The University of Akron is doing what so many others do when they no longer have a use for things:
It’s holding a tag sale.
Items from athletic clothing to remnants of the old Robertson Dining Hall will be on sale this weekend. They’re from departments all over campus.
The University Tag Sale will be held from noon to 4 p.m. Friday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday in the lower level annex of Quaker Square, which is on the first floor (not the hotel side).
“Instead of throwing away anything, we try to first see if another department wants the items and they can be redeployed on campus,” said Tony Ross, the surplus property supervisor. “We keep items on a separate floor for others to claim and reuse. If the items are not claimed by any department, we will try to sell them so there’s little waste.”
Mike Szczukowski, director of materials handling at UA, said if they can’t resell the items they try to recycle them. Large industrial items are sold online on publicsurplus.com, a website used by various municipalities for higher education items.
UA’s weekend tag sale will include overstocked football shoes with cleats from sizes 10 to 19, athletic shorts and T-shirts. There are also older items such as projectors and screens, laptop and desktop computers and cameras that still use film.
There are even a few bicycles up for sale.
“They were in the lost and found,” Szczukowski explained. “We have to hold them for six months and if there are no inquiries, the University of Akron has the authority to release them to surplus. And it’s not just bicycles. There are a couple of bowling balls, a couple of old cellphones and several iPods.”
In an effort to attract potential buyers, items are set up for eye appeal and spread out on display rather than stacked up.
There are framed pictures, antiques and furniture such as tables, chairs and umbrellas, from an outside patio setting to marble-topped end tables from the lobby area at the Quaker Square Hotel that is now a dorm.
Ross said some of the items will attract a certain kind of buyer. For those looking for unique items there’s a miniature 6-foot replica of the Eiffel Tower and a couple of testing products that were designed by the engineering department.
For those who run a concession stand or small business or want to supply drinks in an office cafeteria or kitchen, a large cappuccino machine that offers a variety of drinks is available.
There’s also restaurant equipment and supplies including plates, silverware and appliances from Robertson Dining Hall, now home to Rob’s Cafe, a dining facility on the UA campus operated by Aramark, an outside company.
For those hard-to-carry large purchases, University of Akron employees will be on hand to help bring them out to the loading dock, which faces Broadway.
Ross said everything that is sold must be out the door the same day. They will not store items.
UA will accept cash, debit cards, credit and personal checks.
The university also sells large items such as desks, chairs, shelves, filing cabinets and computers from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at the Administrative Services Building (the old Goodwill Building) at 185 E. Mill St.
The university’s most recent tag sale was held last December.
Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com.