UNIVERSAL SURPLUS Reviews 

Antwoord van UNIVERSAL SURPLUS

31 mrt 2026

Hello,

We’re really sorry for this situation and understand how stressful and frustrating it must be.

We do respond to FedEx when they request additional information. However, even when everything has been provided, customs procedures can sometimes take a bit of time, and unfortunately this part is outside of our control.

If the issue hasn’t been resolved yet, could you please share your order number with us so we can look into it more closely?

We truly appreciate your patience and understanding while this is being resolved.

Antwoord van UNIVERSAL SURPLUS

31 mrt 2026

Bonjour,

On est vraiment désolés de lire votre message, et on comprend totalement votre agacement après une expérience comme celle-ci.

On reconnaît que le délai de réponse n’a pas été à la hauteur, surtout dans votre situation où vous aviez essayé de nous contacter à plusieurs reprises, ça n’aurait pas dû se passer comme ça.

Pour les frais de retour, ils sont effectivement appliqués en temps normal, mais dans le cas d’une erreur de notre part sur le produit reçu, ce n’est pas normal que vous ayez eu à les payer.

On prend votre retour très au sérieux et il nous aide à avancer. Depuis, nous avons renforcé notre service client pour éviter que ce type de situation ne se reproduise.

Encore désolés pour cette expérience, et merci d’avoir pris le temps de nous écrire.

Antwoord van UNIVERSAL SURPLUS

31 mrt 2026

Bonjour,

Nous sommes vraiment désolés de lire votre message et comprenons votre frustration.

Nous précisons toujours les composants sur nos fiches produits, mais il est possible que cette fois-ci certaines informations n’aient pas été renseignées correctement ou qu’une erreur se soit glissée, et nous nous en excusons.

Concernant les frais de retour, si vous nous contactez par mail et que nous constatons qu’il s’agit bien d’une erreur de notre part, nous créerons une étiquette de retour à notre charge.

Nous avons depuis renforcé notre service client pour mieux répondre aux demandes et éviter ce type de situation.

Merci d’avoir pris le temps de nous écrire, votre retour est précieux.

Antwoord van UNIVERSAL SURPLUS

6 okt 2025

Hello Michele,

We are very sorry to hear that your experience with our tactical glasses was disappointing. Your feedback is extremely important to us, and we want to make this right. We can offer you either a full refund or a store credit.

Please share your order number with us so we can process your preferred option as quickly as possible.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to resolve this,
The UNIVERSAL SURPLUS Team

Antwoord van UNIVERSAL SURPLUS

6 okt 2025

Bonjour Paul,

Nous sommes sincèrement désolés d’apprendre que votre commande n’a pas été conforme à vos attentes et que vous n’avez pas reçu de réponse rapide de notre part. Ce n’est absolument pas le niveau de service que nous souhaitons offrir.

Pour que nous puissions examiner votre situation et trouver une solution, pourriez-vous nous transmettre votre numéro de commande ?

Nous nous engageons à traiter votre demande dans les plus brefs délais.

Merci pour votre compréhension et votre patience,
The UNIVERSAL SURPLUS Team

Antwoord van UNIVERSAL SURPLUS

6 okt 2025

Hello Paolo,

We’re sorry for the confusion regarding your order. According to our records, your order was refunded on August 8th, and a confirmation email was sent to you at that time.

If you haven’t received the email or the refund, please check your spam/junk folder, or contact us directly with your order number so we can assist you further.

Thank you for your understanding,
The UNIVERSAL SURPLUS Team

Antwoord van UNIVERSAL SURPLUS

6 okt 2025

Hello,

We are truly sorry for the disappointing experience. It seems there was an error on our side in handling your order. Regarding the product composition, some variations can occur because military suppliers, occasionally change materials for cost or production reasons depending on the time. Since we purchase in large quantities, it is unfortunately not possible for us to check the exact composition of every single item.

We appreciate your feedback and will continue working to provide clearer product information in the future.

Thank you for your patience and understanding,
The UNIVERSAL SURPLUS Team

Antwoord van UNIVERSAL SURPLUS

6 okt 2025

Hello,

We are truly sorry that your experience with our tactical glasses did not meet your expectations. Your feedback is very important to us. Please share your order number so we can promptly process a full refund and make things right.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to resolve this,
The UNIVERSAL SURPLUS Team

Antwoord van UNIVERSAL SURPLUS

17 jul 2025

Hello,

We’re truly sorry for the delay in shipping your order and for the lack of communication — we understand how frustrating this can be.

It’s not an excuse, but during our sales period combined with the free shipping code, we experienced a very high volume of orders, which unfortunately caused delays in fulfillment. We also acknowledge that we should have communicated better, and we’re working to improve on that point moving forward.

Regarding the lack of response to your emails and messages, this is equally regrettable. Our offices were closed for the long weekend around July 14th (a national holiday in France), which impacted our response time. That said, we know this doesn’t justify everything and we take your feedback seriously.

We’re a small independent team and don’t have the logistical power of big structures like Amazon — but we genuinely do our best every day to meet our customers’ expectations.

Thank you for your patience and support, and again, sincere apologies for the inconvenience.

Best regards,
The Universal Surplus Team

Antwoord van UNIVERSAL SURPLUS

17 jul 2025

Hello,

We’re truly sorry to hear that you’re not satisfied with your order, and we appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback.

Regarding the French Work Jacket, we completely understand your concern about pricing. That said, we’ve sold this item extensively over time and have never received this type of feedback until now. It’s one of the most iconic French utility jackets — and like many heritage garments, its market value can vary significantly, from around €20 to well over €500 for older, rare versions, depending on condition, age, fabric weight, and sourcing.

It’s possible you’ve seen a visually similar jacket in a workwear store or online at a lower price. However, visual similarity doesn’t necessarily reflect the same level of quality, origin, or historical value — and these are key elements we take into account when curating our pieces. We always aim to align our prices fairly with the market and our competitors. If that weren’t the case, we likely wouldn’t still be here — our customers are well-informed and always have the final say.

As for the other items in your order: these are authentic military surplus pieces. We understand they might not meet everyone’s expectations and that some people unfamiliar with surplus may find them a bit “weird” at first. That’s exactly why we do our best to communicate this clearly through photos and product descriptions — to help customers make informed choices and avoid any misunderstandings.

Regarding your return: if you haven’t yet received the return label, that’s clearly an oversight on our part. Our customer service team is currently catching up, but your request will be prioritized and you’ll receive your label shortly.

While return shipping is currently the responsibility of the customer (as stated in our policy), we’re actively working on improving both delivery and return options to offer more affordable and flexible solutions to our community.

Once again, we’re sorry for the inconvenience and truly hope we can turn this experience around.

The UNIVERSAL SURPLUS team.

Antwoord van UNIVERSAL SURPLUS

15 jul 2025

Hello,

We're truly sorry to hear about your experience and for the inconvenience caused by receiving the wrong size.

After checking all our communication channels, we couldn’t find any message from you regarding this issue prior to your recent outreach. Of course, if an error was made on our end, you absolutely shouldn’t have to cover the return shipping costs — that’s something we take responsibility for, and we will gladly make it right.

Regarding your comment on product origin:

We understand that "Made in China" can carry certain stereotypes. However, it's important to clarify a few things:

First, many military institutions — including those whose surplus items we offer — have sourced production from China for years, due to efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Second, the quality of Chinese-made products usually reflects what clients are asking for. When clients demand extremely low prices, production standards are adjusted accordingly. But Chinese manufacturers are more than capable of delivering high-end, precise, and ethically made goods when the demand and budget align. In fact, some of the most technically advanced products on the market today are made in China.

The belief that "Made in China" equals low quality is a dated generalization. Like in any country, the final result depends on the factory, the specifications, and the standards enforced by the client.

It’s also true that labor conditions can vary — and not just in China. Issues can exist in workshops anywhere in the world, even in Europe. That’s why we choose our partners carefully and value transparency and responsibility above all.

Once again, we’re sorry for the frustration caused and are here to help fix the situation. Please send us your order number so we can resolve it properly.

Thank you for your feedback — it helps us grow and improve.

The UNIVERSAL SURPLUS team

Antwoord van UNIVERSAL SURPLUS

4 jul 2025

Hello,

Thank you for reaching out and for taking the time to share your detailed feedback.

First of all, we’re truly sorry that your experience with this jacket did not meet your expectations. We completely understand your disappointment — especially when the product received feels different from what was advertised — and we want to assure you that we’re here to help.

After reviewing the product listing more carefully, you’re absolutely right: there was an error in the dating. The jacket shown on our website is from the 1980s, not the 1960s. This was a mistake on our part due to a lack of vigilance, and we sincerely apologize for the confusion. We will update the description immediately.

Please also note that, as we purchase vintage military surplus in large batches, there can sometimes be small variations between pieces — including differences in the year of production or labeling.

To help us investigate this properly and find a solution, we kindly ask that you send us photos of the item you received — especially of the label — via email, so we can better identify and understand the issue.

Regarding returns: even if the item was on sale, you are fully entitled to return it, in line with EU consumer protection laws. We're sorry if our post-purchase email suggested otherwise — that was a miscommunication on our end, and we’re working to make that message clearer in the future.

Please reach out to us at info@universal-surplus.com with your order number and the requested photos. Our team will make sure this is resolved promptly and fairly.

We truly appreciate your honesty, and we’re committed to making this right.

Warm regards,
The Universal Surplus Team

Antwoord van UNIVERSAL SURPLUS

25 jun 2025

Hi,

Thank you for your honest feedback, and we're truly sorry to hear about your experience.

We’re glad to know the quality of the pants met your expectations, but we understand how frustrating it must be when the fit isn’t quite right, especially with international or costly returns.

You're absolutely right to point out the return cost issue. It’s something we’re actively working on behind the scenes, as we know it can be discouraging. Our goal is to find more affordable and flexible return solutions for our customers without compromising the quality of service.

Thanks again for your support and for helping us improve.

The Universal Surplus Team.

Antwoord van UNIVERSAL SURPLUS

1 apr 2025

Hello,

We’re sorry to hear that our selection and vision didn’t resonate with you. Our approach has been to highlight how military and surplus pieces have long served as the foundation for much of menswear’s inspiration. Our goal is to make these authentic styles more accessible and appreciated beyond just utility.

We appreciate your feedback and thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts.

The UNIVERSAL SURPLUS Team.

Antwoord van UNIVERSAL SURPLUS

20 mrt 2025

Merci pour votre visite, nous sommes heureux que la boutique vous ait plu. Au plaisir de vous y revoir !

L'équipe UNIVERSAL SURPLUS

Antwoord van UNIVERSAL SURPLUS

28 apr 2025

Thank you very much Austin!

Antwoord van UNIVERSAL SURPLUS

21 mrt 2025

Hello Francisco,
Thank you for your feedback. We're sorry your experience didn’t meet your expectations.

Most of our products are authentic military surplus, sourced from trusted suppliers around the world. We also offer a small number of reproductions, some of which are made in countries like China. This is always clearly stated in the product description. It's also worth noting that even official military organizations sometimes choose to manufacture gear in China for economic reasons.

Regarding the return cost, as mentioned in our Return Policy (located at the bottom of our website), return shipping is the responsibility of the customer—unless the error is on our side. In such cases, we always provide a prepaid return label after being contacted by email.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.
The UNIVERSAL SURPLUS Team

Antwoord van UNIVERSAL SURPLUS

21 mrt 2025

Hello Peter,
We’re truly sorry for the poor experience you had with your order. It’s true that we took far too long to process your return, and we fully understand your frustration. While this doesn't excuse the delay, the Christmas period was extremely intense and our team wasn’t yet fully prepared to handle such high volume. Since then, we’ve made improvements and are confident that situations like this won’t happen again.

After reviewing our email exchanges, we noticed that we did send you a return label with the shipping costs covered on our side, but unfortunately, it wasn’t used. Had it been used, you wouldn’t have had to pay for the return yourself. We also saw that our team sent a follow-up message that remained unanswered.

That said, we completely acknowledge that we should have caught this earlier and refunded your return costs, since the original error was on our part.

Our customer service team has just sent you an email to fix the issue and refund the return shipping costs.

Thank you again for your patience, and we apologize once more for the inconvenience.

The UNIVERSAL SURPLUS Team.

Antwoord van UNIVERSAL SURPLUS

21 mrt 2025

Hello,
We’re truly sorry that your experience with our customer service didn’t meet your expectations. After reviewing our email exchange, we saw that a return label was sent shortly after your first message in January, and another one less than two hours after your second message in February. That’s why we were a bit surprised by your comment and truly regret if it felt like you were being ignored.

Regarding the sizing issue, it’s true that the tag on the pants showed W32. However, as our team explained, we always measure each item ourselves rather than relying solely on the tag, as sizing can vary significantly depending on the factory or era of production.

Our last exchange ended with you saying you understood and that everything was fine—which we really appreciated.

That said, if anything was unclear or if our communication wasn’t up to your expectations, we sincerely apologize. Please don’t hesitate to reach out again if you have any further questions or need assistance.

Warm regards,
The UNIVERSAL SURPLUS Team

Antwoord van UNIVERSAL SURPLUS

21 mrt 2025

Hello,
We’re truly sorry that your experience with our customer service didn’t meet your expectations. After reviewing our email exchange, we saw that a return label was sent shortly after your first message in January, and another one less than two hours after your second message in February. That’s why we were a bit surprised by your comment and truly regret if it felt like you were being ignored.

Regarding the sizing issue, it’s true that the tag on the pants showed W32. However, as our team explained, we always measure each item ourselves rather than relying solely on the tag, as sizing can vary significantly depending on the factory or era of production.

Our last exchange ended with you saying you understood and that everything was fine—which we really appreciated.

That said, if anything was unclear or if our communication wasn’t up to your expectations, we sincerely apologize. Please don’t hesitate to reach out again if you have any further questions or need assistance.

Warm regards,
The UNIVERSAL SURPLUS Team