This article has been contributed by Lisa Bedford, TheSurvivalMom.
What would-be survivalist or prepper wouldn’t love to hunker down with a military-grade sleeping bag, tent, and sleeping pad?Add a pair of new combat boots, and you could survive just about anything!When you shop at the online auction site, Government Liquidators, you can stock up on the same supplies used by our armed forces.
Government Liquidators sells truckloads of goods that come directly from the Department of Defense. You’ll find batches of such survival essentials as latrine screens, field gear bags, video recorders, night vision goggles, and even your very own Army cargo truck. Most items are used, but I have come across brand new boots and plenty of unused miscellaneous supplies.
Karly Kepler represents this company and offers these tips for first-time users.
- Do a keyword search in plural form to get more results.
- Also search using the Find Items tab, which is the more advanced search setting.
- All bidding begins at $150, and the lots are sized accordingly. For example, there might be 18 backpacks in a lot and just 2 or 3 generators in another lot.
- Government Liquidation has an exclusive contract with the Department of Defense and gets shipments daily.
- Auctions are usually open for three days, some for as long as five.
- If you live near the auction site, it’s possible to make an appointment to inspect the items.
- Check back often if you don’t find what you’re looking for.
- Shipping is not included so you’ll need to arrange for that on your own.
- There’s a helpful video on the website under the Help tab.
I noticed that some product lots now include a video of the items for sale. Of course whenever you’re purchasing something online, it pays to remember the slogan, “buyer beware.†According to Karly, “On every lot detail page you will find more information about the condition of the item(s).â€
With the large lot sizes, you’ll have plenty to share, re-sell, or for equipping your bug-out location. These supplies could come in handy sooner than we might think.
you have to remember that a lot of people bid on these auctions and drive prices high.Many e-bay and smaller business buy there stuf here and break it down and sell the things individually to make more profit. You got to be carefull here because these people have been doing this for 30 years .Im not saying that you find a great deal but remember to check it the condition and the shipping prices , you would be shocked at some of the shipping prices for some items .
That’s definitely something to watch out for. The benefit to this company is that their turnover is huge with very short auction times. And yes, check out multiple shipping companies before finalizing your bid.
Just a word on GOVSURP purchases; A relative of mine works at the receiving port where she processes containers of returning military gear from overseas that is sold to Surplus Dealers & Army-Navy stores. She warned me that some of the gear is contaminated with all kinds of nasty stuff that could pose problems to the end user. Some have been sprayed with insecticide/fungicide that has been banned in the U.S. Although the gear may be in New/Unissued condition, it has a good chance that it was sprayed/fumigated while it was in TempStow. Plus there are some nasty biologicals that the gear was exposed to. I’ve bought ammo cans that had some funky critter remains inside. So police the gear well before using it. Just a heads up.
Kick ass link! Â Good info on where to get brass including 50BMG. Â I spent three hours on that site…….
I found that site a few years ago, but never actually followed through on any purchases. Last year I was looking to buy a few more ammo cans, (5.56, .50bmg, 7.62) but my local army surplus shop had just closed down along with the other surplus shop being out of ammo cans completely. So while I was going to do a job, I find two guys on the side of the road selling ammo cans out of the back of an old camouflaged army trailer attached to a truck. He had bought a whole lot of them, and had driven all the way to Missouri (from Southeastern Louisiana) to get them. He had decent prices, so I bought several for myself as well as some as christmas gifts for my family(even mom got one!). And speaking of ammo brass, they definitely have plenty to go around. I remember seeing 2700lbs. of 7.62 brass for sale, which just blew me away.
Bert Gummer, thanks for the heads up on that bit of info. Not something that one might think about.
As a common courtesy, please link back to where you heard of this. I doubt it’s coincidence that I posted about it one day before. Thanks.
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http://suburbansurvivalist.wordpress.com/2010/06/29/where-military-surplus-comes-from/
Comments…..Keep in mind that the bid is the gov’t cut. On top of it is the buyers premium that goes to government liquidators. Also, vehicles come with only a bill of sale and NO TITLE!!!
I used to buy surplus when DPDO (gov’t) ran it. Back then there was lots to be bid on and a store where you could buy just one of something.