The point isn't that those items can't be obtained anywhere else; the point is that a general store located on base, which is meant to cater to servicemembers, does not stock common items that servicemembers actually want (or need) to buy.
Throughout this thread I keep reading that the NEX is self-sustaining and doesn't rely on subsidies, which, if I'm reading it correctly, everyone thinks is a good thing. Then, people bitch about the NEX not stocking what they want.
Fact is, if the NEX is self-sustaining then they are obviously stocking what they need to in order to make a profit. Regardless of what anyone thinks they "should" stock, if it's a black and red ink issue, they will stock what is needed to make money, or at least stay afloat. Not stocking white t-shirts may be a cost benefit analysis in that why waste money on stocking it when Wal Mart sells the same thing so much cheaper.
I.e., for Villanelle, in your case, I'm gonna guess the reason they don't stock women's belts isn't because someone is incompetent or so shortsided or pedophilliac that they forgot belts, it's because they were probably losing money on having belts in stock. Same goes for all the Ed Hardy ties, the current trend is Ed Hardy and Affliction, especially amongst junior enlisted, so they don't stock plain jane ties (in that NEX).
Personally, I buy stuff from the NEX and I buy stuff from out in town. If I can price match and get it lower at the NEX, I do. I've gotten some electronics and clothes cheaper at the NEX. I've also bought stuff out in town because the NEX didn't have what I wanted.
The wonders and amazement of free market society....