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Posted: 8/31/2015 12:04:29 PM EDT
[#1]
Quoted:
Do people still buy from army surplus stores... No. You answered that question in your second sentence: Quoted:
I can buy them online with shipping better than that. |
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Posted: 8/31/2015 12:04:42 PM EDT
[#2]
I remember shopping there when I was a kid.
I went in one a few months ago. Bought a pineapple grenade for old times sake. |
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Posted: 8/31/2015 12:06:18 PM EDT
[#3]
We have a small surplus shot in town and everything in there is silly exspensive. Last I looked cans had a $25 tag on them...$30 old beat up AR mags
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Posted: 8/31/2015 12:06:21 PM EDT
[#4]
We have one here. Good for buying bulk food and listening to US Army Force Recon guys tell their stories from the 'Bodia.
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Posted: 8/31/2015 12:07:42 PM EDT
[#5]
I went into the one just outside of Roanoke to pick up a web belt and buckle. He wanted $6.95 for just the buckle! Needless to say, I went online and order a few instead (for three bucks and change each).
The guy sells surplus for damn near new prices. How he stays in business is beyond me. |
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Posted: 8/31/2015 12:08:45 PM EDT
[#6]
Ebay is a much better source for actual surplus items.
It is rare to find a store that sells mostly surplus items vs. a bunch of new Chinese crap. The owners that I have talked to said it is easier to buy and sell the new shit than go bid on DRMO lots, transport, sort and sell actual surplus items. Stores near mil. bases are the best bet. |
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Posted: 8/31/2015 12:14:37 PM EDT
[#7]
one of my favorite coats was an old OD M65 with liner. Bought it for $20 in the early 90s. Surplus stores are dead. Too much rothco Chinese BS
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Posted: 8/31/2015 12:15:37 PM EDT
[#8]
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Posted: 8/31/2015 12:18:47 PM EDT
[#9]
Old Grouch
/ |
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Posted: 8/31/2015 12:23:05 PM EDT
[#10]
The stores in College Station, TX were slightly better than most I stumble into, but that's only because they're supporting 2,500 cadets from the university. Most of the others I walk into are glorified airsoft.
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Posted: 8/31/2015 12:24:27 PM EDT
[#11]
When i was in high school i thought army surplus stores were the coolest thing. The stores them selves have not changed in the last decade but my taste on what i consider good/fun gear has.
Over prices expired MREs and flack jackets from 1960 are a waste of money now that i roll with the latest and greatest high end gear. But while the stuff is expensive and usually crap, i have to admit i miss getting pumped up over a $10 multi-tool or a $5 fake hand grenade, now it takes a $1000+ ops core helmet or suppressor to get the same reaction from me. Also it doesnt help that the military now destroys surplus gear rather than sell to the open market. |
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Posted: 8/31/2015 12:41:53 PM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Old Grouch / You have a better chance of getting your order delivered correctly and in a timely manner from botach. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Posted: 8/31/2015 12:45:25 PM EDT
[#13]
Quoted:
Went in one in vA today to get ammo cans and possible jacket, Holy %^$* $20.00 for and ammo can they were in the worse condition I have ever seen for sale. I can buy them online with shipping better than that, and cheaper most of the stuff was fox brand and cheap camping crap all real military stuff was higher than several places online. Their jackets with a liner where $79.00 that may not be to bad a price but for $80 I would just buy a new hunting jacket from bass pro. Do people still buy from army surplus stores at the prices I have seen today I will never bother to visit that store again since its out of my way and ebay and online shopping make that store look crazy. snowman357 Where in VA? I'm always looking for places to check out! |
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Posted: 8/31/2015 12:48:34 PM EDT
[#14]
Quoted:
Went in one in vA today to get ammo cans and possible jacket, Holy %^$* $20.00 for and ammo can they were in the worse condition I have ever seen for sale. I can buy them online with shipping better than that, and cheaper most of the stuff was fox brand and cheap camping crap all real military stuff was higher than several places online. Their jackets with a liner where $79.00 that may not be to bad a price but for $80 I would just buy a new hunting jacket from bass pro. Do people still buy from army surplus stores at the prices I have seen today I will never bother to visit that store again since its out of my way and ebay and online shopping make that store look crazy. snowman357 IT depends on the Army-Navy store you go to. The ones that are run by military veterans and have piles of Korean war era Garand clips and old German SIGNAL magazine, yes I do buy from there. I bought my 2 quart canteen and liner for maybe $15, and it outclasses a camelback every which way you can think of. The ones that call themselves army-nave stores but only sell airsoft crap, on the other hand...meh. |
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Posted: 8/31/2015 12:52:32 PM EDT
[#15]
I miss the days of $0.25 c-rat pound cake, $1 ammo cans, and $3 Bofors dummy rounds.
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Posted: 8/31/2015 12:53:04 PM EDT
[#16]
Yeah most surplus stores are shit these days. Almost all of the WWII, Korea, Vietnam era surplus has been sold off, thrown in a closet or binned by now. But that smell....you know what I'm talking about!... That smell, man! I'll always love me some Army/Navy store time
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Posted: 8/31/2015 12:58:59 PM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I went into the one just outside of Roanoke to pick up a web belt and buckle. He wanted $6.95 for just the buckle! Needless to say, I went online and order a few instead (for three bucks and change each). The guy sells surplus for damn near new prices. How he stays in business is beyond me. I think I've been in there. There is one I pass on my way into Roanoke and I was baffled by the prices. They were literally at least double the prices of all of the other surplus stores I had been in. I couldn't figure it out. |
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Posted: 8/31/2015 12:59:49 PM EDT
[#18]
I use to visit a surplus store near the house where i grew up. Walked in to local one a few weeks ago, and i felt i was transported by to my home store.
The smell, that glorious, wonderful military surplus store smell! I loved it! 
The prices reflect what you guys have posted, but the smell took me back many years. |
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Posted: 8/31/2015 1:01:49 PM EDT
[#19]
Every surplus store around here, that hasn't folded yet, seems to always have the shittiest gear and think it is made of gold.
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Posted: 8/31/2015 1:02:15 PM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Yeah most surplus stores are shit these days. Almost all of the WWII, Korea, Vietnam era surplus has been sold off, thrown in a closet or binned by now. But that smell....you know what I'm talking about!... That smell, man! I'll always love me some Army/Navy store time I know exactly what you mean. 
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Posted: 8/31/2015 1:03:38 PM EDT
[#21]
The one nearby has cheap Chinese shit and the occasional legit American surplus so ugh I guess it's like Walmart except the low prices.
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Posted: 8/31/2015 1:06:39 PM EDT
[#22]
as a kid the local surplus store was awesome
dad would buy me a MRE or two and the guy would lean over the counter and laugh at me every time for buying them these days the same place is not anything like a I remember it pretty bare and lots of junky cheap camping supplies we did have a surplus store that was packed to the gills and had that wonderful surplus store smell it recently closed down... scored a couple deals I really wanted some of the bombs and shells they had around but none for sale |
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Posted: 8/31/2015 1:25:17 PM EDT
[#23]
You can thank fucked up regulations for the high cost of ammo cans. They have made the regulations for turning them into DRMO, so onerous, that it is cheaper for us to shred them.
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Posted: 8/31/2015 1:26:09 PM EDT
[#24]
I still find a deal in the old surplus store but yes some of the prices have become insane. But on the other hand sometimes you catch something where the guy isn't sure how valuable it is an sells it cheaper.
I bought a near brand new interceptor vest for 200. Seemed like a good price. They are 400 now
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Posted: 8/31/2015 1:39:05 PM EDT
[#25]
I remember as a kid going to the surplus store aka the Army/Navy Store and seeing racks of German Youth knives w/ self sharpening sheaths for a few dollars, Crazy stuff all over. Now it is crap.
The local Surplus store here closed up. Nothing but junk, and chinese made crap. There were some Vietnam era flinds to be made but you had to look hard. I used to get smoking jackets, field coats, and Woobies for cheap and managed to find some GI wool blankets at a good price. But good stuff? Most was worn out crap for top dollar. I stopped in one day and asked about ammo cans, they had none. Then told me that the Govt quit selling them. I went home and found pallets of them @ the govt surplus site. The thing that I think ruined the suplus stores were 1) the internet & 2) Govt on-line auction sites. Before then you had to attend the DRMO auction. You need to jump through hoops in order to qualify as a bidder, and then you needed to take you winnings home ASAP, no storage. So people travelled to different installations to attend these auctions. That limited competition greatly. I know folks who used to attend these auctions and they would see the same guys at each one. Some where specialists and collectors, looking for certain peices and would buy lots just to get the items they wanted. Then they would take the stuff they wanted and resell the rest. Others where like wholesalers who bought large lots and resold them to people who couldn't afford to buy large lots or just didn't make the sale. Some where just trying to stock the shelves in stores they owned. |
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Posted: 8/31/2015 1:45:25 PM EDT
[#26]
The surplus stores here suck. The surplus stores that pop up outside of actual army installations are pretty good.
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Posted: 8/31/2015 2:01:04 PM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I know exactly what you mean. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Yeah most surplus stores are shit these days. Almost all of the WWII, Korea, Vietnam era surplus has been sold off, thrown in a closet or binned by now. But that smell....you know what I'm talking about!... That smell, man! I'll always love me some Army/Navy store time I know exactly what you mean. This guy knows whats up. Someone totally needs to make some mini-pineapple grenade or ammo can air fresheners with that smell. 
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Posted: 8/31/2015 3:16:11 PM EDT
[#28]
There's an Army surplus store here (more of a general government surplus store, they have more than just .mil stuff) that has a couple aisles of drawers a full of NOS vacuum tubes, lots of GE, Sylvania, Westinghouse, RCA, Raytheon, and many others, often I find something that will work in my guitar amplifiers and they sell them for $1 each.
Other than that, the .mil stuff is overpriced and usually in poor condition, so I don't bother anymore. |
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Posted: 8/31/2015 3:17:08 PM EDT
[#29]
Which store so I can avoid?
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Posted: 8/31/2015 3:28:28 PM EDT
[#30]
You don't go to those stores for the deal, you go for the smell. An interesting mix of burlap, rubber, oil and dust.
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Posted: 8/31/2015 3:31:06 PM EDT
[#31]
The one in Fort Walton Beach Florida is killer, with great surplus deals. Gun stuff is overpriced, but the surplus gear is fantastic and dirt cheap. Highly recommended if in town.
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Posted: 8/31/2015 3:37:29 PM EDT
[#32]
There's one here in town that has OK prices on a few things. I've bought a couple things for reasonable prices there, but they want $15 for 30 cal ammo cans, $20 for 50 cal B grade.
We used to have a crappy hole in the wall spot just outside of town that had a ton of inventory and great prices. They went under though. I used to get B grade 50 cal cans for $6 around 2008-9. You'd have to pick through them and make sure you didn't get the ones that he used to collect the rainwater dripping through the roof  . The bottoms were all rusted out of those particular ones. The days of $6 cans are gone
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Posted: 8/31/2015 3:38:30 PM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
You don't go to those stores for the deal, you go for the smell. An interesting mix of burlap, rubber, oil and dust. What's funny is every army surplus store I've ever been in smells exactly the same as almost every .mil armory I've been in
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Posted: 8/31/2015 3:39:35 PM EDT
[#34]
Twenty years ago there were three or four good surplus stores within a reasonable drive of my area
Now I can't think of a single one. |
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Posted: 8/31/2015 4:21:34 PM EDT
[#35]
The one around me is ok. I won't buy traditional army surplus stuff from them(ammo cans are expensive), but they occasionally have wool socks(smartwool and darn tough) there for really cheap.
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Posted: 8/31/2015 4:26:26 PM EDT
[#36]
I've got an awesome one about 20 minutes away. Retail shop and warehouse full of surplused gear. They are the wholesaler for a ton of online retailers.
I bought a brand new Blackhawk 3 day assault pack there for $40 recently. |
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Posted: 8/31/2015 4:27:36 PM EDT
[#37]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
This guy knows whats up. Someone totally needs to make some mini-pineapple grenade or ammo can air fresheners with that smell. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Yeah most surplus stores are shit these days. Almost all of the WWII, Korea, Vietnam era surplus has been sold off, thrown in a closet or binned by now. But that smell....you know what I'm talking about!... That smell, man! I'll always love me some Army/Navy store time I know exactly what you mean. This guy knows whats up. Someone totally needs to make some mini-pineapple grenade or ammo can air fresheners with that smell. There are a few surplus stores around that I take my son to so he can experience "that smell". Prices are batshit crazy, but dammit it smells good.
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Posted: 8/31/2015 4:28:42 PM EDT
[#38]
The run down, hole in the wall surplus stores are the best surplus stores.
All the *new* "Army-Navy" stores are basically a brick-and-mortar gun show. You need to find one that looks like a beat up old shack, has no A/C, 1 employee (the owner) and looks like hes about to kick the bucket. Older woodland pattern Crye combat uniform for $50 total that doesn't fit me anyway? Yes please. Flip it on Ebay for $600 + |
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Posted: 8/31/2015 4:29:21 PM EDT
[#39]
I travel for work and try to go to one in each city that has them. There a couple of decent ones in Tulsa, a good one in Cedar Rapids, two in Norfolk, but the one by the shipyards sells mostly lottery tickets. The good ones are few and far between.
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Posted: 8/31/2015 4:29:40 PM EDT
[#40]
The one close to my house used to do dirt cheap transfers, then the guy got all pissy with me about not buying his overpriced, rusted shit and Chicom knockoffs and just using the FFL part of the store.
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Posted: 8/31/2015 4:30:55 PM EDT
[#41]
Plenty of older and/or less sophisticated folks who don't do the internet thing, don't trust putting their CC number out there, don't want to buy sight unseen, etc. They often don't know that stuff can be had much cheaper.
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Posted: 8/31/2015 4:34:53 PM EDT
[#42]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I know exactly what you mean. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Yeah most surplus stores are shit these days. Almost all of the WWII, Korea, Vietnam era surplus has been sold off, thrown in a closet or binned by now. But that smell....you know what I'm talking about!... That smell, man! I'll always love me some Army/Navy store time I know exactly what you mean. Does anyone who is old school remember when you could buy those WWII Italian surplus bayonets for about two bucks each. They were solid steel and had about a 2 foot blade on them. We used to play gladiators with them with metal trash can lids for shields. Getting smacked upside the head with the leather scabbard with the metal bob on the bottom would leave a nice little knot on your head. Boys and their old school toys I suppose. BB and pellet guns were optional if the chips were down..
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Posted: 8/31/2015 4:41:12 PM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I've got an awesome one about 20 minutes away. Retail shop and warehouse full of surplused gear. They are the wholesaler for a ton of online retailers. I bought a brand new Blackhawk 3 day assault pack there for $40 recently. Where in TN? What's the name? You can PM me if you want. |
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Posted: 8/31/2015 4:42:24 PM EDT
[#44]
I still like going for the musty smell in the air, and little desiccant packs they sell in zip lock bags.
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Posted: 8/31/2015 4:47:36 PM EDT
[#45]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Where in TN? What's the name? You can PM me if you want. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
I've got an awesome one about 20 minutes away. Retail shop and warehouse full of surplused gear. They are the wholesaler for a ton of online retailers. I bought a brand new Blackhawk 3 day assault pack there for $40 recently. Where in TN? What's the name? You can PM me if you want. I'm on "the alternative site" and can't IM or PM. 
It's J&W Surplus in Trenton,TN. They have two locations, one on 45 (Retail Store) and the other on Manufacturer's Row (huge Warehouse). You can walk into either one and buy and I suggest going to both places for first-timers. The warehouse gets the new stuff first so you definitely don't want to skip it. |
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Posted: 8/31/2015 4:51:32 PM EDT
[#46]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I know exactly what you mean. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Yeah most surplus stores are shit these days. Almost all of the WWII, Korea, Vietnam era surplus has been sold off, thrown in a closet or binned by now. But that smell....you know what I'm talking about!... That smell, man! I'll always love me some Army/Navy store time I know exactly what you mean. I love that smell. It brings me back to my youth. |
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Posted: 8/31/2015 4:54:49 PM EDT
[#47]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Which store so I can avoid? IM sent. |
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Posted: 8/31/2015 4:55:15 PM EDT
[#48]
Somebody should can that smell and turn it into a cologne or air freshener.
I miss the stores from the early 80s. There's still a decent one I go to every now and then for hiking gear, cordage, and woolens. More and more Propper and chicom knock-offs these days. |
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Posted: 8/31/2015 5:01:53 PM EDT
[#49]
Generally they all suck now, mostly Chinese copy crap at high prices, not so much for bargains anymore...and usually the "real" surplus is priced stupidly high....
BUT I have hit a few good ones, mainly one outside of military bases...a couple of great ones at Ft Knox I hit when I am driving through....I found a great one in Austin, TX....a bunch of cool ones around Ft. Hood... But the salad days of awesome old Military Surplus stores are way over I am afraid....
ETA....And that smell, that surplus store smell...smells like victory.... Nothing quite like it...my parents always bitch about the military room..."It smells like a surplus store...", my retort..."Yeah, and, I love that smell..." My son loves the smell....although he calls it "old man smell" (He's 5...)...everytime he comes up tot he mancave with me, he inhales deeply, and says "I love that old man smell!" Bring un the surplus store cologne, I'm in for a bottle.... |
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Posted: 8/31/2015 11:54:20 PM EDT
[#50]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
You don't go to those stores for the deal, you go for the smell. An interesting mix of burlap, rubber, oil and dust. The smell of MRT. |
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