WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME you did a thorough inven-tory of your warehouse? You might be surprised at the equipment and supplies languishing in hidden spaces or long-forgotten boxes. "It happens very frequently that you have something custom-made or purchase something specifically for a client, and they wind up only using it once or a lot less often than anticipated," says Tom Gifford, general manager of Abbey Event Services in Burbank, Calif.

So what can you do with all that stuff that has lost its luster and rentability?

Operators have come up with creative ways to transform their castoffs into cash. Even teapots with legs missing and linens pockmarked with holes can be recycled, proving once again that one person's trash is another person's treasure.

GOING, GOING, GONE If you want to unload one-of-a-kind or unusual items, consider auctioning them on the Web site eBay (www.ebay.com). Bruce Monaco, owner of Special Events in Livermore, Calif., was pleasantly surprised when he used the popular Internet auction site for the first time, posting concession equipment this spring.

"Everything sold and for even more than we had anticipated," Monaco says. "I guess it shows that there are always people looking to purchase something out of the ordinary."

Special Events auctioned off items including a popcorn machine, a hot dog steamer, a cotton candy maker and a waffle dog maker. "A couple of these items were just taking up space in our warehouse and had never even been rented," Monaco says. "We accepted bids over a two- to three-week period and paid eBay a fee of 2 11/42 percent of the sales price."

He offers a word of caution: "This method of disposal is only suitable for stuff you can ship UPS or if you find bidders who are local. Otherwise, people are shocked to find out you have to pay an additional $150 to ship a popcorn machine by freight."

THE CLEARANCE TABLE

Another creative way Monaco has found to dispose of merchandise is right in his showroom. Employees discovered a cache of old wedding supplies that Special Events had inherited from the previous owner. To clean it out, Monaco set up a simple sales display in a corner of the showroom.

"Napkins, various colored plates and cake-cutting knives sold at drastically reduced prices," Monaco says. He continues to use the clearance table to sell odd pieces and outdated items, often for as little as 50 cents.

Stan White, president of Grand Rental Station in Memphis, Tenn., encourages clients to check out a special area of his warehouse that has become known as the "used corner." "Organizations - especially our local churches - don't want to spend much money, and this area is where we put tables, chairs and other still useable merchandise. They're happy to purchase something for $20 or less."

SUPER SALE

Yard sales and garage sales work for private citizens, which inspired Regal Rents founder Karl Levin to begin hosting an annual tented sale at the company's El Segundo, Calif., location. The one-day event often has eager customers lining up two hours before the opening.

"Our yard sale is held annually the first or second weekend of April," vice president Ron Weiss says. "We put up a big tent and sell used stuff ranging from faded linen to coffee pourers, silver trays, used white chairs and hollowware. Smaller items sell for a buck, with linens between $3.95 and $7.95."

Regal has built a mailing list over the years and sends a reminder flyer to previous customers, in addition to getting local publicity in a consumer advice column in the Los Angeles Times. Anything left after the sale is donated to charity.

Al Locata, CEO of Be Our Guest in Boston, is a big proponent of donating slightly worn inventory to charitable organizations.

"We're located in downtown Boston, and whenever the banding on the chinaware has faded or the flatware is ready to be put out of commission, we look no further than our nonprofit neighbors, Pine Street Inn, which feeds homeless men and women, and the Women's Lunch Place, a shelter for women," Locata says. "We donate a lot of junk silver and silverplate service and teapots to a local neighborhood organization, and they in turn sell it at a white elephant sale. The people go crazy for it."

"Old rental items are like old rental operators - they just never go away," jokes Mike Berk, owner of M&M Party Rentals in Carol Stream, Ill.

"Most of the equipment gets so bad we just throw it away," he says. "If something's no longer worth renting, it's not something we consider selling. We're constantly assessing the items in our inventory and making a determination on whether they can be repaired, recycled or discarded. Sometimes we'll recycle things like linens, cutting them up for napkins or giving them a second life as dust covers over the storage racks."

Grand Rental Station uses its in-house woodworking and metal-working shops to fix and rework pieces. "We'll cut down a 60-inch round table that's showing wear, for instance, and make it into a 48-inch table," White says.

KNOW WHAT SHOULD GO

Gifford farms out some of the clearance tasks to employees. He often gives them equipment and linens to sell at local swap meets, and Abbey splits the profits with them. "This has worked really well with linens," he says.

"Employees have a tendency to want to hold on to something, especially linen, because the spot or hole isn't that noticeable," Gifford says. "So we have a rule in our warehouse: `When in doubt, throw it out.' If an item is marginal and you send it out, you run the risk of spending $200 to send a truck out on a Friday at 4 p.m. to replace a $20 item, in addition to having a dissatisfied client. Training your employees to have a good critical eye when evaluating merchandise is an ongoing process."

RESOURCES: Abbey Event Services, 818/569-3838; Be Our Guest, 617/427-2700; Grand Rental Station, 901/366-0670; M&M Party Rentals, 630/871-9999; Regal Rents, 714/540-6111; Special Events, 510/353-7400

- Use your own Web site to advertise merchandise you want to sell or donate.

- Send a direct mail letter to other rental companies advising them of equipment and material that might be just what they are looking for.

- Offer your castoffs to liquidators, although don't expect much profit.

- Approach local theater companies and drama departments of colleges and universities that might be glad to take materials they can use as props in shows.

- Consider auctioning goods via other Internet sites. Besides eBay, sites to check include GoTo Auctions (auctions.goto.com), AuctionWatch.com and Andy's Garage Sale (andysgarage.com).