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swap meet booths what sells (or doesn't)

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by rustdodger, Apr 18, 2011.

  1. rustdodger
    Joined: Jan 17, 2009
    Posts: 276

    rustdodger
    Member

    I took a few things to a small nearby swap meet last weekend.I did my best to price stuff right. I sold some, brought a bunch home along with some new found cash. What have you guys found sells well or isn't a good idea to take for your booth?
     
  2. falconsprint63
    Joined: May 17, 2007
    Posts: 2,358

    falconsprint63
    Member
    from Mayberry

    there's never any way to know for sure. it's always a craps shoot. I've seen stuff sell I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole an other times can't give away really good stuff. take what you've got, price it what you think's fair and be willing to deal if you really want to move stuff.
     
  3. Captain Chaos
    Joined: Oct 16, 2009
    Posts: 652

    Captain Chaos
    Member
    from Missery

    Take what you can fit in your truck or trailer.
    I kind of seperate mine in the space a little in the this is what I'm getting for it area and the if anyone makes an offer take it area , LOL . We been to swaps and sold lots of just junk , it added up more than the good stuff did
     
  4. Hotrodbuilderny
    Joined: Mar 20, 2009
    Posts: 1,646

    Hotrodbuilderny
    Member

    The way swap meets have been lately, if you bring anything car related you should have a leg up on the competition
     

  5. know your stuff...mostly what is being repoped....older stuff is worth the cleaning and is solid stuff - but if someone knows they can get a shiney new one...than it's a hard sell...rule of thumb....if you've dragged it to two or more meets - maybe drop the price a little....once again...a little return is always better than tripping over it....until you get mad and throw it away....just sayin'....
     
  6. Small items are easy to handle. Do not be afraid to get them wet in case of a down pour.
    Keep trying to change items see what moves and what does not. Try meets that have been around a while. Good luck
     
  7. rancid737
    Joined: Feb 22, 2011
    Posts: 219

    rancid737
    Member

    my brother picked up an accordian for 30 bucks, so who knows?
     
  8. voodoo1
    Joined: Jun 27, 2007
    Posts: 452

    voodoo1
    Member

    toasters, coffee makers, mircrowave ovens.... good kitchen supplies.......
     
  9. I Drag
    Joined: Apr 11, 2007
    Posts: 883

    I Drag
    Member

    Take all the junk you were going to throw out of your garage, put it in a box. Bring that box and set it in your swap meet space. You will be amazed how people love to dig through a box of junk to find a treasure.
     
  10. Mr48chev
    Joined: Dec 28, 2007
    Posts: 33,861

    Mr48chev
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    As Falconsprint63 said, it's an absolute crapshoot some times. I haven't sold at a swap meet in a long time simply because I haven't had a lot to sell but it's strange what sells and for what price.

    All I can say from experience is ;
    1. Know what the item is actually worth an not what "the go for in ??????"
    2. Clean the parts up so that they are presentable and a guy isn't scared to handle them. You may not feel like cleaning the grease and dirt off an item but even bargain hunters don't like to handle greasy and dirty parts when they are looking for something.
    3. Don't primer anything to "add value" fresh primer on a part usually puts guys on alert to the notion of what it is hiding.
    4. stop bullshitting with your buddy and pay attention to the guy looking at your parts and answer any and all questions as best you can. At least two of us from the HAMB looked at the same item at the Portland Swap meet this year and either of us would have bought it if the seller had taken the time away from his bullshit session to talk to us and the price was right.
    5.be in the booth or have someone else watching the booth even if it is the guy in the next booth as I don't know how many things I have passed on in the last 40 years because I couldn't find the seller in his booth.

    Mark that box that I drag suggested the 1.00 box or what ever but it will probably pay for the space and lunch.

    Until I got an offer I couldn't refuse I had two big metal tray/boxes of electrical pieces including several hundred Raja clips. Those were usually what paid for the space and lunch from sales from the two boxes. I sold the pair for 75.00 when I got out of doing swapmeets on a regular basis.
     
    caseywheels likes this.
  11. bykerlad
    Joined: Mar 14, 2009
    Posts: 260

    bykerlad
    Member
    from australia

    Sounds like your swap meets are like our`s here in oz,the only people selling stuff are the one`s selling hamburgers and drinks and a lot of household crap
     
  12. Mark68
    Joined: Sep 12, 2010
    Posts: 130

    Mark68
    Member

    I was selling at a swap meet this past weekend and it seems like anything that is $1-$20 went and unless the item was really special to someone above 20 bucks was a hard sell.
     
  13. gonejunking
    Joined: Sep 15, 2008
    Posts: 50

    gonejunking
    Member
    from NW USA

    I went to a small swap meet this last weekend, It was raining most of the morning, and I sold almost everything that I brought. I didn't expect many sales with the rain, but I was very WRONG! Most of my stuff was $25 to $150, not much $1 items.
     
  14. Dave Rondou
    Joined: May 26, 2008
    Posts: 669

    Dave Rondou
    Member

    My son and I try to sell a couple times a year. Pile ours and any friends stuff in his pickup and head out at odark thirty. We usually sell all of our friends parts and haul ours back home. Oh well, we usually have a good time anyway.
     
  15. Spooky
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 2,239

    Spooky
    Member

    Anything sells, then again it does not. Selling at a swap meet depends on the direction of the collector's wind sock. Petromobilia, signs, vintage tin and gauges are always a good bet.
     
  16. Half-Fast Motors
    Joined: Nov 14, 2009
    Posts: 205

    Half-Fast Motors
    Member

    Wish I knew what would sell, save alot of work before hand. I'll be at Monroe next month with LOTS of stuff, we set up on "The Stage".
     
  17. das858
    Joined: Jul 28, 2010
    Posts: 1,014

    das858
    Member

    I've never had any luck selling large, heavy items like engine blocks or heads. Small things under $20.00, aluminum racing wheels, tires,sell well.
     
  18. pinman 39
    Joined: Oct 9, 2008
    Posts: 520

    pinman 39
    Member

    A book on what sells at swap meets might .Until someone
    rips it off and puts it on the Interweb for free .Ha
     
  19. joeb1934
    Joined: Feb 22, 2009
    Posts: 360

    joeb1934
    Member

    x2!
     
  20. Anything someone else can turn around on eBay or elsewhere and make a profit on, will sell. Anything you want a fair price for, expect to sit on until someone really needs it.

    I make more money at a lot of meets going around early buying stuff other guys have out for too cheap and bringing it back and marking it up. If it doesn't sell there it sells at the next one.

    And I bring a mix of car stuff and toys/collectibles and usually sell more of the latter than the former.
     
  21. joeb1934
    Joined: Feb 22, 2009
    Posts: 360

    joeb1934
    Member

    dad and i were setup at a swap meet years back with about 3 stalls. the guy across from us had a 69 chevy long box truck loaded with items, one of which was a grille. he sold everything he brought, grilled his lunch, SOLD THE GRILLE AND LEFT WITH AN EMPTY TRUCK!! i have never seen anybody have anywhere near that good of luck since! (on the other hand, dad and i bought more than we sold, added another trailer to the collection, and had to have a friend come haul the trailer home with us!) talk about polar opposites!
     
  22. rumblytruck
    Joined: Mar 15, 2005
    Posts: 102

    rumblytruck
    Member

    Fenders, hoods and whatnot are harder to sell and take up a lot more room. I had great luck with tools. A big box o Craftsman or better sockets or wrenches will cover your spot and lunch most every time. I think a hooker and a small camper would be the way to really mop up though!
     
    caseywheels likes this.
  23. The37Kid
    Joined: Apr 30, 2004
    Posts: 30,629

    The37Kid
    Member

    I stopped selling at local meets, just do Hershey now. Hard to believe that 30 years ago I'd dump parts that didn't sell after hauling them around for two years in a low spot in the yard. After I discovered eBay I dug some of that pile up and sold it. Now anything that can't find a home on eBay goes in the Hershey dollar pile. It's given Hershey a different look, I'm not alone with a dollar pile, leave the money on the table, I'm out shopping tour.
     

  24. only if it's cold, raining or snowing. those little trailers are ovens when the temps are high. and air conditioning cuts down on the profits. and don't do any trades, unless it's something she wants. this type of setup works good at the multi-day events.
     
  25. Smokey2
    Joined: Jan 11, 2011
    Posts: 919

    Smokey2
    Member

    "When the Chrome was Thick........." I really like that!,
    I,ve done quit abit of "Flea selling" thur tha' years, and YOU NEVER know what people are lookin' for !, if you take shiney?, they'll be wanting "black, hard parts (stuff(, Mixit UP!!!
    Take a good mix!, try to have everything priced, be willing to come down "a little".....You know you like to "dicker (haggle, Ha!), so do most people! You just have to have "that Feeling", that you struck a GOOD DEAL. Negociation!!
    If you have sumthin', you cant identify??, write"1947 Studebaker", ON IT!, within 5 minutes!!!, somebody will TELL you, "That's NOT! Studebaker!!, "That's.........Whatever! it really IS!.......Now, You Know!
    Good LUCk out there!, and Remembe.......
    "Some Folks, THINK, They have a Museum! OF STUFF!, and ARE Damn PROUD of IT! Let'em take IT back HOME!

    Smoked-up, Again!...........In tha' GREAT Smokey
    Mountains of Tenneesseee!
    (Oh!, THA', ......Originated, in OH10!!) :cool:
     
  26. Dadstoy 2
    Joined: Nov 20, 2010
    Posts: 245

    Dadstoy 2
    Member

    I do a few swap meets a year. Hotwheel cars priced at 1.00 sell well. Find them on sell or sell some you don't need. The kids aggravate the hell out of their parents till they buy one. I usually sell every hotwheel I bring.
     
  27. The stuff you expect to sell/make money on never sells. People seem to love the junk though. I stopped putting prices on stuff after lowballing myself too many times. Usually what people offer is more than what I'd ask for.
     
  28. I usually just take stuff that I actually want to get rid of.Price everything low enough to move it.If its low enough,people will buy it even if they don't want to use it.You can set up a poster board with photos of the big stuff you left at home. If I have something that I need to have a certain amount for, I put it on Craigslist.
     
  29. Lower priced stuff sells. I've sold out of under $20 items more than over $50 ones. If you price it too cheap - so what? Its not Christmas every day, you can't score on everything. That's how you probably bought it in the first place. Leave a little on the table for the next guy to work with if you want it gone. Stick to your full price value and you'll haul it around forever. And DO put prices on things. I'll walk by someones stand if there are no prices. I feel they are too embarassed to let you know what they want for things, usually too high.
     
  30. I've sold stuff at swap meets for many,many years and for as long as I have been doing it I have learned people are unpredictable,what sells good this year might not next year.

    I always have a box of one dollar parts and more often than not I will sell a few of them.

    For just as many years I have a box of FREE stuff just to get peoples attention,they stop,dig through it and sometimes even ask me is this really free?,,,but never seem to take anything.:rolleyes: HRP
     

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