Well Fall Carlisle is in the books....I was VERY disappointed in the crowd (12 bucks to walk thru the gate)....I had good sales but not what I was hopeing for.....THANKS to all the hambers that stopped and said Hi....it was an honor to meet all of you (and there were a lot).....tue and wed weather was HOT-90 and higher.....only a little shower on Friday night-20 minutes.....here are some of the sites I saw walking back to my stand after breakfast....enjoy the pics......
I'm sure you can still find good deals on parts [like at Stan's] but as far as the car corral goes it looks like the same old overpriced,clapped out dog shit. You can do way better on Craig's list .
As a long time vendor (sell open & enclosed trailers) I still can't believe how bad the crowd was. Last few years I blamed the weather. Well other than Wednesday you couldn't ask for better weather. As I like going to the show (mini vacation) & always looking for parts for my projects I don't know if we can continue to do the fall show. Expenses for the show aren't cheap that's for sure.
I hear you 54reno, I have been vending at carlisle (as well as doing some 25-30 meets a year mostly in Tristate area around PA for close to 30 years. ALL are getting to the point that we are exchanging product for expenses making zero profit. I don;t do it to make a living, I still have a full time job to pay for things. I do it because I enjoy the people, the other vendors and going. But when it doesn;t cover costs it's time to give it up. I haven't done Spring or Fall Carlisle for 2 years now and I don;t miss it, for what it costs to Vend, you can't bring home a buck
I figured a couple of years ago that I was spending close to $500 in expenses (hotel, gas, restaurants, etc.) and was coming home with maybe $200 worth of parts, if I was lucky (I'm looking for pre-WWII parts). Better to buy off the internet and pay shipping and gain a few more days to get stuff done at home. So far, I don't miss it a bit and it's worked out well for me. Now Hershey & local meets - those are different stories !
Its been abut 3 years since I had a space, for $95. I believe it is $100 or better now. Some of the guys pay a bunch more for choice spots. Those are rented by people that have reserved the spaces for years, used to be a big market for them. A year or two ago Carlisle ran a special two for one deal. I stopped vending because of the constant letters and threats I got for taxes from Pa. I'm still getting them today no matter who I talk to or what forms I fill out. The last person I talked to on the phone admitted that they are way behind and told me to just ignore the letters...............yeah, right.
Up here in Lewisburg, we have a special place for folks who ignore letters from the PA Dept of Revenue
I did it for a few years with no real problems but when I stopped being a vendor in PA, the letters started. I phoned them numerous times and filled out two close of business forms and the requests/ warnings kept coming. I have not received one recently so I hope it's finally over. It's no fun getting delinquent tax notices from PA's version of the IRS. I do not know if this is the norm or just my bad luck but it could be a small part of the reason for the vaccant spots.
That '40 Merc coupe is a real honey for $23K! Especially when everything else there seems like it was double priced. Good pics though, thanks for sharing. I think a lot of swaps are looking like this. It's too much time and cost for average guys to bring garage junk to sell, and the big vendors of new stuff don't bring the crowds when you can get their stuff on eBay for the same price any day of the week.
Here's a big time swap meet killer.. .. quote previous post "stopped vending because of the constant letters and threats I got for taxes from ______. I'm still getting them today no matter who I talk to or what forms I fill out." If there was any special interests lobbying for swap meets (which will never happen), then the SPECIAL AGENTS assigned to harass swap meets, garage sales, & craft fairs might take a break. But apparently when States have spent every dime into negative...they start Bottom Feeding. How many decades has this been taxed? Over & Over & Over? Should be Antique Tax Exempt, just as "Farm" or "Religion" "Tax Exempt Status" Sorry for the tax rant, but maybe they'll give up when it's taxed into the SCRAP pile.
Not talking about Carlise...but our local swap meets, fairs, crafts, etc... Then, the trailers all get pulled over with scales & HP DOT inspections. Good luck. Inspections can likely fine almost every trailer on the road. Too bad, better just make sure you have every light, chain, 3 license plates, brakes on every axle immaginable, tie-down, & special tax permit, uninsured motorist coverage. Smile, be respectful, and then Bend Over & Kiss Your Own A$$, again, then pay TAX, because you're likely honest, blue collar & just want to pay to ki$$ your own A$$ again. I just lay low & pay my admission proudly, & try to support the hobby & event. Too bad vendors & honest sellers are being harassed.
Funny....when we were doing the Pate swap - 20 to 30 years ago....they'd come on the speaker and say - y'all better be collecting those taxes - for the then assessor - Big Bob Bullock !
Walked by a couple times and was going to stop and say hey but you were pretty busy . I went up Friday and it looked like a good day for sales. Picked up a set of nos 15x 10" Cragars for my 38 Coupe and a few small goodies, it was a good day. Brewsters Black Rasberry ice cream topped it off.
You can earn up to $400 per year (profit) without paying taxes. Anything beyond that is taxable income. Period. Whether you are an old lady making toilet poodles Whether you are building birdhouses, driving Uber, selling crap on Craigs List or a swap meet. That's it. We all gotta pay the piper. I'm glad swap meet are still around, I like going to them. It will be a drag if they go away. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Thanks. That's a lot of crocheted toilet paper poodles! Got to wonder why Clunker has a poodle and Skin So Soft on the back of his toilet, but he'll probably claim they're not his. I don't judge.