News from Blue Feather Technologies

11-Mar-06: Mike & Key Swap Meet a Big Success!

The best way I can classify the Mike & Key swap meet is a full night's worth of anticipation and significant physical effort, the latter easily comparable to a full workout at the gym, followed by nine hours (six for buyers) of loosely-controlled chaos. Better put some gel insoles in your shoes, especially if you're a seller. You'll be glad you did!

But guess what? It's FUN! I'll be back again next year. I did very well this year, netting enough to finance a major lab-bench expansion. For all the folks who bought what I came to sell, THANK YOU for your business! I'm glad I had things of interest for you at what were (apparently) good prices.

Overall, though, the sheer variety of stuff was down a bit from last year and, after buying and selling there every year for over a decade, I'm beginning to notice a pattern. It'll start with one year's event that can only be called 'Phenomenal.' The following year is almost as good, but not quite. You'll be walking around, unable to shake the feeling that something is just missing.

The third year, everything seems to go to pot. And then the fourth year, it's back up again. Assuming this cycle holds true, next year (2007) stands a good chance of being a disappointment, while 2008 should be back up to 'Phenomenal.'

I would be curious if other regular attendees of this event have noticed a similar pattern over the years.

25-Sep-05: 'Scrounge 2005' Completed!

I can't believe it took me two weeks to settle down and write the trip report...

Then again, maybe I can. This was a trip that held almost as many ruts as it did peaks, and it probably took this long for everything to settle into coherency in my gray matter.

First and foremost: The changes at Kaiser Tech were disappointing, to say the least. The vast assortment of test gear that they once had, when Dan Burtis was running that side of it, is long gone, right down to the shelving that the stuff was sitting on. I've been told -- repeatedly -- by the staff that this is a temporary condition. Let's all hope so! Kaiser was one heck of a good source for used test gear, one that I'd hate to see go away permanently.

UPDATE 11-Mar-06: I learned, just a month or so after I got back from the trip, that a company called Outback Equipment, located in Morgan Hill, bought the remaining test-gear inventory from Kaiser Tech, and is continuing to build their inventory of same. I know very little of Outback, other than that they sell regularly on Ebay (mostly electronic manufacturing and process-control equipment), that their prices on used test gear appear to be pretty darn good, and that they're friendly to deal with (this per a confidential report from a fellow scrounger).

Outback is at the top of my 'Check them out' list for Scrounge 2006. Stay tuned for more details as I get them.

With every 'Up,' there's usually a 'Down.' Scrounge 2K5's 'Down' side started with Halted (HSC Electronics) and HMR Recycling. HSC's status is still very much unstable, and they remain one step away from being classed, once again, as a 'Scrounger Rip-Off.' The only thing that has saved them, for the moment, is that they appear to have made some positive changes in response to a letter I wrote them shortly after I got back.

As for HMR, well... what can I say? They're Just Plain Bad. In fact, it's places like HMR that make the surplus business look like crap. Their selection is no better, and in many cases worse, than what you'd find at any other used-computer place. Their prices remain as ridiculous as ever (they're using the high side of Ebay as a reference for the retail side, even for as-is stuff), and their customer service skills are some of the worst it has ever been my misfortune to encounter (I got laughed at in responding to THEIR request to 'make an offer').

It's a shame, too -- HMR had such potential when they started out, years ago. Now they're just a greedy bunch of money-grubbers who don't seem to give a flying banana what they try to sell, what condition it's in, or for how much, as long as they make a buck doing it.

One of the worst bits of news was, unfortunately, that a once-glorious electronics swap meet has fallen prey to Those Who Just Don't Like Such Things. The LARK (Livermore Amateur Radio Klub) swap has fallen on hard enough times that they've been relegated to a very dusty, grungy, and bug-filled dirt parking lot at Robertson Park near downtown Livermore. It's unpaved, murder on your car's suspension, and it's populated with enough tiny green flying critters to keep the most ardent of entomologists happy.

I've corresponded with a couple of senior LARK people about this, including the club's president. The good news is that they are indeed maintaining the search for a better venue. When that'll happen is anyone's guess, though.

Oddly enough, I've gotten favorable reports about Livermore from one of my fellow scroungers who also happens to be a regular seller there. Perhaps what they have worked out better than anticipated? In any case, I invite the readers of this board to draw your own conclusions.

Enough gloom -- Now for more good news! In stark contrast to Livermore, the DeAnza swap (formerly Foothill, formerly Lockheed) seems to have truly found their place. Their new venue at DeAnza College is one of the best they've had since losing Foothill College, and it shows! They've got nearly the same amount of space, and entry/exit is just as easy (if not more so) than Lockheed. Another good point is that sellers do not need to pay the $2 parking fee that DeAnza normally charges.

If LARK doesn't find a new venue for their event, I can easily see DeAnza becoming the premier electronic swap meet for the Bay Area.

On the retail front, ACE Electronics and Excess Solutions continue to be outstanding sources for component parts. Weird Stuff, while a bit high-priced on some items, is still a very worthy stop, though you'll get the most benefit out of them if you're a 'regular.' Their stock changes so quickly that it's hard to nail what you want if you can only come in once a year (as I'm limited to).

There's new places as well. One noteworthy stop for me was Taraval Computer Repair, a micro-store in the hills of San Francisco that, while a bit hard to get to, has some very decent deals in pull-out parts. Unfortunately, I was unable to get to the Computer Recycling Center in Santa Clara, and I was also unable to review Berman's Diversified Industries in the time I had available. They're both on the slate for next year.

All that, coupled with finding a few new places and learning that Six Flags is at least trying to do something right (that's a whole other story), made for a fun (but tiring!) trip.

But you know what? I've already started the preliminary planning for next year. ;-)

Keep the peace(es).

CoCard works in concert with the National Processing Company. NPC has been around for a good many years, and is publicly traded on the NYSE (symbol NAP). They are, according to their fact sheet, the second largest processor in the world with about $4 billion in annual volumes.

I'm not getting paid to say this stuff, BTW. I'm only responding to great service. I can easily understand how they've gotten a 100% positive Ebay feedback rating.

If you need a merchant account and/or a processing terminal for your business, I think you could certainly do worse than to give them a call. 1-888-666-3066.

Thanks for reading. 'Til next time...

Bruce Lane, Owner

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