AnsomMag.com |

An industry born of military surplus a-plenty now finds itself wanting for the real deal.

In fact, even the word “surplus” as applied to the current paucity of goods may be the newest definition of “irony.”

Not that genuine, U.S. government surplus is completely buried in a time capsule. The government is still releasing new and used surplus goods to the marketplace as it sees fit. It’s just not seeing fit quite as generously as it once did.

The bulk (maybe too strong a word?) of surplus distributed today is through the official Internet-based auctioneer, Government Liquidation (GL), through their web site www.govliquidation.com.

The initial changeover from the old regionalized and military base-based onsite auctions to the Internet-based model was a bracing shock for many army/navy wholesalers. But after years of fine-tuning their system and improving physical accessibility for previewing the goods and de-centralizing distribution points, GL has successfully addressed most of industry suppliers’ initial concerns.

There are still complaints about GL offering some surplus goods either in smallish lots to retailers (those gripes coming from wholesalers) and about GL selling goods directly to consumers (those gripes eminating from retailers), but GL is not alone in these practices in our industry.

GL is also limited in what they can sell by the government’s many restrictions on the type of goods deemed legal for re-sale to the public. Most of these policies relate to national security concerns.

Nothing like the real thing, baby

Although Fox Outdoor (Melrose Park, Illinois) has never been surplus-centric, the company still buys and sells surplus goods where they can.

“We recently came across some Mickey Mouse boots from a local government contractor. We were able to get a good price on them and it was an example of the opportunistic approach to surplus that we, like many other companies nowadays have to follow,” said owner Danny Fox.

Harold Hirsch of Schreck Wholesale (a Chicago, Illinois company that was one of the industry surplus pioneers) reports that surplus is definitely in short supply.

“We have a big problem finding surplus. We do find some on the Internet and through local providers and individuals who bring us their personal goods,” Hirsch stated.

Relying on surplus finding you rather than you finding surplus is not a long-term guarantor of success, though, for any company. That’s why many suppliers have developed proprietary lines of made-to-government-spec (or even above and beyond spec) military apparel and gear to fill the demand for American military surplus goods. These “neo-surplus” goods are usually imported to control costs and are helping to keep store shelves stocked.