I got to my latest dental appt about an hour early after returning from work in another town so had some time to kill. There is one of those Amazon returns places nearby so I decided to take a look. I had also been on the road several hours so it served as a bathroom break. These places are overall a waste of time with bins of junk placed all throughout a warehouse type building. Crap is just mixed up with no organization so toys, electronics, kitchen stuff, auto stuff, and so many cell phone cases and protectors. This stuff is all out of the box for the most part and has no label so you don’t even know what it is most of the time or what it fits. There are usually a few things that catch my interest but that I don’t need another one of such as cell phone chargers, etc. Basically anything that can be bought on Amazon ends up in these places and crap is randomly scattered throughout bins in the store.
Anyway, in the bin with countless cell phone cases and a kids pink dinosaur toy, I noticed some random loose oxygen sensors and a fuel pump. It was $4 day when I was there so that would have been a real deal on an oxygen sensor if it fit something you needed. Both were the modern 4 wire type.
I looked up some numbers on each using my phone and couldn’t come up with much besides they were likely Bosch. I seem to recall these numbers starting with RAL and OS. Nothing came up in regards to what car they fit, etc. The fuel pump was probably some no-name from China. I couldn’t find anything on that. Besides, with all the work involved in swapping a fuel pump, this is something you don’t want to skimp on so this probably wasn’t a good deal.
Is there any site for looking up part numbers like this if I ever bump into one of these deals again? Also, I know they sell many sensors where you simply cut the wiring off your old sensor and splice it to the new sensor, re-using the connector from the old sensor. I have done this before and always give the parts store the make and model of my car to get the sensor. Are these sensors at all universal to where you can cut off the connector that doesn’t fit your car and use them in another or not?
I just looked through the cache of searches on my phone and one appears to have been an RAL12031 if that means anything. I also have searches for an OS24286H and OS2500511 which I think are related to these.
I have bought a couple treasures at this place in the past but I only go in when I have an appt nearby and time to kill beforehand. Overall they are a waste of time but the parking lot was so full I had a hard time parking so obviously many disagree.
These are often referred to “liquidation outlets” or similar. They are pretty much in any town of any size. I think there are two in business here right now but haven’t been to the other one just yet. I think we used to have 4 but 2 went under.
Many people are all about these places but you have to have LOTS of time to kill to really go through the stuff well. I just wandered around and looked for things that caught my interest. Since these are random pallets of stuff, you never know what you will find.
I tried that right now and Google again from a computer rather than a phone. It is easier for me on a regular PC vs. phone. The numbers didn’t bring up anything.
As for these stores, I understand they make bids on pallets of stuff, sight unseen. They never know what they are getting.
The one in my town that seems to be the most successful charges $7 on Sat and Sun. They restock once during the day on Sat and in the morning Sun. Then the price drops to $4 on Monday, $3 on Tuesday, $2 on Wed, $1 on Thursday, and 50 cents on Friday. Basically I have heard of people getting some killer deals on Sat like an iPad for $7. I have been told it is like Black Friday though and packed with folks looking for the real good deals on Sat. I have driven by it at these times and the parking lot is packed, people are parked out on the main road, in the grass, etc. I don’t like shopping like this so have never made a point to go on the first day when the best stuff is available.
Here is the link to the place on Facebook. It looks like their hours and pricing have changed a tad from what I posted. Don't Miss Outlet
Here is another one that I haven’t been to. As you can see from the pictures, it is just totally random stuff from space heaters to brake rotors. Treasure Aisles Outlet
If one of the major search engines can’t find it, I can’t think of anything better, unless you can determine the manufacturer of the part from their branding.
I wonder if these were just cheap China knock offs and don’t correlate easily to anything. I didn’t see any branding but I did get one result for Bosch although I am not sure the sensor was actually a Bosch. The page I found also said it was for GM vehicles dating back to 1975. I really don’t think those had a 4 wire heated OBD II style sensor!
I used to like hitting the surplus places once in a while. Usually didn’t find much but once in a while some useful stuff. Bins of electronic components and motors if you knew what it was or bins of small screws and parts. At least three in Minneapolis specializing in different items. I’d see guys with thick glasses going over the electronics. Who knew what they were building in their basements?