The online auction site run by the General Services Administration lists thousands of items, ranging from computers, iPads and household goods to medical equipment, industrial machinery and vehicles. The site is designed to help the federal government get rid of surplus equipment.

WASHINGTON — Black Friday has come and gone. Cyber Monday, too. But let’s say you still have some difficult shoppers on your Christmas list who aren’t interested in just another flat-screen TV or smartphone.

Maybe 55 pounds of assorted kitchen utensils, an electric fence or even a Black Hawk helicopter is just what that special someone is hankering after.

You can find those items and tons of other offbeat, esoteric bits of merchandise — ranging from decommissioned government aircraft to plain old office supplies — on an online auction site run by Uncle Sam.

Check out some of the interesting items for sale in the gallery below:

Black Hawk helicopter Now this would really be a December to remember. This Sikorsky Black Hawk medium-lift utility helicopter was on the auction site in November. At the time the auction closed, the top bid was $331,000. But buyer beware, the winning bidder has to fill out a ton of government paperwork to comply with Defense Department rules. (GSAAuctions.gov) GSAAuctions.gov Book return Always lending out books to your friends? Then maybe you need this 4-foot-tall personal book return to set up at your front door. The starting bid at last check was $10. (GSAAuctions.gov) GSAAuctions.gov Electric fence Electric fencing is common in agriculture. Although it turns out one of the earliest known uses of electrified fencing was to keep Cincinnati museum patrons in the 1830s from crowding too close to a particularly popular exhibit. Who knows what uses you’ll come up with. (GSAAuctions.gov) GSAAuctions.gov Fingerprint scanner Not so cool anymore since the iPhone got in on the fingerprint-scanning act a few years ago. Still, if you want to gather sensitive biometric identifiers the old-school way, this one’s for you. (GSAAuctions.gov) GSAAuctions.gov Gel capsule-filling machine Perfect for the budding scientist or, you know, aspiring pharmaceutical researcher (if you have a couple grand lying around.) Eight bidders competed for this soft gelatin capsule-filling machine last month. But even the top bid of $3,025 didn’t meet the reserve price. (GSAAuctions.gov) GSAAuctions.gov Humanitarian MREs Dinner’s ready! Humanitarian daily rations are basically a variation of the military “meal-ready-to-eat” used to help feed refugees or displaced people. The GSA site recently sold 48 cases (each case contains 10 meals) for $780. Each meal contains about 2,200 calories and as the website MREInfo explains, they purposely contain no animal products “so as to be acceptable to a wide range of consumers with religious and dietary restrictions.” (GSAAuctions.gov) GSAAuctions.gov Meat grinders Make your lifelong dream of opening your own butcher shop a reality. Two Hollymatic brand and one Bird brand meat grinders. Caveat emptor: Some parts are missing. (GSAAuctions.gov) GSAAuctions.gov Light bulbs Let there be light! The feds auctioned off 27 of these superbright incandescent bulbs last month. (GSAAuctions.gov) GSAAuctions.gov Hummer It’s been a while since the Hummer had its heyday — the last one rolled off the assembly line in 2010 after production on the massive gas guzzlers was discontinued. But now’s your chance to turn back the clock. This 2004 yellow Hummer with 65,000 miles on it hit the GSA auction site last month. As of late last month, the top bid was about $8,000. Be warned, there are several spots where the paint is chipping and the rear bumper is scratched. (GSAAuctions.gov) GSAAuctions.gov Metal detector No need to frisk the guests at the annual holiday party. Let this trusty machine do the work. (GSAAuctions.gov) GSAAuctions.gov Old TVs Forget the flat screens. The old cathode-ray tube variety of TV set — the kind with the bulky backs — are apparently making a comeback among some retro gamers. This lot of four “old-style” TVs and three VCRs is selling for $10 on the government auction site. The sets “have not been used in long time but were working when last used,” according to a listing on the site. (GSAAuctions.gov) Courtesy GSAAuctions.gov Mooney aircraft If you have a spare $37,000 (and counting), you could be flying the friendly skies this Christmas. This 1977 Mooney M20J-201 Aircraft was seized by the government for nonpayment of income tax. (GSAAuctions.gov) GSAAuctions.gov Inflatable paintball arena A hardly used inflatable paintball arena, including 11 rolls of artificial grass and 17 tactical bunkers, is for sale. OK, this actually kind of sounds awesome. The price tag is pretty steep. Bidding last month hit $8,100 but that failed to hit the government minimum. (GSAAuctions.gov) GSAAuctions.gov Paintings Boxes of random “waiting-room-style” art. (Is this where the “Salvator Mundi” showed up?) Get decorating! (GSAAuctions.gov) GSAAuctions.gov Rat chambers Rat chambers are exactly what they sound like. The chambers, which come complete with “scurry rat activity wheels,” are designed to study “long-term circadian rhythm and general activity studies” in rats, according to the Lafayette Instrument company, which manufactures them. (GSAAuctions.gov) GSAAuctions.gov Office set You could call this the office cubicle starter kit: Three office phones, a desktop printer, a large recycling bin and three artificial plants, pre-potted. (GSAAuctions.gov) GSAAuctions.gov Plumbing fixtures Doing some home improvement projects in the bathroom? This one’s a steal: Two commodes, three tanks. At auction last month, the top bid was just $5. (GSAAuctions.gov) GSAAuctions.gov Rusty posts Apparently, 200 rusty “T” posts are a hot commodity. The pallet of posts — which the listing concedes were “stored outside for a few months” — went for a whopping $455 at auction last month. (GSAAuctions.gov) GSAAuctions.gov Search-and-rescue boat A four-person former Coast Guard search-and-rescue vehicle is on the market. Bidding last month reached more than $56,000. (GSAAuctions.gov) GSAAuctions.gov ( 1 /19) Share This Gallery: Share on Facebook. Share on Twitter. Share via email. Print.

GSAAuctions.gov, which is operated by the General Services Administration, lists thousands of items — from computers, iPads and household goods to medical equipment, industrial machinery and vehicles. The site is designed to help the federal government get rid of surplus equipment.

And just in time for the holidays, there’s a major collectibles auction running Dec. 13-18 featuring watches, cuff links, necklaces, silverware and decorative bowls.

“There’s a lot of good things that would probably be something great to buy around the holidays,” said Susanne Combs, acting director of GSA’s Office of Personal Property Management, in an interview with WTOP.

The auction will be conducted online, but prospective bidders in the D.C. area can window-shop for themselves at GSA’s Springfield, Virginia, warehouse. (More details are below).

So where does all this stuff come from?

Much of the merchandise on the GSA site was acquired by federal agencies during the normal course of business, and they simply no longer need it. Think office supplies and IT equipment.

But some of the items up for sale are a bit bizarre. Many of these were likely seized by federal law enforcement under asset-forfeiture programs, Combs said.

“So we do have some offbeat items,” Combs said.

For example, after the owner of a bridal store pleaded guilty to embezzlement, the feds seized the contents of her shop and held a big bridal auction to cover some of the legally required restitution the woman was ordered to make.

Who’s buying this stuff? There are some niche audiences, Combs said, including resellers, car dealers and realtors.

The site’s users also include regular, everyday people who are just interested in a deal, she said.

Here’s what you need to know if you’re interested in bidding:

First you need to create an online profile on the GSA site. Then, you can set up alerts for certain types of items you have an interest in bidding on. You can also set up what’s known as proxy bid feature, which allows you to put in your maximum bid upfront. You can also search for items located in your geographic area, which is a helpful feature, since you have 10 days to make arrangements with the government seller to pick up your winnings.

You may find some deals, Combs cautioned, but probably not too many of the too-good-to-be-true variety.

“The government expects to get as much as it can as possible,” Combs said. In the last fiscal year, GSA auctions netted $147 million.

“So really, in the end it helps save taxpayer dollars, because we’re reinvesting in some of the things that we need to do our mission in the federal government,” she said.

More details about the GSA collectibles auction:

The online auction runs Dec. 13 through Dec. 18, with 25 “lots” of property, including watches, cuff links, necklaces, silverware and decorative bowls. Prospective bidders in the D.C. area can inspect the merchandise for themselves at GSA’s Springfield, Virginia, warehouse at 6808 Loisdale Rd. Contact Jacqui Johnson at 703-605-9321 to schedule an appointment.