What ever happened to Surplus Stores?!

There used to be great Army Navy stores dealing in real surplus all over NYC and back when I lived in MA and MD the same thing and now the good ones are just disappearing. What's it like where everyone else is?

Some of the best gear I've ever owned (and some I still have) came from Surplus stores and it's nice to hand pick for quality but I can't find any good joints to go anymore, it's all new cheap imported look alike or Eastern European crap. My best score was a new West German Army knife with the Mauser logo made by Victorinox great knife but I was 18 then and now I wish those places still existed!!! The first sheath knife, an issue Marine Fighting knife by Camillus and the first flashlight a G.T. Price MX 991/U that I bought with my own money (the knife at 14 and the light at 10) came from surplus stores and both were genuine issue and new in the mil control numbered brown boxes and wrapping at the time. Heck I was never in the money and when I moved away from home was wearing a surplus backpack and overcoat and had my dad's military duffle /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif

I guess I'll just have to settle for internet shopping and luck of the draw, kinda dissappointing.

Later,
TSG /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

The same thing that happened to real electronics stores.

Mass-market knock-offs of good products cheapened.

most army navy stores carry cheap knock-offs and assorted other stuff, like a mini store, not suplus.

there is one real surplus store nearby and carries the real deal.

Same here in Colorado, there is one decent Surplus store left in Englewood(suburb of Denver)that carries a very few military items, down from three Surplus stores just a couple of years ago, and another pretty good store in Colorado Springs near Ft. Carson. Only one fairly good electronic parts store left that is active. There was a family owned store that the owner died and they have just one or two people still selling there, but it has been going out of business slowly as they sell their remaining stock. There was a real good one that closed about a year ago. It was a great big RadioShack.com storefront that carried in stock almost everything available on their website. It seemed to always be fairly busy, but there was always a looooong wait to check out even if you were the only one in line, and it seemed to be poorly managed.

Not trying to be cute - but there is a lot less surplus to be had. The Forces got downsized, DRMO sells to soldiers on post for personal replacement (especially posts with Basic,) some stuff can't be sold, and the specs to "surplus" it got tightened. The big boys now go post to post to stock their catalog for online sales - where all the really cool stuff can now be found with any consistency. Try the Sportsman's Guide "Headquarters" or Cheaper than Dirt (not) for the exotic US stuff.
Don't forget we are buying more off the shelf than ever before - not special stuff that needs wierd batteries only the manufacturer can supply. Even the NVG's and Aimpoints run on AA's now.

Well I know there are plenty of websites and catalog companies to buy stuff from but I miss going to the retail stores and finding stuff. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif

Who out there still has good stores, maybe I'll get by there some day. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Later,
TSG /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I'm one of the lucky ones who can still find a decent surplus/used store. The area around Ft. Hood is swamped with stuff--most of it "gently" used, some old crap, some imported junk.

Almost paid cash for a brand new flack jacket last year. I was waiting to have my purchases rung up when a soldier was trying to sell it. The store owner offered $25, the soldier thought about it for a second and handed it to the owner.../ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif I thought even though I have no real use for the thing, I'd have given him more than that, sold it to someone who wanted one cheap and still have made a profit.

The definite way to tell you're close to an Army base is the increasing density of strip-clubs, bars, tatoo parlors and surplus/pawn shops. Usually in that order.

Aah surplus stores! The love of my life. It started after WWII when my mom let me order some stuff from an ad in Popular Mechanics. As I remember, an ammo belt for a Browning Automatic rifle, and some kind of a waterproof rubber ammo container.

My dad took my brother and I to Newman-Stern Sporting Goods in Cleveland once shortly after the war. Newman's had tables of surplus stuff set up in the isles. We came home with a Coleman GI Pocket stove and a couple of aircraft radio transmitters to take apart. I was hooked.

When I grew up (figurativily) and married, our vacations included stops at any and all surplus stores that dotted the highways and byways of North America.

On a vacation to California I remember dropping the wife and kids at Disney Land and spending the day in the surplus stores of Anaheim. I mentioned to one of the store owners how much I loved surplus. He said " Me too. When Vietnam is over, I'm gonna fill this place to the rafters with more surplus."

I never returned to the surplus store in Anaheim, but I will bet he never got his wish.

The reason? Two words. Inventory control.

The Defence Department has gotton much better at buying and controlling everything from clothing to tanks.

The bad news is that the availability of surplus is going to get worse.

As we speak, the Army has 500 consultants working in New Jersey programing a computer in the Midwest with SAP software which will revolutionize the ordering, stocking and distribution of every item our troops will ever need.

The chance of really great surplus turning up as it did after WWII is remote indeed.