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Event Coverage Went to the Long Beach HIPO Swap Meet Today, June 12, 2016

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Flathead Dave, Jun 12, 2016.

  1. Flathead Dave
    Joined: Mar 21, 2014
    Posts: 3,959

    Flathead Dave
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from So. Cal.

    ,Went to the Long Beach HIPO Swap Meet today. I went there knowing exactly what to get and whom to get it from. Anyway, I'm walking around the swap meet and see junk and trash. The junk and trash that I see is office furniture, living room furniture, bed room furniture, plastic swimming pools and yard toys, etc. No vintage car parts in these spaces just a bunch of crap.

    I heard people complaining about the crap and we begin talking crap about the crap. Someone goes to the swap meet trailer and gets someone who is some what in charge of this crap to show them the crap. Well, come to find out, they, TOPPING EVENTS, allowed these people to occupy these spaces with their crap to make some money on the spaces knowing that they were selling crappy old used furniture that the trash company wouldn't haul away.

    To make a long story short, TOPPING EVENTS, the Long Beach HIPO Swap Meet people, are going to lose a lot of business if they allow this continue as a trend.

    They need to know and we told them, that this crap will not be tolerated and that we will not take any crap from crappy vendors selling crappy furniture.
     
  2. Jalopy Joker
    Joined: Sep 3, 2006
    Posts: 31,175

    Jalopy Joker
    Member

    did you take the time to find who was in charge & let them know your concerns?
     
    LOU WELLS and mike 51 like this.
  3. i usually don't get into these kind of things ...but i will say that i have been finding a lot of swap meets with nothing but crap too. the promoter has a right to let in anyone he wants , and i have the right not to go. i only go to the good swap meets
     
    LOU WELLS and Flathead Dave like this.
  4. AVater
    Joined: Dec 9, 2008
    Posts: 3,147

    AVater
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    1. Connecticut HAMB'ers

    Seems like we are suffering form an influx of crap lately from coast to coast at the swaps.

    Here in my corner sad to see so many events infested with weed wackers and houseold stuff that makes you real glad to see real car stuff.
     
    Flathead Dave likes this.

  5. around here - we have the swap meet "mega" promoters that have the swaps before the major one's that have been around for 30 plus years.....always someone making money at some one's expense
     
  6. jcmarz
    Joined: Jan 10, 2010
    Posts: 4,631

    jcmarz
    Member
    from Chino, Ca

    Wow, and I thought it was just Pamona. That sucks.
     
  7. bchctybob
    Joined: Sep 18, 2011
    Posts: 5,190

    bchctybob
    Member

    I lived in the L.A. area for over 50 years. When it started the LBSM was great. We would get up early, hit the swap with a cup of their almost drinkable coffee. Back then, you would only see hot rod, vintage tin and drag racing stuff with some circle track stuff occasionally. Gary Densham, Gene Conway and other local stars would often be selling off their unwanted race parts. There is a Fuddrucker's down the road a bit. After the swap, we would go get a 1/2 lb burger then head home to work on our newly acquired treasures. We did that for years.
    Then they changed the layout of the place and about that time all the junk started showing up. First it was junk yard pickers and some low rider stuff, but eventually the furniture, TVs, bootleg DVDs, fake flower arrangements and stuff showed up. I quit going right then.
    I know a lot of contemporary "Hot Rodders" don't build with used and junk yard parts any more, not since the advent of 1-800-Hot-Rodd and the internet, maybe they just weren't getting enough sellers with good car parts to fill the spaces. Too bad.
     
  8. jcmarz
    Joined: Jan 10, 2010
    Posts: 4,631

    jcmarz
    Member
    from Chino, Ca

    Fuddrucker's:eek: Why chose Fuddruckers when Joe's Jost is just down the street? Fuddrucker:p:D
     
    Burny likes this.
  9. bchctybob
    Joined: Sep 18, 2011
    Posts: 5,190

    bchctybob
    Member

    Fuddrucker's 1/2 lb with chili was pretty damned good. I've heard of Joe Jost's but never knew where it was. Too late now, never get over in that neighborhood anymore, since I retired and moved to Nor Cal.
     
    jcmarz likes this.
  10. k9racer
    Joined: Jan 20, 2003
    Posts: 3,091

    k9racer
    Member

    In North of Atlanta Georgia {{Brad 54}} here on the board has a large swap meet and does not allow any thing that is not car related' Over 400 vendors every month.
     
  11. PunkAssGearhead88
    Joined: Jul 9, 2006
    Posts: 1,788

    PunkAssGearhead88
    Member
    from So Cal

    Yep, everything's slowly going to..

    [​IMG]
     
  12. 3wLarry
    Joined: Mar 11, 2005
    Posts: 12,804

    3wLarry
    Member Emeritus
    from Owasso, Ok

    I suddenly need to poo...where's @zman when you need him
     
    Moriarity likes this.
  13. PackardV8
    Joined: Jun 7, 2007
    Posts: 1,170

    PackardV8
    Member

    craigslist has really cut into swap meet parts quantity/quality and totally killed print classifieds.

    jack vines
     
  14. We have the same problem back east. We get weed whackers, lawn mowers, snow blowers, but not much of the good stuff that we want and look for. Latimore Valley Jalopy Showdown has probably the best selection of what we are looking for. it's a 6 hour drive for me. I go as a vendor, and a buyer. even in the rain this year, it was worth the trip.
     
  15. We had a local car show and swap meet in early May. I'd say that 1/3 of the vendors were selling car parts.. nothing great either. Another 1/3 was die cast cars, the remaining 1/3 was household junk. They were handing out trophies at 3:30, most of the cars there were gone by 2 and the vendors were pulling up stakes at 1.
     
  16. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Man, I understand these complaints. But me, I’d rather have a crappy swap meet than no swap meet. The demographic attracted to old-school swap meets is aging out, and promoters are looking to replace the vendors and the lost traffic.

    I vend in Portland. They do a good job of limiting the “crap.” Even so, I’d say 30% of shoppers are not car guys at all. They’re artists and collectors and bargain hunters. They’re often more interested in the look and feel of a part than its function. An old guy down the aisle from me, long-time vendor, has started turning his car parts into art. He makes clocks from steering wheels and hubcaps. He’ll take a grille, hang some lights on in and electrify them so the thing can hang on a wall. “People don’t want old cars anymore,” he says. “They don’t have anyplace to put one, and they don’t know how to keep it running. Nowadays, they want something that reminds them of an old car.” Thankfully he still has a lot of good stuff for sale, but the “art” (aka crap) pays the bills.

    So is it selling out, or a necessary evil? If you see a swap meet get bigger over the years, then I think you have a case that the organizers are relaxing their standards out of greed. But if the swap meet is getting smaller even as the crap vendors increase, maybe the promoters are just looking for a way of hanging on.
     
  17. typo41
    Joined: Jul 8, 2011
    Posts: 2,571

    typo41
    Member Emeritus

    This is how I see the 'crap' problem at swap meets

    Fewer guys (and gals) are showing up to sell anything. If you have something in the garage with a bit of age and patina, it seems that guys now think it is all gold. When was the last time you got a 'deal' at a swap.

    The guys with the new stuff, now sell off the internet. No space fees, not getting setup at the required 4:30 am. And they know when they are contacted it will be a customer, not the every 50the or 100th person walking by their spot.
    Chick and I stopped vending when the economy dried up and the only 'money' being spent was for parts only and not on the impulse-buy items we were selling; pinstriping and photography.

    So now the Promoters have a problem, a ton of empty spaces with no vendor money, what to do? Get anyone they can into the spots.
    Even with this business decision, the last LBSM was real thin with vendors, you could have reduced the footprint by a third (or more) and I think there would have been empty spaces.
     
  18. falcongeorge
    Joined: Aug 26, 2010
    Posts: 18,341

    falcongeorge
    Member
    from BC

    3 months ago...last one I attended...:)
     
  19. I buy most of my parts on the internet, used and NOS '59 Ford parts as well as just about anything else. I really don't shop Craigslist, even the sellers are too flaky for my liking. eBay has been a boon for me as well. So I can readily see swap meets being a thing of the past.
     
  20. Scott
    Joined: Dec 23, 2004
    Posts: 2,764

    Scott
    Member

    A couple of months ago at the Pomona swap, there were some guys from the Long Beach swap, saying how they weren't going to have all the junk at their swap. I was there yesterday, saw some of the junk that wasn't supposed to be there. That being said, I did pretty well on car parts. That being said, Long Beach and Pomona used to be a lot better. Ebay and craigslist save these vendors a lot of setup and breakdown time.
    I still like wandering through the swaps.
     
  21. olscrounger
    Joined: Feb 23, 2008
    Posts: 4,770

    olscrounger
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    We go to local swaps around here and still find some good items but there is a lot of "other" junk as well-times are changing. We always find a treasure or two at the Arco swap meet.
     
  22. Need late Mustang or Miata stuff? How about a snow blower, a lawn mower or maybe model cars and fishing stuff?
    Come to New England for all you can handle.
     
  23. czuch
    Joined: Sep 23, 2008
    Posts: 2,688

    czuch
    Member
    from vail az

    I like the pony rides and sno cones.
     
    wraymen likes this.
  24. bardahl1
    Joined: Oct 16, 2005
    Posts: 353

    bardahl1
    Member

    I am Topping Events and I can guarantee you that we do not knowingly allow non automotive related stuff at the swap meet. In fact, we spend a fair amount of time and money trying to keep the crap out but it's not as easy as it seems. Try walking up to our trailer, tell us you want to sell furniture, dishes, etc and see if we take your money - won't happen.

    That being said some crap does get in and is there. We can't search each van and truck looking for that bad stuff at 5 in the morning, and the guy selling furniture and dishes also has car parts of some sort on top of the pile. I have a long list of guys that aren't supposed to be there, because they sell crap, that use their cousins name and their brothers truck to sneak in. Our vendor manager walks the event telling people to put junk away all day, and in the end its still a very small percentage of the stuff on the ground - and its usually a few pieces of crap mixed in with car stuff. It's not even close to true that we allow them in 'just for the cash' - because we know if there isn't good stuff there you won't come. You can see all that crap at the local community college swap meet that's free. Pomona is kind of in the same boat. Look around LARS swap meet next weekend, there will be crap there too - and they don't need the money....

    And as we all know, swap meets in general aren't what they use to be. A lot of the really good stuff that could only be found at swap meets 20 years ago is now on the internet to a world wide audience. But we still get some good stuff at Long Beach and there is plenty to look at and buy. I bought a bunch of stuff for my new roadster project at Long Beach.... battery, headlights, tail lights, radiator, intake manifold, carbs, brakes, clutch, chrome, tires, wheels, gauges, wiring stuff, etc. Check it out at LARS, it will be in our booth inside. Swap Meets can be a useful tool if you can walk on past the stuff you don't like to find the stuff you do like.

    Both Densham and Worsham have been there this year selling their own stuff.

    recent pics from Long Beach

    Marshall
     

    Attached Files:

  25. bchctybob
    Joined: Sep 18, 2011
    Posts: 5,190

    bchctybob
    Member

    Marshall, you guys have done a great job with the LBSM all these years and it sure isn't your fault that the swap meet experience is changing for some of us. You'll have to excuse the musings of some of us grumpy old bastards, I guess the thrill of getting up at the crack of dawn to rummage through old stuff may be losing it's attraction with the passing of time. I personally find it easier and cheaper to get what I need from internet sources and networking with local car guys. Many swap meet vendors seem to have forgotten that swap meets were a place to haggle and make deals.
    Up here, the Turlock, Sacramento (In Rust We Trust), and even the local Stockton/Lodi swaps have the same problem with rummage sale entrants. It must be hard to draw the line and confront vendors who do have a few appropriate items in amongst the unrelated stuff.
    All grumbling aside, it is always a good day when you get to wander through a car swap meet, even better if you find something you need.
     
    Scott and wraymen like this.
  26. Thanks for chiming in Marshall (I haven't seen you since you were doing Jr. Speedway when I was sponsoring Dave Sims!) Any way good to know the "Other" side of the story!
    Cheers
     
  27. jimmy six
    Joined: Mar 21, 2006
    Posts: 14,795

    jimmy six
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Joe Josts don't gots PBR no more....screwum.
     
  28. no55mad
    Joined: Dec 15, 2006
    Posts: 1,956

    no55mad
    Member

    Attended this swap yesterday and managed to find some treasures. Was in the area for my grandson's 4th birthday so always like to attend this swap when there, as it is a 210 mile drive (one way). On the central coast of Ca we have very few swaps and they are small so good swaps always require long drives. Have been going to this swap for years and always enjoy it - you never know what will be there - not overwhelming like Pomona (with much cooler weather) and free parking. Last year I bought a nice Stihl chainsaw and a clown bike - car parts too but you just never know - oh, and there was a nice Craftsman riding lawn mower there last year too. There was also a bicycle there last year that was made out of wood - very good craftsmanship and a big price. LB is advertised as a 'high performance' swap and I did see some of that yesterday but not like it used to be for sure.
     
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2016
  29. Flathead Dave
    Joined: Mar 21, 2014
    Posts: 3,959

    Flathead Dave
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from So. Cal.

    By crap, I am talking about the house furniture and crap like that. Not the car parts.
     
  30. toml24
    Joined: Sep 23, 2009
    Posts: 1,620

    toml24
    Member

    For over 20 years there was the Automotive Literature Fair in Southern California. I picked it up at Pasadena City College in the 90's. Those were the glory days, a real buyers market for great automobile stuff that was FLAT, or close to it. The Fair moved around and really lost its ability to have cool stuff. The Fair used to be every June but I have yet to hear where it might be, if at all, the last 2 years. Such a shame, it used to be a great show.
     

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