UNCLE SAM'S SURPLUS SALES

Enlarge Image Image Gallery

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

My husband and I have run a successful Army surplus business for more than 20 years. But apparently many people aren't aware of the bargains that can be had when Uncle Sam disposes of unwanted or "unfit for military use" items . . and as far as we're concerned, such folks don't know what they're missing!

The truth is that countless articles manufactured to military specifications can be bought at government auctions and—sometimes with the help of a little ingenuity—adapted to civilian use. And these sales aren't limited to military equipment, either. After all, a plethora of government offices generate great piles of leftover office furniture and machines, paper, ink, and the like. Hospitals unload beds, sheets, stethoscopes, and bandages. And motor pools dispose of old, battered, overused vehicles varying in size and shape from motorcycles to halftrack tanks. (One local purchaser I know of had to buy a field near Fort Lewis, Washington just to store the halftracks he bought.)

My mate and I have purchased everything from thousands of scratch pads (at scrap paper prices) to an old army flatbed truck for $59.95 (it needed only a new battery to be serviceable). We've also acquired clothing of many descriptions, calculators, sleeping bags, watches, pocketknives, and numerous household furnishings. We've even bought scrap cotton, then cut it up and sold it—for a profit—as wiping rags.

Of course, our primary aim is to purchase large quantities of goods, repair them if necessary, and then sell them—at a good markup—to other people. You, on the other hand, may simply want to attend sales to pick up a few items for yourself, but in case you later become interested in starting your own bootstrap enterprise, here—based on our experience—is how to do it.

SELLING SPACE

First off, you'll need to locate a large building such as a garage, a barn, or the back of a warehouse. This store doesn't have to be attractive, nor does it have to be on a busy street . . . because folks who enjoy browsing through Army surplus stores will drive miles to dig through items, and they don't tend to care much about the aesthetics of the shop.

My husband and I built our display tables by attaching flat doors (purchased, naturally, at a government sale . . . for 50¢ each) to sawhorses made from 2 X 4 pieces of lumber. We covered the walls of our store with velvet drapes (formerly an Army base's theater curtains), which we bought for $33.33. Our shelving was easily fabricated from boards and building blocks or bricks. And clothing bins were constructed from wooden boxes . . . tilted to allow customers to dig easily through the stacks.

Along with a simple storefront, someone interested in getting into the surplus bus iness should have a minimum of about $2,000 to purchase stock, a truck or trailer, a large storage area under cover, a sewing machine, a small woodworking shop, and a painting area (not to mention enough cash to live on until the store is opened).

The repair equipment is necessary because, in order to make the most profit from a surplus business, you must be able (and willing!) to fix up your merchandise. As you've probably guessed, many surplus goods sold by the government have been damaged. (Uncle Sam won't repair items if it's more costly to do so than it would be to sell them outright and get new supplies.) But since the surplus started out as the very best equipment the government could buy—often manufactured to strict specifications—even the items that need some work are still basically of a high quality.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print