Side street entrance
Paper products
I LOVE these signs!
Random stuff everywhere
Need a cork screw?
James R.
Nov 23, 2024
You can tell the staff really has fun putting the label on stuff here. Are you looking for DIY electronic components, a Buffalo Wild Wings beer coozy, and a honey nut Cheerio flavored lip balm? Well, have I got a place for you......
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Brian S.
Apr 24, 2024
This place is amazing. Super cool stuff. Some really crazy stuff. Service was great Selection is endless on everything you can think of... I was mind blown on the stuff in this store.Value is excellent Highly recommend
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Sarah G.
Aug 24, 2023
In terms of surplus stores Ax-Man is about as good as they come. Everytime we are in the Twin Cities we make a point to stop here just to take it all in and see what kind of oddities and treasures we may find to take home with us. Some key takeaways: 1. Street parking only, but that's never been an issue for us2. The staff here is very kind and helpful3. No public restrooms so if you're travelling with a child plan accordingly 4. Plan a good 30 minutes minimum to take it all in. If you know what you want this might go faster, but if you come here to just enjoy it and see what surprises you may find, you'll want a little chunk of time to explore. Overall it's hard to describe - I think of it like Archie Mcfee in the PNW mixed with a local hardware store. It's a gem of a find and I hope it never changes.
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Nikki N.
Jan 29, 2024
This is not your typical thrift store. This is definitely a store you want to come into if you have some time. I'm not exactly sure who "the axman" is, but he is referenced a lot in little signs throughout the store. There is some really quirky and bizarre things that you want to come to this store with an open mind. Axman has been a staple on University for the past 60 years. I love the cities mainly for the quirky and fun stores. This is a must see. They also have really good prices on most things! They have something for everyone here, that's for sure.
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Naomi S.
Jul 2, 2022
Wish i lived in MN so i could wander these aisles regularly! So much to see, so fun to look at it all!
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Robert S.
Jun 9, 2022
I've been going to Ax-man for decades. What a great place to wander around and discover stuff ya just gotta have...even if you don't know what you'll use it for yet. From oddball electronic components to miscellaneous parts from God knows what products. Last time I was there I picked up a variety of threaded knobs, a few plastic thing-a-ma-jigs for some kind of whatchamacallit, a lighted magnifying glass, and a pair of goofy Groucho Marx style glasses with nose and mustache. I was tempted to get a WW2 gas mask but opted for a few bare gears that I might use sometime to make something some day. I LOVE THIS ECLECTIC PLACE!
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John O.
Oct 14, 2014
Worth checking out oncefor a couple of chuckles.Merch is mostly junk.Driven by Ax-Man on University for years and years. Finally stopped in for the first time last evening. I had no idea what to expect. While it was somewhat amusing browsing the aisles and reading the signs on the bins pitching their wares, I did not make any purchases. Can definitely see this place being cool as shit for many - the vast majority of what they are selling is just not for my tastes.Borrowing from the language on the Ax-Man website: it is full of thing-a-ma-jigs, whatz-its, and doo-dads. Most of it is dirt cheap because it is worthless garbage. Buy 12 pieces of one type of crap, and you get the 13th one for free. I could easily see a hoarder going bankrupt shopping at Ax-Man.The only items that interested me were some of the statues that they had on display, but I did not see any price tags on them. Guessing they would be negotiable if you were seriously interested. I could see putting hip-hop Jeezy in my place of abode as a gag. I'll give you $20 bucks for him - what do you say, Ax-Man?
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Ellie B.
Dec 1, 2014
Yeah, this is basically my new favorite store. It reminds me of American Science and Surplus in Milwaukee but with more fun novelty stuff. My hands quickly became full with all of the awesome stuff I wanted, no, NEEDED. Just then a friendly worker offered to bring me a basket!Staff were friendly and fair when I asked for a discount on the chipped gold bar I was buying for my nephew. He's really happy with it. And rich.I walked away a happy camper with some weird fake tattoos, a Miss Cleo tarot deck, a Survival Handbook, glow-in-the-dark star stickers for my ceiling, and a zipper pouch in the shape of a ghetto blaster. NEEDED.Dan also found lots of good containers of various sizes for storing little things like game pieces.
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Karen N.
Jan 26, 2009
Ax-Man is one of the things I most miss about Saint Paul. I haven't found anything like it here in the Northeast. Sigh.It's junk bonanza. Surplus of every conceivable category, from twizzle sticks to LEDs to gas masks to motors to relays to theatre seats to spoons. Feeling uncreative on a long Minnesota winter's night? Head over to the Ax-Man and you'll come out with an armful of stuff for $5 and you'll be creating your own Rube Goldbergesque creations the very next day.Oh, I love you Ax-Man. Please, please open a New York City branch. Sigh.
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Sam H.
Jul 31, 2011
This place is a teacher's dream store, especially if you bribe your students with cheap crap for a job well done. There are bouncy balls, race cars, pens, office supplies, shiny rocks, weird toys from the 90's and a giant bin of those fake babies that they use in high schools to demonstrate how hard it is to rear a child. There is also a lot of science related stuff: beakers, empty chemical vials with Polish labels and tubes. The best part? IT'S CHEAP. As I waited in line with a brush for my cat, a magnifying glass and an ice-cream scoop, I listened to the totals of all of the transactions in front of me. They were as follows: 89 cents and $1.25.This place is fun, has a lot of really weird stuff (including an iron-lung, at least 10 oscilloscopes, gas masks, post-apocalyptic art) and is cheap. Check it out!
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