(Last Update: 1-Mar-2012 by Bruce Lane, Blue Feather Technologies)
Fellow scroungers, we've lost a thirty-five year northwest icon. As reported earlier, the Boeing Surplus retail store has closed, supposedly permanently, as of Friday, December 21st, 2007.
Shortly after the original retail store went under, in 2007, Surplus Operations and warehousing was relocated to a little-known Boeing sub-building, #25-70, near the Tukwila Sounder rail station. Several of the former staff were able to set up a "micro-retail" area at this spot, in addition to holding the public auctions, and were therefore able to maintain at least a pale shadow of the original store.
I drove by this location today (1-Mar-12), and I'm sorry to report it has gone from the former surplus division's operational base to some sort of K-9 unit headquarters for Boeing's in-house security forces.
I'm uncertain of the exact date this happened. However, I had noticed the auction listings I was receiving via E-mail started getting far less detailed and far less frequent right around the beginning of 2011. I can only conclude, lacking other evidence, that this change hit around January 2011.
I have interpreted this to mean Boeing has no intention, despite all the public pressure to date, of reestablishing any form of retail surplus operations.
This, in turn, means this site has no further reason to exist. Effective 28-Sep-12, at approximately 02:00 PDT, this site will cease to exist and the 'saveboeingsurplus.com' domain name will be disposed of. I won't be surprised if Boeing themselves snap it up, just to be annoying (I know for certain they didn't care for the 'black eye' they gained through the publicity surrounding the store's closure).
We tried, people. We really did. It just wasn't meant to be this time. Thanks to all who wrote, called, or otherwise made their voices heard (you know who you are).
Happy scrounging!
(Bruce Lane, KC7GR, Site owner)
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The good news is that there was, between the time I broke the news on this site and the very last day, a tremendous upsurge in business for the store. Some of the unofficial estimates I was told by store staff hovered around a 300% increase over "normal" volumes. This despite the company's attempts to take it quietly into the night, as it were.
The whole hush-hush bit backfired on them, big-time! KPLU had a story about it on the air in September, and the Seattle Times printed a brief blurb about it in the Business section for Sep. 30th. The Seattle P-I also printed a story about it. My only regret there is that I was unable to return the reporter's call in time for my comments to be included. And, finally, Erik Lacitas, of the Seattle Times, wrote a nice article about the closure in the Oct. 16th 'Local News' section.
Why losing the retail store is a Bad Thing...
I've been asked why I'm so concerned about this. There are multiple answers, and they are not particularly simple. However, for the sake of not boring you, dear reader, to tears, I'll try to keep it brief.
I think that Boeing's closing the store sets a horrible precedent, and I can also see a path where closing the store could actually hurt Boeing far more in the long run than it might help in the short-term financial sense.
Why? Follow along. We're already in an age where interest in engineering and the sciences, among our youngsters and teens, is at an all-time low. While large parts of the blame for this problem can be pinned directly on our current culture of "disposable technology," "instant gratification" and much shorter attention spans, there is one little fact that the business world at large seems to be all too willing to forget:
Without engineers and technicians, there would be no products to sell. Period. More importantly, and specific to Boeing's field: Without engineers and techs, you don't have airplanes. Or defense toys. Or anything else that requires skilled labor and manufacturing to design and put together. Period.
Without tinkering and hobbyists, there would be no engineers or techs. Think I'm exaggerating? Look up Robert Goddard. He created the first liquid-fueled rockets while he was still a teenager, and they most certainly didn't come out of a boardroom or shareholder meeting!
Now, in order to properly learn such trades, you need to know how to use their tools, both common and specialized, how to work with your hands, and how to think critically and logically. Kids won't learn any of this unless they're given a hands-on example to follow (and, of course, encouragement to do their own thinking and tinkering). If you look at the students coming out of most high schools, and more than a few community colleges, I think you will find that practical 'hands-on' skills in these areas are far more rare than they should be.
Where can they best learn this? Ideally, from their parents. That's where I learned many of my skills. However, it didn't stop there. I have had (and continue to have) many very talented teachers of all kinds passing in and out of my life. I fully expect to be learning things right up to the point where I literally drop. And this is NEVER a Bad Thing. For anyone!
Now, in order for this whole chain to come together, three things need to exist: Interest on the part of the kids (motivation), a source for tools and raw materials (means), and teaching (opportunity to learn). Remove any link in that chain, and the whole process breaks apart.
Interest is easy. Most kids like to create things. Seems like there's quite a few that enjoy modifying existing things. Sources for raw materials and tools - that's getting harder all the time, thanks largely to the ongoing craze to sell our country's manufacturing base to China, Taiwan, etc. High-quality tools, especially, are difficult to find outside of industrial distributors that you need to have a business license to buy from. Boeing Surplus is an excellent source for such (or will be for the remainder of the time they're open, anyway).
Teaching - heck, we teach each other things by observation all the time. Put the first two links into place, and the third drops in on its own. This is because if you went to the trouble to find the raw materials and tools, you've already got it in mind to build something. You may not succeed the first (or even the second or third times), but you will definitely learn from your mistakes.
Boeing Surplus falls into (as you might guess) the "source" link. They have been, from the time they first opened in 1972, a readily-available and low-cost source of precision machine tools, specialized hand tools, all kinds of raw materials, and electrical and electronic equipment. They have consistently had stuff in their store that simply cannot be found at, say, a neighborhood hardware store, Radio Shack, or a computer supply place (at least not for comparable prices).
I've seen, in the 14 or so years I've been shopping there, many cases where active and retired Boeing employees have brought their kids or grandkids in with them. I've seen them give the kids a grand tour of the place, and explain what it is they're shopping for and how it's used.
And, most importantly, I've seen more kids fascinated than bored.
Here's the clincher. These are obviously 'tinkerer' parents who are passing on what they know to their kids. They're able to do so easily because they have a ready source of supplies and tools that are within their budget, thanks to Boeing Surplus. The kids are interested enough to, presumably, enter the engineering field as they get older. If they do, Lord only knows what they're going to come up with.
How many of these kids might want to go to work for Boeing, as a result of things they find they can build or modify with help from the surplus store? How many might eventually end up creating something that would make Big Money for both themselves and the company?
How many kids (and perhaps even parents) will lose that opportunity, and (possibly) their budding interest in aerospace and engineering, once the store closes? "For want of a nail, a shoe was lost," and so on.
And this is why I think closing the store is such a rotten idea. It means one less opportunity to teach kids (and, perhaps, future Boeing engineers) some truly valuable things.
Why Boeing says they did this, and why I don't believe them any farther than I can throw a forklift...
I've been quoted a number of things on this topic. Unsurprisingly, two different people within Boeing have parroted nearly the same lines.
One theme is that the current surplus store is on leased property, and Boeing wants to get away from that. OK, fine... So move the store onto company-owned property instead! You're not going to convince me that there's no room to do so.
Another is that they're trying to route surplus property through fewer hands, and to have a more direct line from the location that the surplus is being shed from to the buyer(s). OK... So why not install a series of "micro" surplus outlets at each plant where they plan to move stuff out? That way, surplus property could be routed directly into the local outlet with a minimum of screening needed. This would also be nearly ideal for the prospective buyer(s), as each location could specialize in a different product line.
The explanation (or excuse... take your pick) that I find the least believable is that there's simply not as much surplus property coming down the pipeline into the retail channel. I don't buy this at all because I've seen, many times, how crowded the back of the current warehouse can get with stuff. I've also seen, more times than I care to count, huge amounts of electronic test equipment that never reaches the retail store. It has, historically, gone out the door to wholesale buyers with (literally) millions of dollars in spending power.
So: What about tilting the scales a bit? Route a bit less equipment to the wholesalers, and a bit more to retail. It may shift the numbers, but it'll certainly prove to be a draw to the electronic hobbyists if a better assortment of test gear starts showing up at the retail level.
Here's an idea that might appeal. If the surplus store is so expensive to operate, then do what they've done with so much of the manufacturing: Outsource the thing! It seems to have worked for the Boeing general-merchandise store, why would it not (if done well) work for the surplus outlet?
Perhaps most suspicious: I've learned that the person to actually implement the decision to close the store was Mary Armstrong, the FORMER president of the Shared Services Group. I've also learned that she made this decision just before moving on to another job entirely. Tim Copes was left holding the bag, as it were.
Maybe I'm being paranoid, but that seems to me a prime example of an executive pumping up her resume before moving on to greener pastures. I cannot completely discount the possibility that the surplus store was an undeserving victim in that process.
What Boeing is going to do instead...
Boeing has told me that they're in the process of transitioning to a sales model where "small stuff" (no idea how they're making the distinction) will likely be sold via Ebay. Other items, or collections of items, will likely be sold in bulk lots via sealed-bid auctions run by Boeing themselves. It is likely that these sales will be limited to wholesalers, not because of anything Boeing says or does but because large wholesalers are likely the only ones with enough dollar clout to effectively participate.
OK, the store's gone. Now what do we do?
The goal is simple. I think we all want to see SOME sort of retail presence for the surplus store reappear. It won't happen at the current location, so that's not something we should worry about.
HOWEVER -- I do want to see a "Boeing Surplus Retail Store" in whatever form it may come. Probably the best chance is that, if enough support is shown, they may open a new store in a different location.
In short: I have no objection at all to Boeing wanting to sell some things at auction, or sell stuff in bulk lots to wholesale. I just don't want to see the retail presence gone! Not many people can afford to buy in bulk, nor do many have the space to store such large purchases or the time to deal with them.
As for Ebay, and contrary to popular belief, not everyone likes auctions. Ebay has nearly as many foes as fans, so it's far from a 'universal' venue.
I believe there will always be demand for a retail store. More than enough to make it viable, no matter what the bean-counters may think. I hope that I'm proved right.
How You Can Help...
This call goes out to anyone and everyone who has ever shopped at Boeing Surplus, especially those who have been regular customers: Do NOT stay silent! LET THE BOEING COMPANY KNOW how you feel about this!!
I would like to say a warm 'THANK YOU!' to everyone who has written, called, or E-mailed to date. Most importantly, I would like to urge you all to KEEP THE PRESSURE UP!!! The more traffic Boeing gets about this, the more likely they are to, perhaps a year or two down the road, reverse this dumb decision once and for all.
So: Please continue to send those E-mails, letters, etc. to:
Mr. Tim Copes, President,
Boeing Shared Services Group
Mailstop 6R7-01
PO Box 3707
Seattle, WA 98124
PHONE: (425) 865-7501
E-Mail: timothy.j.copes (at-sign here) boeing dot com
Thanks for your interest and help.