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All Electronics www.allelectronics.com Last Visited: July 2003 My Rating: OK store. Their catalog has everything worth seeing in the store. |
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Electronic Surplus Stores (Actual Brick & Mortar Storefronts) |
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This is not just another list of links to surplus stores. I include only stores and companies that I have personally visited. These are my personal opinions: |
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Boring |
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Visit only if you can’t find it at R*dioSh*ck |
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OK! Visit if you happen to be in the area |
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Nice! Worth the trip. |
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WOW! Make sure you stop by if you are in the area! |
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www.prutchi.com’s Rating Scale |
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Gateway Electronics www.gatewayelex.com 2220 Welsch Industrial Ct. Last Visited: January 1993 My Rating: OK store, but it’s been a while… Please let me know about your experience if you have shopped there lately |
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Metro-CAD metro-cad.com 2301 49th Avenue North, Brooklyn Center Minneapolis, MN 55430 (612)302-8056 Last Visited: December 2004 My Rating: Interesting, but very specialized equipment. MetroCAD liquidated the equipment for Intermedics and Angeion (implantable device manufacturers), and specialize mostly on industrial type surplus. |
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Electronic Surplus Inc. www.electronicsurplus.com 5363 Broadway Ave. (216) 441-8500 Last Visited: March 2003 My Rating: Interesting ++. They have a lot of interesting equipment. Most of the really neat stuff doesn’t have a price, so you’ll have to make an offer. Much more in there than you can browse on their website. |
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Skycraft Parts & Surplus www.skycraftsurplus.com 2245 West Fairbanks Ave. Tel. (407) 628-5634 Last Visited: December 2002 My Rating: Very cool store! Very close to Disney in Orlando. Worth visiting, especially if you have had it with Mickey Mouse and his friends! Full of otherwise unobtainable stuff. Plenty of NASA surplus. |
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Tanner Electronics www.tannerelectronics.com 1100 Valwood Parkway, Suite #100 Last Visited: March 2002 My Rating: Nice, clean store. Well classified electronic parts. Mr. Tanner is a knowledgeable and helpful gentleman. Definitely worth the visit if you are in the Dallas area.
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EPO (Electronic Parts Outlet) www.epo-houston.com 3753-B Fondren Rd. Last Visited: March 2003 My Rating: I used to love to shop at EPO. However, they mostly turned into a computer parts store. You can still find electronic components, but the neat surplus is gone. |
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APEX www.apexelectronic.com My Rating: WOW!!! Racks and racks full of electronics equipment. A yard full of junk (including rocket parts). Plan to spend a full day browsing or leave empty-handed and confused! |
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The following stores have closed: |
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Fertik's Electronics 5249 D St (215)455-2121 Last Visited: 2001 My Comment: Mr. Fertik came to the store on appointment. He told us that he didn’t keep the store open since his wife passed away. He sold most of his inventory just a week prior to “some Canadians”. He wanted to liquidate the remaining inventory and retire. Mr. Fertik was very kind to us, and I’m sure this was one of the finest stores in its time. |
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Compass Electronics Supply 465 Market St Paterson, NJ 07501 (201)278-7777 Last Visited: 2001 My Comment: SCARY neighborhood! The warehouse was located in an old armory. It consisted of many rooms full of World War II equipment (but at prime 21st century prices...) The complete inventory was purchased by Surplus Sales of Nebraska. |
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Maplin Electronics and other London Stores
Maplin Electronics www.maplin.co.uk 186 Edgware Road London 0207 723 6641 Last Visited: June 2002 My Rating: Maplin is rather like a bizarre Radio Shack but with somewhat more
Other London Stores: All the really good surplus stores are long gone. The thing that fueled the electronics revival after WWII was military surplus. That lost its attraction with the advent of transistors and even more with ICs. All the cheap stuff from the far east was the final nail in the coffin. Only a handful of specialist companies survive out in the provinces (London is too expensive for low margin businesses). There were two main “electronic areas” in London - Edgware Road and Tottenham Court Road. Few electronics stores left in the neighborhood, mostly consumer electronics and camera stores with flashy signs in Arabic... nothing like a good US military surplus electronics store. |
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Edmund Scientific 101 E. Gloucester Pike Last Visited: 2001 My Comment: The Edmund Scientific store in Barrington was a Mecca for the science enthusiast. Unfortunately, Edmund sold off its consumer catalogue and shut its famous retail store in Barrington, N.J. Edmund retained its high-end optical component business and now operates as Edmund Industrial Optics. The Edmund Scientific catalogue can be found online at www.edmundscientific.com. |
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The Observatory www.theobservatoryinc.com 19009 Preston Rd. (972) 248-1450 Last Visited: June 2004 My Rating: The Observatory is NOT an electronics surplus store, but if you are in the Dallas area, it’s definitely worth visiting. The Observatory is a store full of telescopes to look through, to try out, to compare. You get knowledgeable help and guidance in selecting a telescope that’s right for your observing or gift giving needs. Learn about the various kinds of telescopes. Learn how to use them and care for them. Learn how to find objects in the night sky. |
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© 2005 David Prutchi. All rights reserved. |
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EPO Computers & Electronics www.epo-ecp.com (Not to be confused with EPO above…) Last Visited: 1997 My Rating: EPO Clear Lake is just a few blocks down the road from the Johnson Space Center in Houston. They did carry quite a bit of test instrumentation and NASA surplus, but I’ve heard rumors that they “sold out” and the surplus is gone. If you visit the Space Center, drop by EPO and let me know what’s the surplus situation there. |
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Electronics Plus www.electronics-plus.com Southard Drive and Route 1 (Baltimore Blvd.) Beltsville, MD (301)937-9009 Last Visited: October 2001 My Rating: Lukewarm. Some assortment of old stock components. Nothing interesting on the surplus side. |
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American Science and Surplus www.sciplus.com 5316 N. Milwaukee Avenue Chicago, IL (773)763-0313 Last Visited: September 2005 My Rating: More useless surplus than science. Their web-based or printed catalog will give you an idea of what is available. Store has a few extra items over catalog. I find their stuff to be pricey for surplus. It’s worth visiting if you have some time to spare on your drive from O’Hare to downtown Chicago. |
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Interstate Electronics Inc. www.interstateelectronics.com Airport Plaza, Rt.36 Hazlet, NJ 07730 (732) 264-3900 Last Visited: November 2005 My Rating: Much better stocked with electronic components and tools than Radio Shack, but certainly not at the level of a mail-order distributor. TVs, stereos, etc. as in a Tweeter store. Wide variety of CB radios, but no ham equipment. In my opinion, their motto of “The Most Unique Electronics Store in the World!” is completely unjustified. By the way, no surplus in there as advertised in their web page. |