>never been to a surplus store as i mostly buy online
>decide to go check one out maybe ill find some pouches for my magazines
>go in, two old geezers behind a counter mean mugging me (There was another person already there and they were doing the same to him)
>Ask a question to break the ice "Do you have any magazine pouches?" Geezers loosen up a bit
>"Yeah we should just look in this section and you should find some"
> Don't find the pouches I was looking for (AK pouches) Find mosin pouches instead and some mosin oil bottles and holsters
> old geezer asks what holster i was looking for, told him i was looking for a romanian tokarev holster
>he picks one out of the pile, has $50 price tag with string attached
>Geezer says "here's one, don't mind the price" as he walks back behind the counter
>Kind of a weird thing to say but okay, maybe the price tag is not the actual price?

Here is what i got: 4 mosin pouches, romanian tokarev holster, 2 mosin oil bottles; Mind you these were not in NOS immaculate condition, everything was pretty worn with torn seems, dented bottles etc.

>Go to check out
>Geezer tallies everything up
>"That'll be $115.42 cents."
>"I left my card in the car let me go grab it"
>Get in my car and leave

Are all surplus stores this shitty or did i have a bad experience? How are 4 mosin pouches, which go for $5 a piece all day and a shitty tokarev holster and 2 mosin oil bottles tally up to $115?

What are your surplus store stories or fudd IKNOWWHATIGOT stories?

>two old geezers behind a counter mean mugging me
>Ask a question to break the ice
>"here's one, don't mind the price"
>"I left my card in the car let me go grab it"
>Get in my car and leave
Why are americans so insufferable? Is this rage bait?

Only good surplus is what comes through online stores now on occassion. Theres no longer literal mountains of milsurp even UCP isnt dirt cheap anymore

>>63926975
What kind of passive aggressive bitch behavior is this? Not surp but an FFL virgin tried selling me a two pistol range bag for $80, I just looked him dead in the eyes and told him they were $20 bucks on amazon and left with my AR.

>>63926017 (OP)
>$50 price tag
Go find one for less. Good luck.
>>63926975
>Why are americans so insufferable?
Mainly, there's one kind of folks, just folks, as Aticus Finch would say. I suspect there are assholes at your job, too. Or neighborhood, or market. Where ever you go, there they are.

>>63926982
>even UCP isnt dirt cheap anymore
Fortunately, I caught that wave. And the tail end of A.L.I.C.E. There will.be a day when undyed UCP is as cherished as an unmolested Suzuki Samurai.

>>63926017 (OP)
The amount of surplus is nearly fixed. It could not last forever. Toys many people want rise in price. because toy collecting is passion however otherwise useless.

surplus stores were the shit back in the 90s.

>>63926017 (OP)
yeah most of them are really shitty. Ratty ass used rucksacks go for $100 because they're made with non-UCP fabrics, and the UCP ones still go for $80 despite being tattered and stained. The only things you might be able to get for very cheap are supplementary uniform items like hats and gloves. Most other things are easier to get on ebay or fb marketplace

>>63926017 (OP)
yeah, the era of cheap and decent is long over

>>63926017 (OP)
Surplus stores were good back in the day because of the end of the Cold War. The military constantly upgraded equipment and gear then after the Cold War, all that shit got offloaded into the civilian market, so it was actual military surplus.

Nowadays, old gear just isn't as plentiful. And frankly it's not even that good. In the 90's and 2000's, your options for military gear on the civilian market was standard issue surplus or mall ninja shit. Nowadays, the 3rd party market is good enough that surplus isn't all that useful unless you're looking for a specific collector's items.

>>63926017 (OP)
Online shopping and the ability to immediately price items killed surplus stores.

Just got a load of clearance stuff off sportsmanguide
Get good at shopping around

>>63929747
This. Physical stores are for finding what you need to buy elsewhere. Only exception is when they have a better price then if you were to go thru an ffl.

>>63927711
>Surplus stores were good back in the day because of the end of the Cold War. The military constantly upgraded equipment and gear then after the Cold War, all that shit got offloaded into the civilian market, so it was actual military surplus.
>Nowadays, old gear just isn't as plentiful. And frankly it's not even that good. In the 90's and 2000's, your options for military gear on the civilian market was standard issue surplus or mall ninja shit. Nowadays, the 3rd party market is good enough that surplus isn't all that useful unless you're looking for a specific collector's items.
Double dubs of double-correctness. The old surp that gets reminisced over was the product of an extremely specific and unique era of history, not a regular fact of life. It wasn't even merely the end of some specific era of war, it was that a LOT of people very genuinely bought into the whole "END OF HISTORY!" meme and that there'd be no more significant wars ever (just rando turdie shit) and we'd secured peace in our time etc etc etc. And politicians rushed to unload for whatever they could get to fund other pet projects, or to fund themselves depending on the country. Whereas in the old days war material might get saved for a long time in case of a new war breaking out a few years later. Post-CW draw down sort of situation won't happen again in our lifetimes if ever.

And your second point is correct too, though I think that's more of a regular cycle: government does stuff very well initially creating demand out of nothing, then slow demand increases on civilian side and more dynamic market begins responding, eventually civvie market catches up and surpasses government procurement and you end up with COTS being every bit as good outside of rare niche cases which are very expensive anyway.

>tfw remember flecktarn jackets for the equivalent of 5 dollars, cheaper than even chink bazaar clothes
>every single surplus store had piles and piles of these
>every alt hoe wore one
I should've bought an entire warehouse of flecktarns.

>>63926017 (OP)
They have to pay rent, salaries, utilities, it's almost always going to cost more going to a store. That being said surplus stores, flea markets, antique shows, the one who knows more always wins. Most of the stuff will be overpriced and uninteresting, but if you recognize what something is and the going rate you can usually find deals because they won't always know.

>>63927549
>the era of cheap and decent is long over
It's only over because the dollar is SHIT. The value is still in the surplus, the dollar just lost its buying power. Not odd I have to explain that to kids that will pay $17 at McDonald's and only get a shitty combo and they think thats a deal.

Numrich sells pouches, oiler and kits, stripper clips for $12 a pop in lots
Sarco, Apex, Century Arms, Liberty Tree, etc may have even better.

You should haggle and shit, but Boomers need to learn simple manners to even be worthy of that interaction.

>>63926017 (OP)
Many are overpriced shitholes, but there are some that are still great. Used to live in Toledo Ohio (massive shithole) but there's a shop up there called Woodville Surplus that always had great deals on actual surplus gear and ammo. Even decent deals on MRE's. The guys behind the gun counter were even friendly and helpful

>>63926017 (OP)
Lel the old man selling NRA hats looks like junior soprano

most mom and pop surplus/gun stores suck ass because they own their building so they basically pay no money stay in business. they have zero drive to become better businesses and are usually just a thing the retired owner does to stay busy.

Find better surplus stores bro.

>>63926017 (OP)
Collectors Firearms (Austin/Houston) is an incredible place. I don't give a shit if I'm paying an extra 20%. It's like visiting a museum where you can buy the displays.

I think the Houston branch is the biggest gun store in the state by square footage. And you can find ANYTHING. You want a Bolivian mauser? They got one. You want a obscure civil war cavalry pistol? They got one. You want a French hussars helmet from the Napoleonic wars? Yep, row 5 with the swords.

>>63933310
Simpsons Ltd is another good one. shipping prices are trash tho.

>>63932547
IIRC Sarco actually has a walk-in store. Still need to get there one day but it's a drive to say the least.

>>63927372
This. My dad would take me to Col. Bubbie's in Galveston.
https://youtu.be/GUKEGQEES9g

Seems like there are several good stores still active in Texas. For my North Georgia/Southeastern Tennessee anons, The History Store in Fort O was pretty good the few times I've been in there. Picked up pic rel for $20 back at the tail-end of 2020. Gotten good use out of her in the winters since.