When you walk into the North Carolina Surplus Property store, you’ll immediately see several rows of used office chairs. Many are stained, tattered or sagging. But at $3 bucks, it might be worth looking past the coffee stains of state employee past.

I went to the store Monday to see what it was all about. I left feeling like I walked through an institutional time warp. The state’s surplus store is filled with worn wonders. A $5 turn-dial TV. A large $25 light table. A $400 restaurant ice maker.

Each item is marked with a sticker noting which state department it used to reside in, a small notation offering a peek into its past. Most of the state’s surplus stuff must have seen its heyday in the 70s, 80s, and 90s or so it seems. Still, there are some cheap finds on office furniture and other miscellaneous odds and ends (raised toilet seats, staplers, floppy disks and more).

And if you go at the right time, you can even wander around the Drug Seizure Property Showroom. The room features everything from flat screen TVs and couches to a surf board and table saw. Items in the showroom are only available for sale via a bid process.

The store is located on Chapel Hill Road in Raleigh, not far from its intersection with I-40. Just look for a large fenced-in lot filled with state vehicles. You can buy those too. Hours are here. Directions are here.

Have you ever bought anything from the state surplus store? I didn’t this time, but I’ll be back.