State Surplus Store

First time visiting and no joke it amazes me the items taken from people or left at the airport. Which essentially this place is all about. Plus a bunch of office furniture. When you first walk in your met with bin after bin of pocket knifes, tools and sunglasses. Do you need a ziplock bag of around 30 pocket knifes for $ 5? Then they offer you a mystery type grab bag. Do you need sunglasses for yourself, wife, husband, or kiddos for $ 1? Then dig through the pile and see what you snag. Maybe your ratchet set is missed that ¹⁄₈ attachment. You might find a replacement here. Or if the mood hits you and you’d like to purchase a retired police cruiser. They have that too. As the walk took m through the back portion of the building it was filled with office equipment. Filing cabinets, book shelves, desks desks and more desks. Some looked like they came out of medical offices. If at any point you’ve been at the airport and forgot to leave something behind and they take it from you. You might check this place out and take the chance of finding it again and paying for it twice or finding a good enough replacement. 4 stars cuz they need more cell phones hahaha

Good selection of multi tools but they were more expensive used than buying new. Bad pricing.

I’m used to getting surplus stuff for pennies on the dollar, but at least here at the Austin store they have very Austinized prices. I’m used to buying the retired Crown Vic service vehicles for $ 500‑1000 but here they are like $ 3−4k. Desks should be $ 20 – 30 and chairs $ 5 but they are easily 3−4x that.

A store that specialized in items that otherwise could have brought our country to its knees. All the stuff that TSA has seized from travelers in the name of safety. Fortunately, the TSA has taken this stuff out of the public’s hands, since it’s so dangerous. Now, these deadly items can only be obtained by the select few who can find a few dollars to spend here.
«Those Who Sacrifice Liberty For Security Deserve Neither.» — Ben Franklin.
If Franklin had seen this store, he’d point out that you don’t deserve your screwdrivers, knives, ammo magazines, etc. either.
They also have the retired gears of the Texas bureaucracy. Old desks, filing cabinets, chairs. If you’re going to start a office, this is a great place to outfit it.
The prices on all this stuff aren’t that great. It seems that the stuff is pretty picked over. If you can find a hidden gem, there might be something for you.

Scored a sailor-​hat blue mini filing cabinet for 15 dollars. As has been mentioned in previous reviews, if you’re looking for knives, tools, couches, desks, office chairs, and filing cabinets, you’d do best to check here first before signing up for hours of frustration at Ikea. Staff were amicable and carried my file cabinet out to my car before I became lost in my imaginings of the prior lives of the desks lined in infinite rows pointing straight into the bureaucratic past. There was a retired highway patrol car in the parking lot, marred by white spray paint. I wished I could buy it.

This place is always hit or miss. Over the last few years they have raised some of their prices. Chairs in particular are priced ridiculously. The last time I went in there and the warehouse was over flowing with mostly nasty rolling office chairs that they priced $ 9-​$ 30. Some of the chairs were in such poor condition (duck tape, stains, fabric ripped off), that I think they should have just thrown them in the trash, but they were still trying to make a buck. I enjoyed a few things I found 3+ years ago, but the last 3 – 4 times I have gone, it has been extremely disappointing.

My wife and I stopped into this surplus store on our way home from Austin a few weeks ago. I had been looking for a good pocket knife to carry, and found exactly that. For just $ 8. I you need a pocket knife, hand tools or old office furniture, this is the place to go. Many of their items come from TSA seizures at Texas airports.

I was in search of a filing cabinet, and I wasn’t about to fork up $ 150 for one at Sam’s Club. A co-​worker sent me to East Austin where the Surplus Store is located, and my wish for a cheapo filing cabinet in good condition came true. In fact, it came true about 200 times because that’s probably about how many filing cabinets the Surplus Store had in stock.
The only issue with this many different filing cabinets is that you actually have to take the time to find a really good looking one and make sure everything works right. Unfortunately, some of the nicer ones are locked, and the store doesn’t have the key to these locks. I came across this issue about ten times and had to move on and try another one.
With that aside, the Surplus Store really is great. In addition to filing cabinets, they also sell chairs, desks, bookshelves, and pretty much anything that you would need for an office. My large, 4-​drawer cabinet came out to be $ 39.99, and I paid $ 5 for a giant box of hanging filing folders and $ 2 for four sets of metal folder hangers.

I have two things to say about this place.
Number one: This is where old (state) office furniture goes to die. Come here and pay your respects to the office chairs of yesteryear and the credenzas of yore. If these chairs could talk, they would tell us thousands of boring tales of state workers sitting around being bureaucrats.
Point B: Knives. So. Many. Knives. You never knew knives existed. The number of knives per capita within the surplus store is greater than at an actual knife store. It’s mind boggling to realize that, in 2012, people still try to bring this many knives to the airport. Seriously people.
Also, who just walks off and forgets their belt? Seriously?

I already hate this review because I’m giving up one of the best-​kept secrets in Austin.
Yeah, that’s right – it’s The State of Texas Surplus Store. And I love it.
If you’ve found the place, you’re already doing better than most. I’ve probably driven by 100 times or more before I ever knew it existed (it’s in a non-​descript office/​industrial park off 183 and not near any major exits). There isn’t lot of signage, either.
Upon walking in to the storefront (about the size of a small one-​bedroom apartment), you’ll find everything from confiscated snow globes (they contain liquid, so it’s a carry-​on no-​no at the airport) to Vietnamese cobra liquor!
If you’re in to pocket knives, you’ll be in heaven. They have buckets and buckets full of knives and many can be had in near-​new condition for $ 1 – 3!
Go through the double-​glass doors near the jewelry cases, and this leads to the large warehouse floor. They have tons of used office furniture (desks, chairs, file cabinets, etc.), fax machines, and even some restaurant equipment too!
The best thing about the State Surplus Store, though? ALL PRICES NEGOTIABLE!
(It actually doesn’t say that anywhere, but keep in mind that this is a clearing house for the state. They’re trying to move stuff out before the next truckload comes in. Make them a reasonable offer and, more times than not, they’ll accept it.)
Even if you aren’t looking for anything in particular, it’s fun to just to have look around. Who knows what you’ll find next!

Featuring an interesting array of articles that for one reason or another didn’t make it through airport security (snow globes, weapons, etc) and state surplus items (desks and file cabinets). This is probably one of the most unique shopping experiences you can have in Austin. Just don’t go there looking for souvenirs to take out of state or else your gifts will end up right back where you found them.