Great Surplus Stores? 518
An old friend of mine, Todd San Martin, passed on a link to me of a great surplus place in Orlando that has lots of old nasa gear and more, and it made me think that it's probably time to talk about great surplus shops again. Not just the aforementioned skycraft or the well known Weird Stuff , although feel free to dicuss those too, but I thought it would make a cool post as a jumping off point for people to talk about their favorite shops especially those near aerospace facilities, both online and off.
Active Surplus in Toronto! (Score:5, Informative)
Not sure if they have an online presence. It wouldn't matter. Most of the fun is going there and scouring through the thousands of bins full of assorted electronic components. Whenever I've needed parts for any electronic project I have never failed to find the parts at Active Surplus.
Re:Active Surplus in Toronto! (Score:5, Interesting)
As the Parent said, who knows if they have an online presence. Frankly, I hope (and have a feeling) they don't - if you only go to that place to buy certain items (without an open mind about what else is there) you're missing most of the fun of the place.
Re:Active Surplus in Toronto! (Score:4, Interesting)
MadCow.
Re:Active Surplus in Toronto! (Score:3)
I'm afraid the least worst in Vancouver is R.P., which carefully hides the surplus (what there is of it) in the back corner. Satellite Pete went out of business years ago. Sigh.
You can also save your pennies and go to Boeing Surplus in Seattle. Radar used to be a hoot, but are no longer open on Saturdays. Sigh again.
Saving more pennies and flying to Silicon Valley for the weekend isn't as much fun as it once was, un
Surplus in Vancouver (Score:5, Informative)
One place comes to mind... Cal's Computer Warehouse on the north side of Grandview Highway west of Costco and east of Superstore. Open late 7 days per week. Wacky place. Some new product but mostly surplus and used. Hardware and software by the scoopful. NICs, audio cards, cables, adaptors, and monitors galore. I picked up a bunch of Wyse 60s there once (they dozens to sift through) for a team of programmers' serial debug terminals. Prices are so-so, but they've been willing to haggle. There's also an old microcomputer museum in the back with some treasures that aren't for sale. Check it out.
SFU used to have science & tech equipment auctions once in a while. UBC might also.
Re:Active Surplus in Toronto! (Score:4, Informative)
You're completely right about just going in there to browse, rummage, and scour their bins - it's my favourite store in Toronto for that very reason; you never know what you're going to find. Last time I was there, I came out with a massager and a squeaky rubber duck..
For electronic components (transistors, ICs, etc) though, they're not much good.
Re:Active Surplus in Toronto! (Score:2)
- Ed.
Ettiquette for Active Surplus in Toronto (Score:5, Informative)
I have been going there for over thirty years and I've noted a few things that people new to the store should be aware of to make their experience a positive one:
- Go there often - at least once a month. Make sure the guys behind the counter know your face by asking not stupid questions. A "not stupid" question is "Where can I find geared motors?", not "what does a resistor do?". They don't expect their customers to know everything, but there is a certain basic level of knowledge and intelligence expected before somebody can walk in the doors.
- As part of the previous point, accept that everything there is "ASIS" unless they tell you otherwise. Asking what "ASIS" means will get an explanation geared for somebody with an IQ less than 50 that is delivered at a LOUD volume with questions afterward to make sure you understand what you have been told. Nothing pisses them off more than somebody bringing back an old cassette drive transport, demanding their money back because a pinion gear is missing inside it. They'll generally let (and help) you test stuff if it's reasonable to do and there isn't a huge lineup at the counter.
- Don't ask complex questions between 11:30 AM and 2:00 PM. A "complex" question is anything that requires an answer longer than "Aisle 2". This is their busiest time and if they're answering your questions they're not taking in money and that pisses them off.
- If you're buying something and you have people behind you, have your money/cards ready. Watching you fumble with your wallet pisses them off.
- If you are looking for something and they don't seem to have it, ask when they'll have it in. There's always a good chance that it's upstairs or they're expecting a shipment sometime in the future.
- Despite what they tell you, they're always getting in new stock. If you see something you like, but the only ones they have are incomplete or apparently damaged DON'T BUY IT! - they'll probably have more in stock in a few weeks or they'll pull more down from upstairs when the current stock is sold.
- Learn Polish, Ukrainian or Russian. At the very least it's entertaining to listen to what they think about their customers (I caught them saying that they wished a certain customer, who was no better than a misbegotten dog (literal Ukrainian translation), and all their descendents would be hit by a bright bolt of lighting. This is a mighty powerful curse.)
The simple rule is, don't piss them off.myke
Re:Active Surplus in Toronto! (Score:5, Informative)
I'm working on my 2nd year ENGSCI design project (as a U of T engineering student) and have been going to Active and nearby Supremetronic a few times a day for the past week
Active has an excellent assortment of odd motors (stepper/AC/DC/etc), keypads, odd electronic components scavaged from old stereos and computers, and they have all kinds of cheap, odd sized pieces of plastic. It's the kind of place that an electronics hobbiest can just walk into, wander around and be inspired by
Re:Active Surplus in Toronto! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Active Surplus in Toronto! (Score:3, Funny)
That includes a giant ape [activesurplus.com]! And no, I'm not making this up. =)
Also Above All at Bloor and Bathurst (Score:3, Informative)
- Ed.
Re:Also Above All at Bloor and Bathurst (Score:3, Informative)
A big reason to like them is that they are one of the only places that stocks Mac parts. The suppply is a bit variable, but every now and then they'll have shelves full of Mac Pluses for $10 or bins full of Mac parts.
Re:Active Surplus in Toronto! (Score:2)
I wish there was something like that here
Re:Active Surplus in Toronto! (Score:2)
Re:Active Surplus in Toronto! (Score:3, Informative)
In the early 90s an aquaintance told me that Active started out in the 70s buying old computers in order to recuperate the gold plating from Connectors, Components, PC boards.
Some of the neat things that I actually remember buying from t
In Austin TX (Score:2, Informative)
AxMan (Score:4, Informative)
They are the first place I look for mechanical or electronic parts, speaker wire, or just to browse through bizarre military surplus.
If they don't know what something is, they'll just make something up and sell it off cheap. A very fun surplus store. I strongly reccomend it if you are in the area.
Re:AxMan (Score:2, Informative)
Re:AxMan (Score:2)
Good stuff, sense of humor.
Re:AxMan Surplus- best job ever! (Score:5, Informative)
Alas, the Bloomington store is no more - I went there recently and there was just a hole in the ground. I guess my evil Teddy Ruxpin automaton finally took over the store, drilled a hole in space-time and destroyed it.
You can see some of my (admittedly crummy :) handiwork at the St. Paul or Fridley store - just look for the display with the dozen car speakers attached to a metal screen.
The nice thing about Ax-man surplus is that you can find other things there too; marbles, wooden blocks, plastic bits, nuts and bolts, baby doll heads, stepper motors, flat files, chrome trash cans, prom dresses, tons of laboratory glassware, aluminum stock, rollerblade wheels, nylon washers and blocks, remote control car starters, 500 gallon tanks, and really nice employees who are always full of suggestions for your project/halloween costume/plans for world domination.
I worked there for 2 plus years, and have yet to have a job that challenged my brain and body like Ax-man. It's like a museum where the gift shop is all around you. If you are in the cities, it's a must see! Say hi to David and Bill :)
Mendelson's Electronic Surplus, Dayton OH (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Mendelson's Electronic Surplus, Dayton OH (Score:5, Informative)
And you are so right. I love that place. I had heard about it, and just was able to go there last Saturday. Great fun!! everything from restaraunt equipment to the individual electronic components I needed (and plenty of stuff that I didn't know I needed until I was there)
Re:Mendelson's Electronic Surplus, Dayton OH (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Mendelson's Electronic Surplus, Dayton OH (Score:4, Interesting)
The place is amazing... the electrical / electronics floor is probably about 2 acres (seriously). Electrolytic capacitors the size of a trash can... all sorts of very cool stuff (and lots of total junk also).
Mendelson's (Score:2)
Soviet Surplus??? (Score:4, Funny)
1) Check "Post Anonymously"
2) Click "Submit"
Re:Soviet Surplus??? (Score:3, Funny)
While I'm sure that our competitor offers a fine product, you will find our American Foreign Aid product to be superior. It is no accident that nine out of ten countries choose American Foreign Aid.
America is looking for a motivated career-oriented partner to oppose the rising Shiite power in Iran and to prevent their kidnapping of our embassy personell again. Send in your application and I'm sure we can work something out.
halted specialties (Score:3, Informative)
Re:halted specialties (Score:2, Funny)
There's nothing I hate worse than getting stuck in the checkout line behind an old lady who's buying a few hundred assorted subminiature surface mount resistors. The clerk usually wastes a bunch of time trying to pick each one up with tweezers to attempt a barcode scan. This never works, so each one has to go under the microscope while he manually keys in the UPC. One time, the guy sneezed and scattered most
Surplus is excellent (Score:5, Informative)
Around where I live the state holds an auction every week. You can get some great hardware if you're a geek there. Older AIX mainframes, SPARC-III's, etc.
I bought 12 Pentium-2's there for $50 total (no monitors). Also bought a bunch of Cisco 2501s on the cheap there as well (I think they went for 1/pop, no one else bid on them).
Basic procedure was:
Show up, see equipment, submit a sealed bid, get contacted within a day, go pay, go pick up your hardware.
If you live in a state capitol here in the US of A, check to see if they have auctions. If they do, go there, greatest thing next to sliced bread.
Re:Surplus is excellent (Score:2)
Re:Surplus is excellent (Score:3, Informative)
AIX has not and shall probably never run on a mainframe. They DO call the racks that hold the servers frames. But then I did know what you meant!
Science junk and more... (Score:5, Informative)
I have been to the Chicago store and wandered around for a good couple of hours. I need to get to the smaller store near Fermilab (although I have heard it is not as big)
Re:Science junk and more... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Science junk and more... (Score:3, Funny)
You don't say?
Re:Science junk and more... (Score:2)
Vetco in Bellevue, WA (Score:5, Informative)
In fact, Vetco [vetcoelectronics.com] is about the only decent electronic-component reseller of any kind around here, now that Future-Active Electronics [activestores.com] has wisely decided that only Canadians are interested in buying electronic parts.
The last time I was in Vetco, they were planning to expand their overall component inventory greatly to pick up some of the slack from the former Active Electronics store just up the road. Go buy some stuff from them now so they don't vanish too!
In Seattle, Washington (Score:2, Informative)
They have literally thousands of computers of all types..from old Commodores to 1.5 GHz machines, all at 40% or less of retail price. I got the Dell Inspiron 8100 that I am using right now for a mere $800, and this was when 8100s were top of the line. Believe me, they're niiiice.
I wonder... (Score:2, Funny)
use and abuse radioshack (Score:5, Interesting)
99, 49 and 0 cents - almost what radioshack merchandise is worth
Dumpsters (Score:2, Interesting)
Its free.
Re:Dumpsters (Score:2)
Re:Dumpsters (Score:2)
Boeing Surplus (Score:5, Informative)
You can get anything from an outdated computer to slightly used machine tools to airline seats to chunks of titanium.
http://www.boeing.com/assocproducts/surplus/ret
Halted (Score:5, Informative)
I always check there first when I need a new computer power supply or keyboard, or if I want a card that doesn't need to be the newest. I dunno if it'd be worth it if I had to go through mail-order tho.
Surplus City in Albuquerque (Score:3, Insightful)
Addy for the interested is:
10805 Central Ave NE,
Albuquerque, NM
87123-2727
There's another surplus store a few doors down that I haven't been in yet (hey, stop throwing things at me), but seems to be better kept up. Judging from experience in now closed surplus places, well kept-up means that their prices are higher and they have less interesting stuff.
Boeing Surplus in Kent, WA (Score:2, Informative)
MSU Salvage (Score:3, Interesting)
I've seen everything from (lots of ) lab equipment, to a PDP-11, to the old clock from the campus belltower, to whole pallets of workstations for sale there over the years.
I still try to swing by there a couple of times a year, to see if there is anything really really cool lying around.
While it may be a long trip for many people, check with large schools near you to see if they have public sales of stuff that was lying around.
Might not be "geeky" enough... (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm really geeked really, because I picked up in a 1946 M44 Soviet rifle last weekend. Unissued... never been fired. The weapon's been around for 56 years wrapped up in paper and passed around but never actually handled, cleaned, and fired. I'm geeked... really geeked. I've taken it apart a few times, cleaned greasy goop out of it for about 6 hours, and just totally enjoyed the whole process. I'm hoping this weekend, weather permitting, I'll get to take it out and finally test the thing out.
I tell ya what... I got that thing home, tore the wax paper protection and twine off it, then the underlying paper wrap, rubbed a cloth over it to get some extra grease off and was amazed. Here is an unfired Soviet weapon with a hammer and sicle on it. It's almost like finding a PDP-11 at a gargage sale to me... that had never been used. Granted, an unused PDP-11 doesn't exist; but it's almost that "neat" to me. Fifty six years sitting in a storage bin and I'll be the first human being to fire it.. how neat and geeky is that?
I can pull it apart and inspect the workmanship that went into it so long ago. The engineering that has gone into making it over the yers before it's actual production... the circumstances that lead to it's creation and it's reason for being stuck in a bin for so long. Totally geeky to me.
Granted, I'm going to use it to punch holes in inatimate objects rather than try and make a Beowulf cluster out of them... but it's still a huge amount of fun.
Re:Might not be "geeky" enough... (Score:2)
Re:Might not be "geeky" enough... (Score:3, Insightful)
And may I ask why you didn't sell it to a collector, museum, or otherwise for probably a heck of a lot more money than you paid for it? Assuming it was at some cheap sale, you might have picked it up for a couple hundred bucks or less? I would imagine you could sell that to some enthusiast who is more interested in having an artifact from that era than just looking at it and shooting it for several thousand at least. If I ran across something like that I would have never opened it until I could find its re
Wacky Willy's, Portland Oregon (Score:2)
I can't begin to describe the incredibly varied assortment of things they sell -- from bins of plastic dolls heads to old vaxen to lab glass. They host some really cool events [portlandmercury.com] too.
Great Surplus stores (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Great Surplus stores (Score:2, Interesting)
San Diego and El Cajon (Score:2)
Then there's Murphy's in El Cajon. Want the voice hardware used in talking coke machines, or a gas cap with a built in mechanical fuel guage?
There used to be another one down the street from Murphy's that was more electronics oriented, but I don't recall the name, and I'm not sure it's still there. I try to make a pilgrimage to one or
Minnesota (Score:2, Informative)
I.Goldberg in Philadelphia (Score:2)
Kitchener, Ontario, Canada (Score:5, Informative)
KW Surplus
666 Victoria St.
Awesome selection of, well, surplus stuff. Computers, electronics, audio, hardware, all sorts of... stuff.
Sayal Electronics
Philip St.
Some old used telco and other hard to find test equipment. Mostly overpriced. All sorts of regular electronics, though, and really cheap.
Horizon Electronics.
Victoria St.
Used to have piles of strange electronics parts. Now mostly computers, but electronics may still be there (ask the salesguy).
Princess Auto
Victoria St.
All sorts of hardware and a selection of strange electronic stuff. They have CC terminals for sale for some reason...
Overall, this is a really strange thread. It seems like we're just asking for trolls...
WeirdStuff (Score:2, Interesting)
Weird Stuff and more! (Score:2)
Not far away at Lawrence and Central (also near the Sunnyvale Fry's) is HSC Electronic Supply [halted.com]. Some old stuff, some new stuff, and if it's electronic they probably have it. You can occasionally get a
The Black Hole (Score:2, Informative)
http://www.wps.com/about-WPS/personal/blac
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/3.04/e
and LANL itself has a great surplus sale once a month on the third thursday, or it was at least when I worked there.
Hate to say this, but.... (Score:2)
Gone are the days of walking thru musty warehouses full of neat stuff you can take home for a song.
After all, this is 2003, and virtual rummaging from the comfort of home is all the rage.
you need to get some rest (Score:3, Insightful)
What makes you think eBay has a corner on the big-brother market. If you fear black helicopters, you're not safe
College surplus (Score:2, Informative)
Some prices are good, but other prices are ridiculous. I picked up an old HP Netserver this afternoon for $30, and they are currently selling on eBay for a few hundred dollars. By the same token, they had SGI O2's for $500 which can be had cheaper from other places. If you were big
Favorite things spotted at skycraft (Score:3, Informative)
- capacitors the size of pint glasses
- a wall of "building block" chips, like you'd play with in 1000-level electronics classes.. at really cheap rates
- mini-switches by the handful
- random keypads, with or without protruding cable
- a wall of magnets, ranging from magnetized-paperclip strength to "do not operate near pacemakers"
- Oscilloscopes clearly designed for use by squid or other multi-tentacled beasts
and racks and racks of things which, to this day, I don't think I could identify. My brother and I spent hours there dreaming up the things we wanted to build. Which, I suppose, is the sign of a good geek.
Anyone know of a place like this in the DC area?
Re-PC in Tukwila WA (Score:3, Insightful)
Northern California (Score:4, Informative)
University Surplus (Score:3, Insightful)
I've bought at least 500 bucks a crap fromt eh in teh alst two years: 3 Powermacs, 1 laptop, 2 monitors, 2 hubs and an SGI Multilink adpater (for $10 bucks that I sold on eBay for $300).
I've heard similar stories about UCLA, Oregon State and Texas A Basically, the universities strongest curiculae will have surplus from that, and for the UofU it's medical and computers.
Re:University Surplus (Score:2)
In Chicago... (Score:2)
Still looking for the equivalent here in San Francisco...
The Black Hole (Score:3, Informative)
The Black Whole [pupman.com] near Los Alamos, NM is quite a site. Most of the surplus stuff is from the nearby national lab. The place has been there maybe 40 years and is filled with crazy nuclear related stuff. Ed Groethus, the guy that owns the place seems to be very fond of much of his junk, so it can be tricky to get him to part with the good stuff.
Everyone calls the place "The Black Hole", but I think the real name is something more boring like "Los Alamos Salvage". It's definitely worth the trip if you're within 500 miles and are mesmerized by bits of shiny metal.
jeff
Re:The Black Hole (Score:2, Insightful)
i used to work there [eecue.com] sombody else mentioned UCLA... i'll have to check that out. there used to be a place in southern california (artesia) that is no longer in existence. anybody know of any good socal places? -eek
skycraft, at I-4 and 426 (Score:3, Informative)
Collins Surplus in Cedar Rapids IA (Score:2, Informative)
Skycraft Kicks Ass (Score:3, Informative)
I found many things there that I haven't been able to find anywhere since. RF transistors, various ICs, and even neat little LCD displays (50 cents each!) that I used in a couple MP3-player projects (via parallel port)...
I so miss that place. The poor guy at the Kissimmee Radio Shack who told me about that place doesn't understand the amount of business he lost from me
Atlanta, GA (Score:2)
Down there a Radio Shack employee pointed me to Skycraft (I was looking for RF transistors), and I'd been going there weekly ever since. Now that I'm in Georgia, I'm desparately seeking a similar store...
Anyone?
An Electricul Surplus in Denver, CO (Score:2)
Boeing Surplus - Tukwilla, Washington (Score:2)
University of Waterloo (Score:2)
Well, it used to be a closely-guarded secret, but the secret's out now, so I don't care anymore. They have surplus sales on the first wednesday of every month. GOOD stuff, too! The last time I was there, there was a HUGE non-working laser for sale, make an offer, only qualified offers accepted(ie: you could reasonably hope to fix the damn thing - the prof offering it didn't want it sitting as a curious
Unclaimed Baggage (Score:4, Interesting)
While not necessarily Surplus, they do normally have alot of strange stuff turn up (including a puppet/costume used to make the movie Labyrinth). They normally have thousands of CD's, tons of clothing, lots and lots of camera equipment, camping stuff, random computer stuff (got a IBM3725 terminal there for $5 couple years back, and a 24port cabletron management switch for $90) and other junk. I usually go by there a couple times a year just to see what turns up.
TM
Princess Auto (Score:2)
Also, from what I can remember, Ribtor Surplus [ribtor.com] in Calgary is a fantastic shop. I picked up an old WWI-vintage helmet just for kicks but they have much more. More like a Princess Auto for non
Bay Area & WA State (Puget Sound) Listings (Score:3, Informative)
Enjoy!
In NYC? Buy mine now. Cheap. (Score:3, Interesting)
Of the once mighty twenty or so, only Industrial Plastics, which isn't really surplus, is left. Down on Chambers ( few blocks south) there used to be Alexander's Hardware, largest, cheapest, and sometimes best of them all for mech gear.
Tell ya, though, I'm selling off everything I ever bought at those places this very month, from steppers to 1/4 horsepower to gears, to screws and bolts, to tiny Japanese demon faces. Anybody want to buy the stock of an entire prototyping lab cheap better contact me now. The drill press is already spoken for, as are the three milk crates of SCSI and monitor cables, the bags of glass tubes, the fine rod stock,
The times, they are a changin.
Rustin
Building 19 (Boston) (Score:3, Funny)
Forget ELI in Cambridge (Score:3, Informative)
London (Score:3, Informative)
History of Active Surplus and Toronto computers... (Score:5, Interesting)
Freddie always (and still does) specialized in surplus junk, but the store used to be divided half-and-half with a double-door sized entranceway between them. One half, resistors, capacitors, all neatly sorted in cardboard bins (as they are today), and random electronic type junk. The other half, power tools, sheetmetal stuff, mechanical junk of all sorts. Nowadays it's mostly resistors, caps, discreet parts, and bizarre job lots of strange old electronic throwaways. You think it's interesting now? Try a quarter century ago!
Anyways, along with Freddie, there was Jackson, who I only knew as such (my Dad would know his full name, I was like 5-10 yrs old), who had a huge shop on McCaul St, a bit bigger than the electronics side of Freddies, but more oriented to complete bits of electronic junk, rather than discreet parts. He closed down late 80's if I recall, and I think he's somewhere in Vancouver now.
Electronics surplus wasn't the only game in Toronto in the 70's though. My Dad was one of the first people to bring in Apple ][+ clone motherboards, with an outfit called Aftek, which was on Queen more towards the Bathurst side. Nazir, the character behind Aftek, had his guys physically trace an Apple motherboard, with pencil and tracing paper, and with parts from Active Surplus, Dad and I soldered the chip sockets and resistors by hand in our basement.
I was still in the single digits at the time, and even before that, at 4 1/2, we had built a ZX81 kit which was bought from Active Electronics (not Active Surplus), about 10 doors east of Freddies.
That whole stretch of Queen was the introduction of personal computers to Toronto, and probably in a large way, to Canada. From East to West, Active Electronics, "Joe", who ran Perfect Electronics (I think it was called that... it's still there, but it's now a PC white-box and accessory shop), Active Surplus, albeit slightly changed but with the same guys behind the counter, Aftek, long gone although Nazir is still a friend of the family and still in computers, and then "Albert's", or "Supremetronics". He was at the corner of Spadina and Queen, and stuck it out for the longest time, I think he was nearly 70 when he closed up shop a few years ago.
I'm not 100% sure of the accuracy of all this... I was so young it's all blurry memories and urban legends to me now.
There's no more hand-soldering of basement-etched cloned motherboards, but that stretch of Queen St., and a bunch of guys who *loved* collecting junk (you should see my Dad's garage and basement!), and had a real passion for these "new computer things", introduced a big city to a big industry.
They were the pioneers of gadgetry in Toronto, and a big bunch of idols and friends in my childhood.
Wierd Stuff warning label (Score:3, Interesting)
DoD Surplus Sales (Score:5, Informative)
Cool!!! (Score:3, Funny)
I'm really glad that they have FSC 8810 [dla.mil] - I always wanted to buy an army surplus cow!!!
Seriously, though, it is a really good site. I just wish I could save enough pennies to buy something in the FSC 1810 catagory.
more than electronics (Score:4, Interesting)
here's some larger ones with online presence:
http://www.majorsurplusnsurvival.com/
check this one out, some amazing stuff
http://www.colemans.com/
Now this isn't a surplus place, but it's pretty spiffy. Catalog that carries Xtreme low tech but functional devices, thing geek stuff for the amish, too cool, check it out
http://www.lehmans.com/
There used to be and might still exist an atlanta area electronics and stuff surplus stores called "Peachtree Salvage", they used to have several stores, I looked on google but didn't find a link that looked good, and it's been a few years since I have been to one,or atlanta for that matter, but if they still exist they had tons of odd stuff
American Science & Surplus in Chicago! (Score:3)
I once found a couple 12VDC fans there for like $4, then went next door to radio shack and found the SAME FANS for $12. Can't go wrong with that!
Ottawa, ON (Score:5, Interesting)
Not even in the same league as Active Surplus in Toronto, but not too shabby either. Lots of neat old corperate stuff, cheap U racks, steppers, power supplies, etc.
C&H Sales, Pasadena (Score:3, Informative)
They're still around -- http://aaaim.com/CandH/
I live a ways away now, so I haven't been for a long time. But back when we were assembling computers by hand (S100 type stuff, and tricking out our TRS-80s), you could get great stuff there. Then in college, when I needed stepper motors, they were there for me.
Re:Hmm ... interesting surplus items (Score:4, Funny)
You'll only get one from a geek who gets married. Sometimes not even then. Not Surplus
* Commodore 64s
Make nice web servers [www.hut.fi]. Not surplus.
* Brain Transplants
There could never be enough to provide governments with brains - sorry. Not surplus.
* Bending Unit
Hey, my unit "bends", and the wife likes it that way. Most definately not surplus.
* Condoms
Well, maybe some of the geeks around here have those.
* Beer
???? Surplus beer? Never. I'm Canadian.
* Slashdot Coders
OK. Slashdot "Speel Chekers", duplicate catchers and editors who catch dupes are needed, not more
coders - I'll give you that one. But I doubt they're very interesting, so maybe not.
* Windows NT 3.5.1 Licenses
There was, as far as I'm concerned, a surplus once production of those things went above zero units. Interesting? Nope.
Hmmmm - 1 for 8. You need to improve big time, bud.
Soko
Re:Hmm ... interesting surplus items (Score:2)
Re:Hmm ... interesting surplus items (Score:2)
Naw, I have a girlfriend. I was just suggesting things that other slashdot readers might be interested in.
I don't think there's a surplus on Hot Grits and Natalie Portman
Re:Umm.. (Score:2)
The really cool stuff will always be a rare find on ebay. An auction site running on winshit servers may have some computer junk, The prices are too high, and the selection isn't as great as people seem to think it is. Even though there will always be a motherboard or 100 on eBay, a true gem is a rare find. The joy of a salvage store is the joy of finding something rare, unique, and cool for a price so low it seems criminal. Ebay appeals to the
Re:Netherlands???? (Score:3, Funny)
This is no time for a philosophical discussion! We're talking surplus stores here....