MREInfo.com

Hello all I am new here. I stumbled across this site trying to learn about MRE's. This is a really cool site. I have a question though. I have seen military surplus stores online that sale MRE's and from their pictures they looke like real US military MREs but on the bag it says "US Government Property Commercial Resale is Unlawful" Would those be legal MRE's? Thanks for your time

Welcome to the forums, Butlermilitia!

Let me start off by saying "I am not a lawyer" so any advice you get from me...you'll be getting what you paid for it.

As for the legality of the surplus store selling those military MREs, that's always tough to say. There are MREs that are legitimately out there...such as MREs given away as disaster aid. I've also seen MREs starting to be officially "surplused" by the government - as in, the govt. sells them to dealers who are authorized to resell them to the public.

But on the other side of that coin, the govt. is still known to go after surplus dealers near military bases who are selling MREs they got from servicemen.

Personally, I get the feeling the govt. is starting to change their tune from "commercial resell is prohibited" to "commercial resell is prohibited except when we say it's ok". And how, exactly, you're supposed to be able to tell a legit resell from a non-legit resell is anyone's guess.

As for that wording, maybe a lawyer amongst us can explain better, but to me, just because someone puts wording on something, doesn't make it legally binding. If I sell you an empty box and write "you can't resell this" on the outside, does that mean you're breaking the law if you resell the empty box?

More to the point, and back to MREs, if there are no other ways of obtaining MREs except by appropriating them from military sources (soldiers, etc.) and all those means of appropriation are illegal, then it might not be a stretch to say that all military MREs you see in stores are illegal.

But that's not the case...at least not anymore. With MREs being used for disaster relief and being officially surplused, it's no longer the case that military MREs can only come from the military illegally.

But you still have to be careful. Check out this thread on a govt. investigation into MRE sales on eBay back in 2005:

viewtopic.php?t=612

Just because some MREs are legitimately obtained, that doesn't mean you can't still get caught with illegal ones. I've heard from at least one eBay buyer who got a visit from Army CID because he won an auction of MREs that were later determine to be stolen. And yes, they did confiscate his MREs.

I'm not trying to scare you off all MREs, I'm just saying the case isn't clear cut for them being completely legal or illegal. If you buy some at a surplus store (for their inflated prices), you're probably going to be safe enough because that transaction is fairly anonymous. On eBay, you just never know.

In addition to what Kman has mentioned, there is also the more sinister side to online sales. First of all, it's not at all unusual for people on web sites whether they be retail or auction site sales, to "borrow" images from other resources. As a result, what you might see online may not be exactly what you receive.

Exercising a little common sense and communicating with the seller should keep you out of any trouble. As an example, it seems too cheap or the seller sounds too eager to dispose of the item, you may want to exercise some discretion. Also, of late, I've seen some MREs from Ameriqual (of recent manufacture) that appear to be packaged in military packaging, but the individual MRE wrappers do not have the prohibited resale inscription on them.

MCIera wrote:First of all, it's not at all unusual for people on web sites whether they be retail or auction site sales, to "borrow" images from other resources. As a result, what you might see online may not be exactly what you receive.

Funny you should mention that, MCIera. I always get a chuckle when I see this image:



used in eBay auctions. I think they either rip that off from my main MREs page or grab it from other auctions. For the record, that's not my pic originally - it's just one that seems to get used a lot.

I've always found this to be an interesting conversational topic ---- especially now that the Government is in fact handing these little jewels out to the civilian population (sure beats the old cheese give-away program). Without each and every single MRE package being assigned it's own unique serial number, how in the world could any investigator acertain the legitimacy (or illegitimacy) of a given "bag"?

That being said, we all know that if or when "Big Brother" comes knocking they wield an enormous amount of power through not only actual authority but outright intimidation....sort of "Bend over and grab your ankles" authority leaving you hoping for the best. Bottom line: You put your money down and you take your chances! (it's not really that bleak though )

Although I've never dealt with Ebay I've never felt uncomfortable purchasing MREs at surplus stores or gun shows. Unless someone is outright insinuating that the MREs he's selling are stolen, I would not be concerned about purchasing them.

Now let's eat!


`rats

C-rats wrote:Without each and every single MRE package being assigned it's own unique serial number, how in the world could any investigator acertain the legitimacy (or illegitimacy) of a given "bag"?

Without having the original MRE case, it would probably be difficult (but not impossible) to figure out where each individual MRE came from.

With the case, it's probably pretty easy. On each case, next to the "Pack Date" is a lot number and those lot numbers are probably recorded by the manufacturers and the military. So there should be records somewhere saying this lot of cases went to this particular military base and this other lot went to FEMA. And knowing the military, I'm betting they keep pretty anal records as to where each and every lot number of MREs has ever been since they left the warehouse.

Aside from lot numbers, since 2006, MRE cases have also started carrying RFID tags. You might have noticed these as big white square stickers on the outside of the cases. Some manufacturers even stamp A and B on the stickers to help identify which cases it is, but if you peel off the sticker, you'll see the RFID tag on there. Along with the RFID serial number on the sticker, this is another way to track where the cases originated.

But back to the individual MREs without the case, don't forget that the MRE parts and pieces all have date codes and (probably) lot numbers marked on their boxes, too. I'm guessing the military doesn't keep track of which entree lot numbers go with which MRE case lot numbers, but I'll bet the manufacturers have that information (at the very least, in case a recall is needed). So if they really, really, really, wanted to know where your individual MRE came from, I'm betting they could find out.

And in case you were thinking of getting rid of the entree box, the date code and lot numbers are also stamped onto the entree pouches.

It should also be noted that the Prohibited Resale indicia stems from the fact that some components contained within the government contracted MRE packages are supplied to the contractors by the government for packaging. Most if not all of the edible components are currently commercially produced and packaged and as such would not be "prohibited items". Items like the entree packages have always been available individually in the retail supply chain since the MRE program was started.

So if I was to go to a actual military surplus store (not the internet) and find MRE's I'd be best to stay away or puchase?

I would vote for purchasing them. Of course, you're going to pay a premium ($8 per MRE) in those stores but at least you can get them quickly. A case of MREs on eBay right now will probably set you back $50-$60 ($4-$5) each.

Welcome Butler!

Also check out this thread from 2005:
viewtopic.php?t=249&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0