On December 21, Boeing will close the doors of its 50,000 square foot surplus store, long a "secret" source for high-tech materials and systems scoured for use in other R&D and manufacturing facilities.

Any number of bearing manufacturers across North America noted the closing, and expressed concerns their favorite source for odd advanced materials, surplus advanced mechanical and electronics would dry up.

The Boeing store has also been a regular source for precision production-ready tools and equipment, from hand tools to gas analyzers, "from wind tunnels to forklifts," finding its way onto manufacturing shop floors worldwide.

But the Boeing store is simply moving online, which should make its wares even more available to time and cost-constrained R&D and manufacturing. And it should free up at least a few bearing sales staff in the Kent, Washington area who had been recruited to shop long-distance via cell phone for unfamiliar materials.

The company will be listing items both on its own site and on eBay. Other licensed stores are located in Wichita, Kansas, and four in southern California: Anaheim, El Segundo, Huntington Beach, and Long Beach.

More details are here:

Boeing Investment Recovery and Surplus Sales