Out with games (for $35,164), in with e-waste (for free)

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Photo: Crowd of potential bidders inside Aggie Surplus
Crowd gathers for the sale of arcade games the morning of March 4 at Aggie Surplus. (Dave Jones/UC Davis)

The dollars added up quickly, like points on a pinball machine (only without the ding-ding-ding), when Aggie Surplus recently sold off arcade games and more from the Memorial Union Games Area.

Aggie Surplus sold 29 games, air hockey tables and billiards tables on March 4 and 5, bringing in $35,164. The surplus store also sold coin machines and other equipment from the Games Area, boosting total revenue to more than $55,000.

Proceeds after sale fees go back to the MU’s basement Games Area, which is being renovated and will feature console-based gaming instead of pinball and other arcade games like “The Fast and the Furious Super Bikes.”

The revamp is part of the overall MU renewal project, which will move into high gear during spring break next week. Besides the renovated Games Area, the basement is getting lounge space and TVs, and more room for textbook sales.

The bowling alley stays, but it will have 12 lanes instead of 16, to make way for billiards tables. The existing billiards room will provide the additional space for textbook sales. Follow the project on Facebook.

More than 75 people crowded into Aggie Surplus (formerly called the Bargain Barn) for the March 4 auction. About 40 people participated in the bidding for games, foosball tables and pool tables, and more.

A “Spider-Man” pinball machine drew the highest price: $3,740, more than $1,600 over the starting price.

Free e-waste drop-off

Aggie Surplus is collecting e-waste today (March 17), at no charge, from noon to 3 p.m. It’s for campus units only.

Dropoff point is the Hopkins Services Complex, 615 Hopkins Road, across from University Airport, west of Highway 113.

Acceptable discards include university-owned electronic items, desktop computer size or smaller, such as desktop and laptop computers, keyboards, mice, monitors, speakers, cords, cables and software; projectors, printers and fax machines; typewriters and paper shredders; phones and personal digital assistants; televisions and VCR-DVD players; and microwaves. Aggie Surplus also will accept small lab items, such as shakers and water baths.

Discards must be nonfunctioning — if they’re working, Aggie Surplus is happy to put them up for sale, at no cost to the units where the devices originated.

Unacceptable: items with UC Davis property stickers, items requiring decommissioning (e.g., containing oil or refrigerant) or containing hazardous chemicals, toner cartridges and household batteries (you can dispose of toner cartridges and batteries toners via campus mail).

Still have questions on what’s acceptable? Contact Aggie Surplus by phone, (530) 752-2145, or email.

Aggie Surplus asks the following: Please remove items from their original packaging, do not place items in small boxes and remove batteries from the casing of UPS units. And, if you plan on dropping off a large quantity (50 or more items), please contact Aggie Surplus ahead of time, so the staff can plan accordingly.

Media Resources

Dave Jones, Dateline, 530-752-6556, dljones@ucdavis.edu

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