A surplus store, military surplus store or disposals store in the Commonwealth of Nations sells items that are used, or purchased but unused, and no longer needed. The surplus is often military, government or industrial excess often called army-navy stores or war surplus stores in the United States. A surplus store may also sell items that are past their

use by date Shelf life is the length of time that a commodity may be stored without becoming unfit for use, consumption, or sale. In other words, it might refer to whether a commodity should no longer be on a pantry shelf (unfit for use), or no longer on a ...

Military surplus

An ''army surplus store'', or ''navy surplus store'', is any store, usually

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and ...

, which sells ''military surplus'' — general equipment that was intended for the military but is unable to be used or originally purchased in excess by the military. These stores often sell

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more na ...

equipment or military clothing (especially jackets and helmets). Following the First and Second World Wars, large amounts of former military clothing and equipment were sold in these stores.

In the United States

Known as "military surplus stores" or "army navy stores", surplus stores in the U.S. typically carry military or military-spec equipment. After the First and Second World Wars and Vietnam, large amounts of military surplus was left over from the large amounts of equipment made for drafted troops. However, with the advent of the military being volunteer and the fighting force being smaller, nowadays most military stores have had to switch to selling military-spec items. These mil-spec items are civilian remakes of military items.

In Canada

Known as "army surplus" stores, these typically also carry sporting goods related to hunting, fishing, and camping.

In China

Army surplus stores in China are very common. They mostly specialize in clothing, footwear, tarpaulins and blankets, but also commonly sell occupational safety equipment.

In Germany

At the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the allied forces initially confiscated stock and material of the German army. In 1948 a government agency, the ''Staatliche Erfassungsgesellschaft für öffentliches Gut'' ("State Collecting Company for Public Good", StEG), was formed to manage the sale of this army surplus. In reference to the name of this agency, the army surplus was called ''Stegware.'' The surplus included 500,000 tonnes or stock and over 150,000 tonnes of scrap. In the early 1950s the US military began to add their own surplus from the war. The joint surplus was sold in so called ''Steg shops'' across Germany until the 1980s. Goods included used and new clothing, camping equipment and tools. In the early days vehicles and heavier equipment were also sold.

Notes

External links

Amateur Computer Society newsletter, 1966-1976
- The early computer hobbyists relied on surplus electronic parts. * Militaria Retail formats {{retailing-stub