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Manual of Business Procedures

Bid Sale Policy and Procedures

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General Terms and Conditions

Policies Home

Procedure

• Bid Posting. All bid items will be posted at the MSU Surplus Store on the bid board located in the front of the store. Bid posting will include an item description, minimum bid amount, and deadline for submitting bids. The bid listing posted on this web site is not guaranteed to be complete due to time constraints. Not all items will be listed online, but items will be listed at the MSU Surplus Store. 
• Bid Period. The bid period for an item is a minimum of 24 hours and a maximum of 20 business days. Generally items will be placed on bid for 10 business days (two weeks).
• Bid Submission. All MSU Surplus Store bid forms must be filled out completely and must be legible. Time and date stamp the bid form and place in the secured bid box to ensure the accuracy of the bidding process. Bids may also be faxed to Surplus (517-353-0836). Faxed bids will be time-stamped by the MSU Surplus fax machine at the time of arrival and immediately placed in the secured bid box. Bids may be faxed using the printable form. Anyone who wishes to change their bid cannot remove the original bid; bidder must enter a new bid form stating they wish to remove, lower or raise their original bid.
• Item Information. A disclaimer of warranty is provided in the General Terms and Conditions. For purposes of sale, items are being sold by Michigan State University and originating department ownership of items will not be revealed. The number of bids and the value of bids entered is unknown until they are removed from the secured bid box and will not be released until after the item has been paid for.
• Winning Bidder Notification. The actual opening of bids will occur within one business day of the bid closing. Winning bidder will be notified by phone. A minimum of two attempts will be made to contact the high bidder. If there is no response within five business days the high bid will be forfeited and the next highest bidder will be contacted. If the high bidder refuses to honor their bid, they will relinquish their right to bid on other items for a period of six months. The final selling price will not be released until final payment has been received.

• Bid Cancellation. Any item may be removed from the bidding process if it is determined to be in the best interest of MSU. Listings subject to additions, deletions, and/or errors at the discretion of the MSU Surplus Store.

Bid Sale Terms and Conditions

The following terms and conditions are to be used in conjunction with our General Terms and Conditions:

• Equipment Safety. It is the Buyer's/User's responsibility to provide proper safety devices and equipment to safeguard persons from harm resulting from any particular use, operation, or set-up; and to adequately safeguard the equipment to conform to all Federal, State, and local government safety standards.

• Title and Risk of Loss. Title to items sold shall pass from Seller to Buyer upon a) Buyer taking possession of said items, and b) upon acceptance of payment by Seller on the payment schedule indicated under Payment Terms.  Buyer shall, at their own expense, remove the equipment from Seller's premises. Buyer is responsible for all costs of handling, preparation and shipping of said equipment.

• Removal of Equipment and Time of Performance. It is the sole responsibility of the Buyer to promptly and properly remove the material awarded and sold to them from the location where it is presently housed. All equipment is to be removed on a timely basis, within five business days from date of acceptance of payment.

• Equipment held beyond five business days will be resold or assessed a storage fee for each additional day it is housed on Seller's premises. Buyer will not be able to take possession of said equipment until all storage fees are paid.

• If Buyer requires assistance with packaging equipment for shipping purposes, additional fees will apply to cover the costs of Seller preparing the equipment for shipment.  Seller in no way assumes any liability for damage to equipment incurred while stored on Seller premises, during Seller packaging, or in the shipping process.  Buyer must pay all handling and preparation fees prior to release of equipment to shipper.

• Indemnity. Buyer/User agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Seller from any and all claims or liabilities caused by or arising from the equipment as sold and/or quoted. All equipment quoted is subject to prior sale. It is the purchaser's responsibility to verify specifications. Buyer further agrees to indemnify and hold harmless and defend Seller, Seller’s agents, and their employees, agents and representatives from all claims, losses, liabilities and expenses including, but not limited to, all attorney fees arising out of bodily injury, death or damage to property occurring in connection with any act or omission (negligent or otherwise) of Buyer, their agents, employees, representatives, or subcontractors. Buyer agrees to sign the MSU Surplus Complete Release, Waiver and Indemnity Agreement form.

• Assumption of Risk. Buyer shall specifically and distinctly assume all risk of damage to or destruction of property or bodily injury, sickness, or disease (including death resulting at any time there from) of use or employed on or in connection with the removal of said items from Seller facilities; resulting from any action, omission, or operation under this Sales Agreement. The Buyer will also assume risk of damage to or destruction of property or bodily injury, sickness, or disease (including death resulting at any time there from) of persons, wherever located, resulting from any action, omission, or operation under this Sales Agreement.

• Buyer Damage to MSU Property.  Without regard to any other section of the Agreement, Buyer shall be responsible for the costs to return to “as was” condition from any damage caused to the building, grounds, or other equipment and furnishings caused in whole or part by Buyer’s employees, agents and representatives while performing activities arising under this Sales Agreement.  Buyer shall immediately report in writing the occurrence of any damage to the MSU Surplus Representative responsible for the sale of said items.

• Release of Liability.  Buyer agrees to sign the MSU Surplus Complete Release of Liability form prior to the onset of removal of the equipment from Seller facilities.

• Campus Security and Entry to Non-Public Locations in Facilities (applies when removing equipment from Seller Premises). All Buyer agents, employees and representatives are to be accompanied by an authorized MSU escort whenever the removal of equipment requires entry to a non-public area of an MSU facility. Buyer agrees that it will not assign any employee to perform work in MSU facilities without first making inquiry of each employee as to their criminal record. No employee with a criminal record will be assigned to perform work in an MSU facility. For purposes of this section, “criminal record” shall not include a) any arrest or detention not resulting in criminal conviction, b) a conviction for minor traffic violations, affray or disturbance of the peace, or c) any misdemeanor conviction more than five years after the conviction or the employee’s release from detention, whichever is later, unless the employee has been convicted of any other offense within five years of the date of inquiry.

• Insurances(applies when removing equipment from Seller Premises). Buyer agrees to maintain comprehensive general liability insurance, including contractual liability, with limits not less than $1 million per occurrence; automobile liability for owned, non-owned and hired vehicles with a combined single limit not less than $5 million per occurrence; Employers Liability and Workers’ Compensation to statutory limits as required by the State of Michigan. Buyer agrees to have the Board of Trustees of MSU added as additional insured's with respect to general liability and provide MSU with 30 days prior written notice of any material changes in the above insurance.  Buyer shall provide Michigan State University with a certificate of the above insurance coverages and amounts upon execution of this Sales Agreement.

• All insurance policies will be issued by companies authorized to do business in the State of Michigan.

• Subcontractors. Seller reserves the right to reject any subcontractor. The Buyer will be fully responsible for acts and omissions of all subcontractors, and other persons performing any part of the work for the Buyer.