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#127237 - 03/13/08 07:47 PM Government Auctions and Wholesale
MichaelJ Offline
Member

Registered: 08/30/04
Posts: 114
I am looking into emergency blankets. Emergency Essentials has some at ~$13 each or $10 if you buy 12 or more. My local surplus store carries “genuine” Army blankets for $24. Then I found a government auction site that has lots of blankets (and other stuff) up for auction. The smallest lot I’ve found so far is 16 blankets with an opening bid of $50. I figure even if it goes up to $100, that’s still only $6.25 each.

My question is:

Has anyone here ever bought government surplus on auction?

If I end up with 50 wool blankets, are there people here who
would like to share in the bounty?

Is it even appropriate to talk about buying and selling here?

If it’s not, I’m sorry for mentioning it.

If it is, perhaps we could get a group together to order larger (wholesale) quantities of various goods and share the savings.

I’m thinking something like a co-op for emergency preparedness stuff.

Any thoughts?


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#127238 - 03/13/08 08:12 PM Re: Government Auctions and Wholesale [Re: MichaelJ]
dweste Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 02/16/08
Posts: 2463
Loc: Central California
Logistics seem daunting, otherwise I am interested.

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#127240 - 03/13/08 08:15 PM Re: Government Auctions and Wholesale [Re: dweste]
Dan_McI Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 12/10/07
Posts: 844
Loc: NYC
If there were a number of people in a general area, then a big shared order might make sense. But shipping costs may cut into the savings if you try to do it with people that are spread out.

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#127242 - 03/13/08 08:20 PM Re: Government Auctions and Wholesale [Re: MichaelJ]
Blast Offline
INTERCEPTOR
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 07/15/02
Posts: 3760
Loc: TX
I suspect shipping charges will limit the deal to ETS members living near you. frown

Maybe you could sell the extra blankets to a local army surplus store or donate them to shelter (human or animal) for a tax write-off (or good karma). How about the local Boy Scout troops, historical reenactors, emergency responders or search & rescue teams? Maybe they'd be interested in buying cheap wool blankets? Another possiblity might be a local consignment shop.

-Blast
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#127250 - 03/13/08 10:55 PM Re: Government Auctions and Wholesale [Re: Blast]
MoBOB Offline
Veteran

Registered: 09/17/07
Posts: 1219
Loc: here
Check the Gov't auction rules. You may have to go and pick them up, and it may not be close.
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"Its not a matter of being ready as it is being prepared" -- B. E. J. Taylor

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#127285 - 03/14/08 12:37 PM Re: Government Auctions and Wholesale [Re: MoBOB]
MichaelJ Offline
Member

Registered: 08/30/04
Posts: 114
Sure, sorry I didn't post the links with the original message.

http://www.govliquidation.com/

http://www.publicsurplus.com/

http://www.liquidation.com/

There are also government sellers on Ebay. The user names I know are:

ga-surplus
kysurplus
oregontrail2000
pastatesurplus
texasstatesurplus
washington-state-surplus

Most of what I've found on Ebay is unclaimed or seized fright. There is also some of the airport confiscations.

Thanks for the feedback.
Michael

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#127298 - 03/14/08 03:43 PM Re: Government Auctions and Wholesale [Re: ]
MichaelJ Offline
Member

Registered: 08/30/04
Posts: 114
The Ebay surplus is where you can find lots of multitools (1-30) and SAK (10-75 of real and/or knock-offs). I've bid on a few but I really don't need 60 multitools. I have yet to win one of their auctions, but it seems like multitools end up going for around $15 each and SAKs go for under $10.
Happy bidding.
Michael

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#127338 - 03/14/08 08:15 PM Re: Government Auctions and Wholesale [Re: MichaelJ]
Susan Offline
Geezer

Registered: 01/21/04
Posts: 5163
Loc: W. WA
If you're really thinking of getting something like 50 of them, try to find out how much one weighs, then ask your local post office how much it would cost to ship to the farthestmost point in the U.S. from you. Be sure to include container weight.

That will give people here an idea how much the actual cost would be.

I've seen some of those 80% wool army blankets at military surplus stores, and they seem kind of thin/light. If I'm needing a blanket, I will need one with some meat on it. So to speak.

Sue

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#127342 - 03/14/08 08:26 PM Re: Government Auctions and Wholesale [Re: MichaelJ]
BrianTexas Offline
Ordinary Average Guy
Enthusiast

Registered: 04/26/06
Posts: 304
Loc: North Central Texas, USA
I'm usually too picky to order stuff like that over the internet. I want to see it and examine it. Once I like something, or if it's name brand (or product like a book/DVD), I will order it over the net. Guess I'm too old-fashioned tired
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Also known as BrianEagle. I just remembered my old password!

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