User Tools

Site Tools


Action disabled: register
resources:surplus

Surplus Electronics Stores

Swapmeets and Fleamarkets too!

What is electronics surplus?

Electronics surplus is:

  • Used industrial, medical, military, or scientific equipment
  • Electronic components (often those that were purchased for a product or project but never used)
  • Electronic test equipment (usually used, sold as-is, and priced well below retail)
  • Excess inventory - components, hardware, assemblies, sub-assemblies, etc.
  • Miscellaneous odds and ends that might be fun to take apart or re-purpose for something else

Notes

With a few exceptions, this list is for businesses with retail walk-in storefronts. Someone like me should be able to just walk in and rummage through stuff. If an appointment is necessary, please make a note of this alongside the entry.

Stores that sell primarily new components (eg. Radio Shack) do not belong here, while stores that sell a mix of new and surplus items (eg. HSC Electronic Supply) are fine. You can find a list of places to buy new components (online and retail) here: Vendors

I reserve the right to delete anything that I do not feel is appropriate for this list.

Business owners/employees: NO SPAM. Please do not add your own store to this list. This usually trips my internal “spam filter”. Instead, talk to your customers and have one of them add a link and a few words about your store (honest and frank evaluations are encouraged). If your entry reads like spam or an advertisement, it will be removed.

Canada

British Columbia

Kelowna

  • Sphere Research Corporation - http://www.sphere.bc.ca/
    • Gord says “They have all kinds of stuff. In particular, they have a lot of parts for old Tek scopes.”

Ontario

Toronto

  • Active Surplus Electronics - 345 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON M5V 2A4, Canada CLOSED
    • Tons of random stuff all over the place. A little unorganized but the staff seems to know where 99% of their stock is. Great for finding items for your projects that you didn't even know you needed.
  • Above All Electronic Surplus - 602 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON
    • Decent selection of cables and new merchandise.
  • A-1 Electronic Parts, http://www.a1parts.com/, 196 North Queen St., Toronto, Ontario, M9C 4Y1
    • Huge selection, absolutely no organization. Mostly old and worthless junk. You can pick through stuff for hours. Prices frequently too high.
  • ElectronicSurplus.ca, https://electronicsurplus.ca/, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    • ElectronicSurplus.ca is an online store with affordable electronic components & microcontrollers. Even more savings for students!
  • Toronto Surplus & Scientific - http://www.torontosurplus.com/
    • Gord says “bought my first power supply from these guys. I think they are generally pretty expensive and I buy pretty much all of my stuff on eBay these days but I thought I would mention them as they have been around for over 20 years.”

Quebec

Montreal

  • ABRA Electronics - 5580 Cote de Liesse, Montreal, QC H4P 1A9, Canada
    • OK selection of surplus items. Inexpensive.
    • Many items in online catalogue are stoked at the US Store but not the Canadian Store- phone and ask about stock before going all the way out there.
  • Addison Electronics - 8020 20e ave Montréal Québec, Canada H1Z 3S7 Tél.: (514) 376-1740 Near St Michel Metro.
    • The best electronic surplus place in Canada.
    • Wire, semiconductors, passives, computer gear, hardware, tools, you name it.
    • Has a new HUGE warehouse that you shop in.

USA

Arizona

Phoenix Area

Tucson Area

California

San Francisco Bay Area

  • Advanced Component Electronics (ACE), San Jose, CA - http://www.acecomponents.com/ CLOSED 2016
    • The biggest selection of 74XX series logic ICs I have ever seen in one place. Lots of passives too.
  • Anchor Electronics, Santa Clara, CA - http://www.anchor-electronics.com/
    • Mostly components and electronics prototyping tools. I haven't been here in a few years and I'm not sure what the new/surplus breakdown is. — jeff 02/20/2012 11:17
  • Excess Solutions, Milpitas, CA - http://www.excesssolutions.com/
    • A dozen long aisles of surplus components. Huge selection of passives, IC's, lots of connectors, tiny screws and other hardware.
  • Fry's Electronics, Sunnyvale, CA - http://frys.com/
    • Not surplus but still a cheap source for misc. electronics items. I always stop here on the way home from HSC. They have cheap aluminum enclosures and tips for Weller soldering irons. Oh, and all the computer hardware you could ever want.
  • Halted Specialties (aka HSC), 3051 Corvin Dr., Santa Clara, CA - http://halted.com/ Location in Rohnert Park is closed. Santa Clara location moved from Ryder St. in 2016. Rumored to be closing or changing hands in 2018.
    • My favorite place to find electronic components, period. Possibly because I know where to find things. I've been shopping here (Santa Clara) for over 15 years.
  • scrap, San Francisco, CA - http://www.scrap-sf.org
  • Urban Ore, Berkeley, CA - http://urbanore.com
    • Mostly building materials, books and records, and household items, but a limited selection of consumer electronics, old computers, cables, and electronic components. Turn right after you enter and go to the back of the store.
  • Weird Stuff Warehouse, Sunnyvale, CA - http://www.weirdstuff.com/ - CLOSED 4/8/2018, RIP Weird Stuff, we will miss you. details
    • Weekly bid sales, lots of cool surplus equipment in the back part of the store.
  • ASVARO Electronics Flea Market, Cupertino, CA - http://www.electronicsfleamarket.com/
    • This swap meet has been a silicon valley staple for many years. Lots of deals on test equipment, surplus junk, and tools if you come early enough. Runs from March to October.

Los Angeles Area

  • W6TRW Swap Meet, Redondo Beach, CA - http://www.w6trw.com/swapmeet/swapmeet.htm
    • This swap meet has been held every last Saturday of the month since the 1960's. Historically a ham radio swap meet it now includes a wider range of electronics including computer and industrial surplus.
  • All Electronics, 14928 Oxnard St., Van Nuys, CA - http://www.allelectronics.com/
    • Open 7 days
    • Used to have a second store which has been closed since the early 2000's. Everything in their catalog and more is available at their store.
    • Audio components (speakers, cables, etc. Not a huge selection, but getting better.)
    • Good source for small AC & DC motors and gear-motors.
    • Limited selection of ICs
    • Arduino boards and Sparkfun accessories
  • Apex Electronics, 8909 San Fernando Road, Sun Valley, CA - http://www.apexelectronic.com/
    • Closed Sunday
    • AC & DC motors in all sizes
    • Mechanical components galore!
    • HUGE selection of electrical wire, including magnet wire
    • Old test equipment (some non-working and/or incomplete.)
    • Aerospace surplus
  • C&H Surplus, 805 Highland Ave, Duarte, CA - http://candhsurplus.com/
    • Open Thursday and Friday 10 to 6, Saturday 10 to 4
    • Lots of excellent surplus electronic and scientific stuff, reasonably priced, friendly owner (cash/check only)
  • Industrial Liquidators, Lawndale, CA - http://industrialliquidators.com/ - CLOSED
    • Note that their San Diego store is still open but is now called Surplus Depot.
  • Luky's Hardware and Surplus, 3814 West Burbank Blvd., Burbank, CA - http://lukyshardware.com/
    • Closed Sunday
    • Fasteners galore! Nuts, bolts, screws, and washers of every type and material (including titanium)
    • Hydraulic lines/hoses
    • Small selection of electrical stuff
  • M&K Metals, Hawthorne, CA - http://www.mkmetal.net/
    • Good source of scrap metals, open on Saturday! (until 1 pm)
  • Norton Sales Inc., 7429 Laurel Canyon Blvd, North Hollywood, CA - http://www.nortonsalesinc.com/
    • Rockets, sockets and stuff…
    • Hydraulics, pneumatics
    • Aerospace surplus

Sacramento Area

  • Ali's Surplus Stuff - 8505 Folsom Boulevard, Sacramento, CA 95826-3707 - http://daviswiki.org/Surplus_Stuff
    • Great place for all sorts of random stuff. Check in often; some of the inventory is there for years, but most of it rotates through pretty quickly.
    • I've been here and it's great. Lots of old test equipment and random industrial equipment. Very few items have prices posted - best to bring a pile of stuff to the counter and haggle. Lots of old PCs and LCD monitors too, but I pretty much ignored that side of the shop. — jeff 12/24/2010 18:11
  • HFE Electronics - 4837 Amber Lane, Sacramento, CA 95841 - http://hfeelectronics.com/ CLOSED
    • When Halted closed down the Sacramento HSC location, some other folks took up the banner and reopened as HFE. Most of the inventory has been there since HSC opened the location on Hemlock a couple of decades ago.
    • Joe Grand says: “I don't have an account on your wiki, but HFE Electronics in Sacramento is out of business. They had a public auction a few weeks ago to liquidate their entire inventory (I bought a frequency counter and crapload of SMT/through hole components).” — jeff 01/11/2011 15:01

San Diego Area

  • California Electronic and Industrial Supply - 221 N Johnson Ave, El Cajon, CA 92020 - http://www.californiaelectronicsupply.com/ CLOSED
    • Haven't been in a few years. They used to have a lot of random electronics bits in the back of the store. Some new components as well, stuff like knobs, switches, and LEDs.
  • Escondido Surplus Sales, Escondido, CA - http://www.yelp.com/biz/escondido-surplus-sales-escondido (no website?)
    • I have not been here, but this place was recommended to me as a place to find surplus electronics junk. — jeff 02/10/2012 12:08
  • Industrial Liquidators, San Diego, CA - http://industrialliquidators.com/ Closed/changed names - see Surplus Depot
    • I haven't been back since I left the area 6 years ago. Used to have lots of mechanical components like gauges and valves, some electronics. They were selling electric bike kits for a while.
  • Murphy's Surplus, El Cajon, CA - https://www.facebook.com/murphyjunk (new link!)
    • Lots of test equipment, motors, hardware, and surplus military stuff. I think they specialize in military radio equipment.
  • Gateway Electronics - CLOSED
  • K-Surplus, National City, CA - http://www.ksurplus.com/index.html
    • I have not visited this store, but it looks like they sell mostly hardware like fasteners, etc. — jeff 02/10/2012 12:08
  • SD Electronic Supply, San Diego, CA - http://www.sdelectronicsupply.com/ NEW CLOSED
    • Located just down the street from former Gateway Electronics.
    • Lots of components, some inventory might actually be from Gateway?
  • Surplus Depot, two locations in San Diego, CA - http://www.surplusdepot.org/
    • I have visited the Kearny Mesa Store, which is just around the corner from where Industrial Liquidators used to be located. (new loc: 7924 Ronson Road Unit A) — jeff 02/10/2012 11:40
    • This is a small store with some interesting surplus (cellular radio, industrial equipment, some military items) and a few new components and supplies (heatshrink tubing, etc.)
    • They also still carry Earl's performance products - oil coolers, hydraulic fittings and hoses, etc.
    • There is a “Warehouse” location on 6444 Nancy Ridge Dr. but I have not visited that location yet. — jeff 02/10/2012 11:40

Another good list of California electronics surplus stores: http://www.bluefeathertech.com/technoid/calswapindex.html

Colorado

Boulder Area

  • J.B. Saunders - 4700 Sterling Drive, Boulder, CO 80301, http://jbsaundersco.com/
    • From vacuum tubes to SMT parts with everything in between, plus nice tools and instruments. Surplus SMT RCL full reels - cheap if you know how to negotiate (hint: bring cash).

Colorado Springs Area

  • OEM Parts INC. - 3029 North Hancock Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO 80907-5754, (719) 635-0771‎
    • Just about everything. From equipment racks and old tubes, to reals of SMT parts. Plan around spending some time there if you have not been. Surely there is a method to the madness.

Florida

Melbourne Area

Orlando Area

Palm Beach Area

Idaho

Boise Area

  • The Reuseum 108 W.33rd St. Garden City, ID 83714 http://www.reuseum.com
    • Surplus and one of a kind relics from the realms of Science, Government and Industry.

Illinois

Chicago Area

  • American Science & Surplus (ASS); Chicago, IL; Geneva/West Chicago, IL; Milwaukee, WI - http://www.sciplus.com/
    • Communications & Electronics, Containers, Drives & Wheels, Electrical Parts, Lab Supplies & Equipment, Lamps, Sockets & Wiring, Motors, Blowers & Pumps, Optics

Massachusetts

  • Parker Products of Reading, MA (Massachusetts) is one of New England's oldest and most respected surplus electronics dealers. For 36 years Harold P. Strand, Jr. has amassed one of the best collections of solar cells and panels, motors, fiber optics, electronics, relays, solenoids, power supplies, retro test equipment, industrial antiques, organ pipes, components, tools, hardware, electro-optical devices, marine hardware, snaps, t nuts, stainless steel hardware, screws, bolts, ovens and more.
    • 10 Pierce St. Reading, MA 01867 – just north of Boston. MIT flea market dealers welcome. By appt only please.
  • SMC Electronics, Brockton, MA - http://smcelectronics.com/index.shtml
    • advertises in QST

Minnesota

Missouri

Nebraska

New Hampshire

New Mexico

  • “The Black Hole” (Los Alamos Sales Company), Los Alamos, NM - http://blackholesurplus.com/
    • If you are interested in surplus electronics or Cold War era atomics research equipment, you must go here at least once. It's like a vintage electronics museum where most things are for sale.
    • As of March 15, 2014 The Black Hole is in the process of closing down. They are almost to the point of needing front end loaders and dump trucks. About the only remaining useful item is the shelving.
  • Edgar Digital Surplus, Las Cruces, NM - http://www.edgardigital.com/
    • Carries a lot of stuff from auctions at White Sands, Los Alamos and San Dia labs, along with a reasonable selection of new PC and networking hardware.

New York

New York City Area

Ohio

Akron

Cleveland

Crestline

  • CTR Surplus - http://www.ctr-surplus.com/ site is down. closed? reported 5/13/2021
    • You have to go there, various eBay stores don't reflect the amount of stuff they have. Prices are also better in person.

Dayton

  • Mendelsons - http://meci.com/ - closed Feb 2021, reported 5/13/2021
    • Much better in person.. plan to spend a few hours here.

Fairborn

Mentor

Oklahoma

Tulsa

Oregon

Beaverton

    • Electronic Recycler that sells refurbished electronics, mostly computers and computer parts. Also has random electronic devices that can be useful in projects.

Hillsboro

    • Online list is a tiny sample of what they have in the store. Stock is almost entirely surplus from local electronics companies. Reels of resistors and capacitors priced by the foot. Usually lots of Oregon Scientific customer returns.

Portland

    • Way out at 17954 SE Division St, but looks like they have some good stuff, including heavy-duty switches like you'd use for a stomp box.

Salem

    • Not so much surplus, but a great inventory of parts for hobbyists and engineers making any type of electronic prototypes.

Texas

Austin

Dallas/Ft Worth Area

  • Tanner Electronics, Carrollton, TX - http://www.tannerelectronics.com/
    • Not set up for web or online inventory, this is a store you have to walk around. Electronic tools, kits, hardware, adapters, jacks, sockets, semiconductors, cheap speakers + wire, motors, steppers, odd and neat surplus parts for robots, radio, or audio.
    • Good place to look for old transistors and opamps, occasional NOS Ge diodes. Anyone into building or fixing gear with obsolete parts should make a visit.
  • BG Micro, Garland, TX - http://www.bgmicro.com/
    • Similar in spirit to Tanner's (the owners are friends), just geared towards the web. While it can be found on a Google map search, they are not set up with a normal storefront and will be far easier to deal with online. Not recommended as a shopping destination, but if you want to pick up your order in person they are very nice about it (pls call ahead). They are a busy surplus business using every square foot for inventory, so it can be alarming if you show up expecting a nice fancy lobby.
  • Altex Electronics, Carrollton, TX - http://www.altex.com/
    • Surplus would be mostly in the small amount of electronic components such as resistors, capacitors, potentiometers, dip sockets in various bulk boxes at nice prices
    • rest of inventory is geared toward maintenance tech supplies, crimpers, punchdown tools, server rack hardware, with a soldering tools section rivaling Fry's.

Houston

    • Great place for surplus, they've got something new in there every month. A good place to go if you are looking for a project.
    • 3 locations, this is a bit more towards the best buy end of things but they do carry a wide assortment of electronics/tools
  • EPO Computers & Electronics
    • 110 East Medical Center Blvd.,Webster, TX 77598 (800) 856-1820
    • Though not related to EPO above, it's a similar store (but larger)
  • Ace Electronics - http://www.ace4parts.com
    • 3210 Antoine Dr. Houston, Texas

San Antonio

  • Intertex Electronics - http://www.intertexelectronics.com/
    • 1200 West Hildebrand Avenue, San Antonio, TX 78201-0000 (210) 820-3830
    • Decent selection of parts. Many capacitors, switches, ICs, DMMs, etc. There is probably some stuff in-store that doesn't show up online.

Utah

Salt Lake City Area

  • RaElco Electronics
    • 2780 S Main St, South Salt Lake, UT 84115 (801) 487-7749
    • Specializes in rare and hard to find items. Good selection of Resistors, Capacitors, Diodes and other discrete solid state components.
    • If you need it, Ra Elco probably has it, but only if you can find it. Garage sale or flea market in appearance, Ra Elco has a vast selection of new and used surplus at great prices.
    • Knowledgeable sales staff can answer questions and locate hard to find parts.

Washington State

Seattle Area

  • Vetco Electronics - http://vetco.net/
    • Vetco specializes in Electronic Components, Home Theater Audio and Video cables (HDMI, Component, Coaxial, Speaker Wire, Etc.), Wall Plates, TV and Projector Mounts, Wire and Cable, Adapters, Cables and Connectors, Semiconductors, IC's, Resistors, Capacitors, LED's, Chemicals, Tools and Test Equipment.
    • Note: Vetco has less and less surplus merchandise. The focus appears to be largely cables for home theater systems.
    • RE-PC mostly sells recycled computer parts, peripherals, and cables
  • Fry's (Renton) - http://www.frys.com/isp/renton.html - CLOSED March 2021
    • Not surplus, but a wide array of useful bits for makers. Enclosures, soldering irons, components, etc.

Pullman/Moscow Area

  • WSU surplus - www.surplus.wsu.edu/
    • WSU surplus is open to the public on Friday from 10:00AM to 3:00PM. An assortment of items that college no longer has a use for. Lots of computer parts and cables. Obscure and interesting equipment from the school of agriculture or the science department can be found at the WSU surplus store. Lots of non-electronic things available too, such as old furniture or even shoes from the athletic department.

Japan

Tokyo

United Kingdom

Cambridge

Reading

    • Second-hand analogue oscilloscopes, power supplies, DMMs, RF signal generators, Variacs, etc. Go in person and check out the equipment as a good alternative to the lottery of ebay test equipment

Nottingham

Sussex

London

  • Cricklewood Electronics - http://www.cricklewoodelectronics.com/
    • Cricklewood Electronics are brilliant when you need that one strange component that you can never find. They are currently the only place I know where you can still get BBC Micro Domino DIN plugs. They're also good for CCTV equiptment and general electronics parts. You need to know what you're looking for though.
  • Display Electronics - http://www.distel.co.uk/
    • Display Electronics - claims “probably Europes's largest stock of surplus electonics”.

Online

Germany

Berlin

Munich

    • not surplus but a professional dealer in new parts, check the opening times before going. Supposedly they recently moved from Schillerstrasse to somewhere out of town

Schillerstrasse (near the Hauptbahnhof)

Online

Finland

Oy East Trade Promotion Ltd. Hundreds of surplus T&M Instruments, mostly RF. www.eastrp.fi/webshop “You can spend a day here, test yourself what you are intending to buy”. Takes about an hour by train from Helsinki, the shop is located 100 m from Oitti train platform.

Spain

Madrid

    • Not the biggest but maybe one of the nicest component and tool vendors.
    • Most famous - Arrogant salespeople and expensive but maybe the largest in Madrid. Resistors and capacitors are self-service.
  • Don Electrón - C/ Menéndez Valdés, 52.(Madrid)
    • Nice people.
    • Nice web where you can actually search for component codes.
  • RS Online (Amidata) - http://es.rs-online.com/
    • Huge online and efficient catalogue. Quite expensive.

Other Lists and Links

LadyAda of Adafruit Industries has a list of places to find parts, many of which are duplicated here.

EMSL also maintains a list of links to places where you can find Surplus Electronics.

NYC Resistor maintains a wiki that contains several sources for parts and materials in the NYC area.

Another good list of California electronics surplus stores.

Dated list of surplus shops in Silicon Valley, Orlando, New Mexico: http://www.telltronics.org/travel.html

Huge list of surplus stores in many US cities. May not be up to date: http://www.repairfaq.org/ELE/F_surplus_us.html

http://www.eskimo.com/~billb/supliers.html - Bill Beaty's directory of optics/electronics/etc. suppliers (new and surplus). Old page but seems to be at least somewhat maintained.

http://www.mikrocontroller.net/articles/Lokale_Elektroniklieferanten - A huge list of walk-in electronics shops in Germany (in German!)

SWARM Project Suppliers wiki - Bay Area-centric list of hardware suppliers

CyberMart - An online surplus store with lots of components in Johannesburg, South Africa

Kaidi Solenoid - A similar electronics tools supplier.

resources/surplus.txt · Last modified: 05/22/2021 18:50 by jeff