My busy day took me to Des Moines, Wa for a marine swap meet and then
up to Everett for
a test ride on a Twin Vee catamaran.....

At the swap meet: People were buying up military surplus signal flags
from one of the vendors inside the building. Some of the flags were
used, and not in the best of shape.
At one of the outside booths, a company from Bellevue, WA was selling
brand new signal flags, and for less than the "military surplus" flags
being sold inside. The funniest aspect of the comparison is that the
company selling the new flags is an *official supplier* of signal flags
to the Department of Defense. As the woman selling the new flags
remarked, " A lot of people walking by here on the way out of the swap
meet are carrying used flags, some of which we probably made, and
paying more for them than the price at which we'll sell an absolutely
indentical, brand new flag."

I guess calling something "military surplus" must create enough of a
cachet to justify a premium price for a used item. :-)

wrote:
My busy day took me to Des Moines, Wa for a marine swap meet and then
up to Everett for
a test ride on a Twin Vee catamaran.....

At the swap meet: People were buying up military surplus signal flags
from one of the vendors inside the building. Some of the flags were
used, and not in the best of shape.
At one of the outside booths, a company from Bellevue, WA was selling
brand new signal flags, and for less than the "military surplus" flags
being sold inside. The funniest aspect of the comparison is that the
company selling the new flags is an *official supplier* of signal flags
to the Department of Defense. As the woman selling the new flags
remarked, " A lot of people walking by here on the way out of the swap
meet are carrying used flags, some of which we probably made, and
paying more for them than the price at which we'll sell an absolutely
indentical, brand new flag."

I guess calling something "military surplus" must create enough of a
cachet to justify a premium price for a used item. :-)


They used to have auctions of surplus military equipment within walking
distance of my house. People got so goofy bidding for the 'lots' that
you couldn't get a deal on a single item.
I think it was set up to benefit the various Army/Navy Surplus dealers.