First Timer

foxracer186 · Post by **foxracer186** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 12:21 pm

I've never tasted an MRE before but I read some of the history on them by accident over thanksgiving break.

A week ago our christian group leader took us all up to Kings Mountain, SC to camp for the weekend. They all froze but thanks to a stop at Bass Pro shops I was rosty tosty. However our leader decided he really wanted to rough it and brought raw hamburger meat, without anything to really cook it on. When I started reading about the MRE and its flameless heater I relized just how great it would have been to have some on that trip.

I'm a student over at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and I noticed Kman was from around here. Are there any surplus stores that sell the military MRE around here or is Ebay the only way? Thanks!

Post by **kman** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 12:43 pm

Hi foxracer186 - welcome to the forums! I think this makes you the second official member from Charlotte.

So your group leader wanted to rough it by taking raw hamburger meat? Wow...that's scary. I though roughing it was taking Mountain House freeze-dried food and eating it without rehydrating it.

But it's good to see another soon-to-be MRE convert. MREs might be a little heavier than the freeze-dried food but they're easier to prepare and offer you more of a full meal.

As for where to get them around Charlotte, the only place I've seen them for sale is at the Army/Navy Surplus store on Independence. I think they wanted about $8 each for them. Unless you just want one or two MREs for tasting, that's a lot for an MRE. That means Ebay is probably your best way to go. Prices have been coming down on Ebay lately, but you'd be lucky to come away with a case for $70, I'd guess.

Another option that might be worth checking out is the Gun Show at the Metrolina Expo (I-77 and Sunset, exit 16). I just checked and there's a show Dec. 10 and 11. I've seen MREs there before but I'm not sure about the prices or supply lately. It'd be worth the $6 admission to check it out. I've seen MREs for sale before not in the main building but in one of the smaller side building where they set up the overflow vendors. If you could find a case there (check the dates!) for $45, that'd be a good deal.

foxracer186 · Post by **foxracer186** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 10:08 pm

Sounds good i'll have to check that show out, falls right inbetween my exams so thats perfect. Hope these things taste pretty good. I got a case off ebay but i'm kinda werry of it the guy claimed Military issue MRE's but didn't provide a picture, he did confirm it was "B" menu however.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... %3AIT&rd=1

I got a good price, but like I said I'm not entirely sure if there the real deal.

Post by **kman** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 1:07 am

That auction looks kind of questionable but I hope it works out for you. Let us know how they look when they come in!

Post by **DIRTYDAVE** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 11:18 pm

Hello foxracer, welcome to the boards! The guy you bought the MREs from on ebay has a good selling history so he looks like an honest guy, you should be fine. How much did he charge you for shipping? That is where they always get you. If you paid more than $15 he kinda ripped you off. It should cost no more than $15 to ship to anyone from anywhere in the US. When you sell something on ebay you control the price of the shipping. My standard for buying MREs is to not pay more than $60 per cs including shipping. That works out to $5 per meal and that is plenty to pay. Earlier this year kman and I struck gold when a guy was selling MREs near me for only $25 per cs. I picked them up from him saved on the shipping cost and sent kman his via fed ex...we will probably never see that kind of deal again. I bought two cases and kman bought four, should have bought more but money was tight at that particular time.

Well, let us know about your experience with your MREs, I love to hear stories from virgins....

fnbrowning · Post by **fnbrowning** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 9:13 pm

DIRTYDAVE wrote:Hello foxracer, welcome to the boards! The guy you bought the MREs from on ebay has a good selling history so he looks like an honest guy, you should be fine. How much did he charge you for shipping? That is where they always get you. If you paid more than $15 he kinda ripped you off. It should cost no more than $15 to ship to anyone from anywhere in the US. When you sell something on ebay you control the price of the shipping.

If it's obvious that the eBay seller is overcharging for shipping, it is against the eBay rules. eBay calls it "fee avoidance" and you can report it.
Should report it, so other good people aren't preyed upon.

My standard for buying MREs is to not pay more than $60 per cs including shipping. That works out to $5 per meal and that is plenty to pay. Earlier this year kman and I struck gold when a guy was selling MREs near me for only $25 per cs.

I like to look for MREs that are not brand-new. That way I try to hold the price down to about $3 per. But that's just me. I'm an adventurous eater.

Post by **DIRTYDAVE** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 1:08 am

I like my women older but my MREs newer....

That makes me an adventurous eater as well...LOL!

Now you know why they call me...DIRTYDAVE!

foxracer186 · Post by **foxracer186** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 9:29 pm

Well they came in and yeah they were the actuall thing. Came from New Orleans so I guess he got em from the emergancy workers and just didn't want em.

Shipping was a bit steep at $24.00 but it was UPS. I've sold stuff on Ebay before and i'm pretty sure that was a decent price comming out of that area for UPS (it was a 23 pound package).

Once I work up the guts to dig into one i'll let ya'll know how they taste. They've got a new Chick Fa li opening up off WT Harris in Charlotte. Word has it if you camp out you get free food for a year. So i'll take one up there wednesday night for dinner and camp. We'll see how it goes. If any of ya'll find a case deal like that again lemme know. I know kman's talking about '95 MRE's but i'm still warming up to the idea of these that are in date.

mw509 · Post by **mw509** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 11:46 pm

foxracer186 wrote:but i'm still warming up to the idea of these that are in date.

What is the inspection date and is it an A or B case? If you tell us we can give you some recomendations on which you should try first.

foxracer186 · Post by **foxracer186** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 1:05 am

Well its suposed to be a B case and the inspection date is suposibly '08 but he covered up all the markings with tape. Guess he doesn't want UPS to know he's selling government property.

I do have the meals though as follows:

#12 Thai Chicken
#9 Beef Stew
#20 Spaghetti With Meat Sause
#11 Pasta with Vegetables
#14 Vegetable Manicotti
#13 Cheese Tortellini
#15 Beef Enchilada
#23 Chicken with Cavatelli
#16 Chicken with Noodles
#11 Pasta with vegetables
#5 Griled Chicken
#17 Sloppy Joe

LIke i said its suposed to be a "B" case so i was suprized to find #9 and #5 in there.