Event Coverage Swapmeets turning into yard sales

When I set up to sell, I always have a water bowl for my dog and usually offer it to passing stranger's dogs. Because you are right, unthinking people don't bring water bowls more often than not.

 

I have not taken anything to a swapmeet to sell in atleast 6 years. I used to take parts to two swapmeets a year, sometimes more. It has gotten to the point most buyers want it for free. I don't mind making a fair deal, but don't like being bent over the barrell after spending several hours loading and atleast 4 hours on the road and other expenses. If you want more parts at swapeets atleast make it worth the sellers time. Just my opinion. Rod

 

I love going to swap meets. My wife doesn't. My secret is to stay ALL DAY when she is with me. She's bored stiff and is only there to check up on how much money I spend anyway. She stays far away.
Sometimes I find useful things in a non auto related table. Depends on what I can make out of it or do with it. Pyrex glass for example is useful in the shop. Gucci handbags, I haven't seen those, though. I can't use a lot of the circle track stuff though I'm glad they are there.. I tell the pushy salespeople selling gutters, patios, roofing, lotions and the like what I think. I came here for CAR PARTS. Step away. I go with my brother a fair amount. He is less tolerant.

When I go don't want it for free. No. What I want is to make a deal with you that we can both feel good about. If shoot you a price, you counter offer. Don't get pissed off and ignore me muttering under your breath for example. I just came from the Model T swap at Gateway Raceway and I swear most of the the vendors couldn't haggle. One guy had a Simadre plasma cutter he wanted 350 for it. New today on eBay is 325 free shipping. Didn't buy. It was exciting when we make a deal with a vendor that could haggle, though. Also at a large meet, you probably aren't the only vendor with a certain item and I'm offering a comp. If you want to sell specific parts, for pete's sake get a marker and masking tape and label it. Basic marketing

 

I was at one a couple weeks back. I'd say that it was 1/3rd house hold items, maybe another 1/3rd diecast cars. The rest real car parts. If you want used wrenches to fill up a 2nd tool box, wear your hernia belt. I'd rather see this than a scant field of sellers, some mix car stuff with whatever. And the promoter gets paid for the spot.

 

My brother used to buy at swap meets and re-sell on the 'bay. (San Jose)
Now it seems like it sometimes goes the other way around.
I've gotten more smashing deals on car stuff at some yard sales than in the 'good ol' days' at the swaps. (1965 to 1985)

 

The local swap meets are very limited; only two events in Cape Town I know of. I've got some bits and pieces over the years but it's as if the city has run out of old car stuff. It was always a case of hunting among the boxes and boxes of '70s Datsun oil filters, but the past few I went to it seemed there was hardly anything else.

We've got a few good flea markets, craft markets, and antique markets, some of which might on occasion turn up an automotive bit or two. That's where the worst deterioration is, though. The appearance of new, cheap imported toys is usually jumping the shark for a flea market: six months later there won't be any antiques or crafts left; a year later the market will be gone.

Interestingly one of the most persistent markets is the permanent one at Greenmarket Square in the city centre. It used to be a decent market, but it has been no more than a wholesale market for African curios - most of which from central Africa, or local imitations because tourists want "African masks" even though masks don't feature in South African traditional crafts - for close to twenty years. Nobody wants the market in its current state, but the tourist souvenir industry and a local organized crime boss have between them got the City contractually tied up.

 

Left Rhinebeck late Saturday afternoon. First time ever that I didn't buy a single thing there except LUNCH.
I guess I need to sell off more stuff soon to build a new need for parts.
No, I don't need another lawn mower or snowblower.

 

A few posters in this thread have missed the point, with statements (paraphrasing) that they have "no problem walking right past the seller spaces of clothing, crafts and garage sale type items". And these are CAR guys! The point is to walk 3 miles and see 3 miles of car stuff, not walk 5 miles to see 3 miles of car stuff (now it's no longer a car swap meet). Consider the "views" vs. "posts" ratio of the HAMB and you can multiply that feeling by 10 readers for every poster.
If the HAMB started allowing off topic posts (Camaro's, etc.) it would no longer be the HAMB.

The problem is that once the group running the swap meet starts letting general merchandise vendors set up, it only gets worse and could eventually dilute the car meet into just another standard flea market, especially when some car vendors drop out due to the non car intrusion.
Car swap meets are down enough vendors due to the internet. I imagine in 20 years they'll only be a few true car meets (Carlisle, etc.) left and the rest will be flea markets with the back 3 aisles "dedicated to car items"...ugh.

 

I'm with you on this. I'm pretty new to swap-meet vending and so far I haven't had that great of a go overall, particularly with Fitchburg. There seems to be a lot of people going to these meets but they're mostly going to look at stuff just for entertainment. These are the people that buy the yard sale crap. These people do not want your antique car parts unless it's for a "man cave" or "crafts project" they saw on DIY network.

I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to vend again this year at all or just shop once or twice. I've gone back to listing my heavy junk on ePay because I don't like spending a day loading and unloading it just to run a museum for half a day I could have used to work on my car.

 

I wont go into the whole gender/spouse thing, I will say this. I wont take ANYONE of ANY GENDER with me to a swap who isnt really "hard-core". Swap meets arent car shows, I am not there to browse, I am there to buy.
I dont want someone with me who is going to get bored an hour after we get there, complain because I am walking too fast, or want to go for ice cream. I am there to look for and buy parts. Its like a military operation, not a walk in the park. If I want a family outing that happens to involve cars, I will go to a car show.
And I almost ALWAYS come home with at least a couple good deals on something I really need.

 

I go to various swap meets in our area. Many are pretty good with lots of car parts and the usual mix of "other" stuff. I take my wife along and she sees much better than I do and can spot parts/pieces that I miss. She does well at the buying part as well. She has spotted a lot of 40 pts over the years and zeroed in on a nice 40 project a few yrs back at one which we bought.
We gave up on setting up and selling stuff a few years ago-not worth the hassle to me.

 

For the guys that take their wife/ girlfriend to swap meets, don't let her dress up like Daisy May and then glare at everybody who checks her out. you knew she was camel toed when you left the house..

 

Hell, here in the NW, most of them are wearing raincoats!

 

That's all??? My kinda women!
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I've done two swaps this year vending ( one during a freakin' blizzard).
I did well at both of them.
I do understand the problem with "Automotive Swaps" turning into garage / yard sales, but kids that's the way the ball bounces. You've just got to look harder for the good stuff.
I bought a Model A grille shell off a young guy, who had no clue what it was, for $25 bucks, walked back to my "spot" and sold it for $125. Now if I could do that a few times.........................
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Funny how everything good turns to crap sooner or later. Se la vie.

 

Back in 03 was the first time I went to Rhinebeck. Went up for the weekend with friends and brought my wife with me. Now she's a trooper walking the swap meet and show but after we got home she told me she's not going to any more because all we wanted to talk about was cars...Duh ??? Man I am so glad we nipped that in the bud.
Was in Rhinebeck this past weekend and I managed to leave a few bucks there but I have to say I get tired of the cheap tools, L.E.D. lights, die cast, household crap, etc. I'd walk a mile for a camel but I hate walking a mile and not seeing a car part.

 

My family must be a little different then most.
My Father, Mother and I (only child) have been selling at swapmeets as long as I can remember.
My mom bought the first set of white walls I had on my 53 Chevy at a swapmeet. They were G78 14" 2 1/2" white wall on 14" Chevrolet wheels (very little wear). She knew I wanted bias-ply white wall and found them for $100.00 and gave them to me. She asked "Is it O.K. that they are 14" not 15"?" Best Mom ever!

 

Well, that's great! Good on them. I was referencing guys who drag along people who'd rather be some where else.

 

at hershey they have guys drive around and check that you have car related stuff. the spots there are in demand so they can be really choosy.
i go with my buddies that are into the swop meet thing. what i have found is not everybody "hunts" at the same speed. Mallomike and i travel at about the same pace so we tend to walk together. a couple of the guys we go with end up ahead or behind. trying to all stay together is hard.

 

I went to the Tri-Cities swap meet in Kennewick wa Saturday and along with getting to visit with a few Hambers I picked up a few trinkets and parts. There were a few vendors with a lot of what I'd call swap shop junk along with a couple of ys who must have cleaned out the garage and hauled it down but there were only a couple of vendors who had primarily non automotive items.
One clean out the garage guy had this workmate for 5.00 and it ended up coming home with


On the other hand I did find a set of headers for my flathead


Picked up a pair of Ford backing plates for a fair price and a couple of other pieces. Saw a nifty scooter


Talked to the Morris crew from Rockets' Hot Rod Garage and ran into Chris and his crew passing though the gate in opposite directions.
Saw an interesting project

It didn't look like most of the guys with household junk were selling that much though Guys either just walked past or scanned the booth for interesting items as they strolled by.

 

ROFLMAO!

 

Yep, George, you are right on, you and I would have made a good team as that was the only way to find those NOS parts that many of us were looking for in the 80's. I always got a kick out of people that would bitch about this or that swap meet not being worth a shit because they came home empty handed. I'd quiz them and usually hear the same story, If it was a two day swap meet it was "I couldn't go Saturday because it was little Jimmy's birthday".
Or "I didn't get there until 1:00 and everything was gone" or "church doesn't get out until 11:00". Always seems to be a good reason.
I always get there for the gate opening or don't bother going.
The one that I always like is the one where you know the guy has been looking for some part for a couple of years and claimed he couldn't find it, and you tell him that you saw three or four of them at Bills' swap space last year and he goes "yea, I saw them but he want's too much money for them", blah, blah, blah.
That's when I say "you were expecting the price to be lower this year I suppose".
Lifes' priorities are great but if you don't take the chase seriously, you're just there to look at rusty crap, because you don't feel like mowing the yard.

 

I like that willys 2-door.Sure looks familiar!

 

IF I RAN THE ZOO: a swap meet should have the rule that, if you bring it, you cant take it home with you. Force those guys who have a load of overpriced, unloved junk to sell it. Come with a truck load, can't leave with the stuff you brought thru the gate....but you can buy other stuff and leave with that...... Prices could start high and fall fast on the last day. At least everything would change hands.

 

Yup, I am always one of the first few guys through the gate. I have a routine that I follow at small to medium swaps. I try to walk through the whole place REALLY fast, scanning the tables as I go without stopping. At this point, the only thing I will stop for is a rare item thats up at the top of my wanted list. At the same time as I am looking for THAT part, I am making a mental note of the location of second tier stuff that I will come back for, and I am looking at booths that I figure are worth a second look. Once I make that first pass, then I go back, and wheel and deal on the second tier stuff, and check the booths that caught my interest more closely. Then if i have time, I make a third pass. I like to do that first pass in about 1/2 an hour.
Last year at Monroe, I snagged a nice flat cap mallory for my 324 for $100 on that first pass. I had been there less than ten minutes, and it was deep into the swap meet. Second pass, I picked up a 4.10 tri-5 rear for $75, and a 12 volt generator. If I did like most guys do, and kinda sauntered through the gate, aimlessly strolled up to the first booth I saw and started picking stuff up and putting it down, and bs'ing with guys, it would have been long gone by the time I got there.

 

Joe, the wife and I come over every year to the Roadster Show from Aussie and she always enjoys the show and swap meet,we also do some touring which she plans. Going to Mt Rushmore this year
Noel

 

Nobody mentioned the New York state sales tax deal at Rhinebeck. That killed it as a meet I'd sell at, the quarterly payment was on you, the state never sent a notice. To sell the following year the penalty the state wanted was more than I ever sold there. Wife and I still enjoy going to buy. Bob

 

The largest meet in Missouri I've sold at the last 3 years has had a recent crackdown by the state & local tax agencies on folks & presented the sellers with a 1099 IRS form too. I've paid mine in the past, but this year sellers got the official up front invite to pay up. I know it's not the will of the club that I'm thankful created & works hard to keep the meet going, As much of it goes to charity through their auto club. The forms are a side effect of how silly things have become in today's world. My state tax form is ready to display as usual & I expect there to be once again, "secret agents" checking for them this year. In the past I have paid my dues & it chaps my rear because it's on previously taxed items. It's definitely not worth getting into trouble over the small amounts of junk I sell. I just pay up accordingly to Uncle Sam and keep on trying to have fun. It's the fact that all these antique car items I've sold in the past & the pending items this year have already been subjected to previous taxation from me & countless others for decades. I predict it will have an ill effect on many small vendors & I fear hurt the future of the event. I think what got this tax deal going to this level is the increase in big rigs from out of state with big names on the semi trailers selling new repop stuff. 90 % of us though are peddling rusty gold for fun & pleasure of making new pals & hopefully some project dough. Everything's soo complicated nowadays. I really wish I could've lived in a less complicated economic time of our country, one without all the paperwork. I've recently hung up my hobby of dirt track racing & placed well enough weekly over the last few years to Get 1099s for that too! So I decided to create an LLC to keep track of it all. Sorry for my rant. It's the simple fact I'd hate to see the annual 3 day swap meet I love so dear damaged by the complications of paper trails too. Flux.

 

The kids are well behaved ? ? ? I'll have to get to Scotland someday, and those kids will be a breath of fresh air. My last name is Addcox so we might be related, Laddie. Like many of these HAMB'ers alluded to, the promoters are only interested in "promoting", not really caring what objects/products are for sale. The best swaps are always put on by car guys. By the way, what kind of car is your avatar ?

 

Well, tfeverfred, it is OBVIOUS your wife doesn't have access to the HAMB, and you should hope to Hell it stays that way. If your posts suddenly cease to exist, we will ALL understand.

 

Single and loving it. BUT, if I were getting married, I'd make damn sure she was into what gave me pleasure. As for my post disappearing, not likely. Maybe YOU have to put up with crap for making a bad decision in spouse selection, leave the rest of us out of it and....... get back on topic.