Surplus Depot

Purchased items from them. Told, «if you have any problem come back» so I came back a week later, after calling and making sure I could make the exchange. «Manager» refused (same guy that said the quote above) to do anything to help at all. This is a junk store filled with things they hock on Ebay to unsuspecting buyers.
They’ll tell you anything to purchase junk… but that’s all you get for your money. Never darken their doorstep again.

Been coming here since about ’94 when they were on Convoy. They’ve moved a couple of times but I always find ‘em. Great for electronic and lab surplus, not to mention weird odds and ends and low priced quantity bags of hardware. The first time I was there in 94 I bought a big ass role of 3M double stick tape for $ 5.00 (worth well over $ 50.00 +) and still using it now (2014). Coming from north county, I add it to my «hardware runs» along with Marshalls hardware.

Love this place, these guys have saved me a ton of dough over the years. It is one of those places that you just never know what you will find. So much cheaper to buy used that new… Joe

love this place — find great stuff here CHEAP all the time !!!

Came here to buy a couple flat 4 wheel dollies. In and out in 5 minutes, good price and friendly staff.

Great place to find surplus motors, lab instruments and glassware, power supplies, etc. Cool stuff at decent prices. Several other stores in the area are good supplements — SD Electronic supply, Industrial Metal Supply, etc.

Great industrial surplus shop. Tons of electronics and mechanical parts. Helpful and friendly staff. Will use them again in the future for all my various crazy projects.

Well Rob maybe if you listened to those neighbors you’d know what to do with all that stuff! Just kidding– sort of.
I’ve been going here since the mid 90’s and always drop coin here because I go there for something I need and I know more or less what they have-​if you are creative and «project» oriented about building things on the cheap your way but bulletproof– this is your nirvana. In that vein they are just spitting distance from the big metal supply warehouse and graingers, among others, so I’m often this way. A big draw is the WALL ‘o’ BAGGED HARDWARE. All sorted and labelled for your convenience in $ 1 quantities, and much of it is NAS/​Milspec stainless steel and the like. How about beautiful 10 – 32 nutplates, the two piece kind that self centers? Bet the military pays several dollars apiece, here they’re six for a buck. You have to build a collection over time and you won’t always see the nut that goes to that bolt, but aside from Murphys in El Cajon nobody makes my hardware collection smile like these guys. A good rule of thumb at this kind of place is, «if you don’t know what it is, you don’t need it.» Electronic components, pneumatic, hydraulic, telecomm, old tools, new tools, motors, cooling fans, heat shrink, power cables, signal cables, batteries large and small, zip lock baggies, zip ties, wire, plumbing for your hot rod, soldering equipment, magnets, drill bits, taps, dies, rubber gloves, protective goggles, various kinds of safety equipment, cabinets, shop equipment, YOU NAME IT. If it ain’t there now it was yesterday or will be tomorrow. If it sounds like I work there I don’t but they have always been good to me, I’d give them 6 stars if I could.- John, the hearse/​corvette guy.
Edit April 2011: FWIW they have moved around the corner to Ronson Rd and are now called «surplus depot» in a smaller space. Much cleaner, well organized, a little sad to see a lot less «junk» but it’s got the same spirit and may be more manageable. And as always, they carry EARL’S PLUMBING with signs posted that you can’t return it. I doubt they would tell anyone to «**** off» unless they were being silly.
Like wanting to return custom brake lines.

I find this place more fun that useful. I wander the shelves and fantasize about combining a couple of those mechanical linkages with that surplus industrial laser to build something that would finally get my tweaker neighbors to shut up. But, in the end, I never end up buying anything. Who knows, though, they might have exactly what you’re looking for. And besides, they’re in the same shopping center as a gun shop and a strip club, so you can always make a stop there part of a delusional trifecta.