Headquarters
Logs were harvested from standing dead forest.
