Event Coverage Swap Meet Setup Do's and Don'ts

What I really don't like are those clowns who are trying to sell stereos as they BLAST what they have on display annoying every space with in ear shot. Or the clowns who are very rude to those around them by being loud and boisterous.

I had a guy set up next to me at Pomona. He blasted the crap so loud that no one could hold a decent conversation. I'm glad that someone got hold of the clown.

As a seller, you don't want to annoy or pester others around you. If you have a radio, play it. But don't blast it. Not everyone wants to hear what you think is cool. It also turns off the buyer and he will keep walking by.

Make your self comfortable but not trashy. Keep your area clean.

 

AGREED! Another thing is to buy enough space to fit your stuff! I hate it when someone pulls in and backs up to my space and stops on the line and then unloads and uses my space to park his junk (because I bought enough space to open my tailgate and doors, and he thinks it is all for the taking)!

OK, rant over...

 

Clean parts with a price tag and what it fits,,, no one wants to walk around with your dirty shit how hard is that

 

wow. lots of complainers here. I have to laugh at the guys who walk on by because something is not marked. or throw something away due to a lowballer, or don't look in boxes full of junk. sounds like a lot of bitter people here, maybe you should just stay home.

I used to go to swaps and buy junk to sell on ebay. lowballed everyone. I have bought complete contents of a swap meet space on more than one occasion.

all the good stuff is in those junk boxes in the back that you guys are not going to look at, thank you. one time in particular there was a guy with 3 crates of misc 1941 Chevrolet stuff, guess he had a couple of them over the years and these were all extras, offered him 75 bucks for the 3 boxes and made over $700.00 from it.

swap meets are fun, buying junk is fun, reselling it is even more fun.

about the only thing that bothers me is someone trying to force you to take the money for something when you told them it is not enough and getting all pissy with me when I say no. told a guy last time I sold who kept offering 40 for something I wanted 60 for after the 3rd time he said 40 I raised it to $65.00. told him the price is going up now.

 

Time is money, waste too much time and the price has to change to compensate.

Like many others, I also dislike when items are not priced. Everything doesn't have to have a pricetag, but at least enough to give me a general idea about that sellers price level - if I see he's charging antique dealer prices for the rest of the stuff on the table the item I'm interested in probably is out of my price range, if the prices are good it's worth asking about the stuff without tags too even if I have to wait to get hold of him.

 

I have the perfect cure for "that guy"!
His swap meet stall partner needs to sell some of his stuff with a "make offer" and if he gets pissed, oh well, maybe he'll rethink his program.

 

I have been selling at swap meets for 50 years. I try to have clean parts, sometimes bead blasted, and a coat of rattle can paint makes a difference. I will buy dirty, greasy parts, but when I sell, I try to make the parts presentable for sale. It does make a difference. I always try to give good information on what I have to sell, even if I don't make the sale, the customer knows he didn't get a line of B.S. A little info goes a long way to make the potential customer feel comfortable with you, and he usually remembers that, and also tells his buddies.

 

Actually that kinda did happen at the Big 3 Auto Swap Meet in San Diego earlier this year. My buddy was looking for a set of running boards for his OT new Silverado. They retail new for about $700 and we saw another set used for $200 the same day. My group was ahead of me when I spotted a set in used, but like-new shape.
>Me: How much for the running boards?
>Guy: Hmmm..they belong to my buddie's stuff and he went looking around.
>Me: Any idea on how much he wants?
>Guy: Well, he is not here...how about about $20?
>Me: (Silent, almost broke my hand/arm reaching into my pocket at lightning-fast speed to get the money)
>Guy: I don't know if I sold them too cheap, but he isn't here, so what do I care?
By now, I'm gathering up all of the parts so I could get the hell out of there before his buddy shows up.
Oh, and they were all drinking.
I spent the next hour convincing my friend that I only paid $20 for them.

 

U shaped table setup sounds like a good idier. Loose parts on a clean tarp or crates in the middle with an isle in between. Seems guys here put alot of effort into stuff to make it as nice as possible.I am usually kind of shy but at a swap meet I love to talk to people and try and relate. Sometimes you get a tip on some sweet stuff up for sale and the old timers stories are always good.
I made enough money this weekend to buy the pressure treated wood for my dock and spent a little on stuff to resell at Hershey. Was a good time. Found a luggage rack for a 50s VW too.

I am enjoying the response here so please keep it coming,lots of thoughts I never had on the subject!! Thanks Fedco

 

When I sell I like to have my parts clean and orderly. I also like to have some hot wheels or something to give to the kids walking around with dad. You want to see a kids face light up give him a new hot wheel.

 

I usually say "that's a great down payment!"....

 

I like to put out signs that will make someone stop. Last year I had one that said If you wait until I die my wife will give you this shit but today it is for sale. Several years ago I had a lot of fingernail polish that came with a auction purchase. I put out a sign that said FREE, take something home to your wife you cheap Bastard

 

I set up to sell two times a year. I try to have what I think are good items or the bigger ticket stuff priced, the rest I put on tables in a some what orderly fashion. I put up a big sing that says" Too much stuff to price every item, if you find a piece you like i will gladly price it for you" Seems to help. I hardly ever sit down and I try to greet people when they walk up. When I am looking to buy from swap meets the thing that pisses me off the most is the guy is on his cell phone that ignores me and won't even get up to see if he can sell you something. The second pisser is when the owner leaves the spot amd has a kid or his old lady that can't give you a price and says the boss will be back in a few, I have to really want something to come back! All in all I enjoy the swap meets, can't wait for Spring Carlisle, all the shows in the summer, then Fall Hershey to top it off. I am heavy in to hubcaps and wheel covers( I have over 10 thousand of them) so I almost always find caps that I didn't even know I needed at every meet. LIFE IS GOOD!!!!!

 

That is my Hershey setup, truck/van across the back of my spaces as tight to the line as I can get it. Tables along the side of the vehicle with 4-5 feet of "family" space, cooler, food, and a table & chairs. I cover the open area in front of the tables with crap, one and five dollar piles. All turns into a dollar pile on the last days. Internet gets the good stuff, sign of the times. Bob

 

I always liked this one:

"This ain't a museum, this shit's for sale".

 

I like people who just leave stuff in boxes, all mixed up, with a couple of treasures in there. I offer a couple of bucks, keep the good stuff and sell the rest. If you have lots of little trashy things, grab some boxes, put "$X for the box" on the front . Sometimes the buyer just wants 1 thing in there, and it is worth the box price. If you keep it kind of organized like "55 Chevy bits" or "SBC parts" , that works.
You can always tell the bloke who just picked up a bargain from a stall manned by his "buddy" who has no idea what it is worth- he's the one walking real fast and looking over his shoulder!

 

Just read all the posts and the Price Tag NO Price Tag debate, really is funny to me. I do price all my Hershey stuff so the family and friends can have an idea as to what I want for stuff while I'm out and about. I've never had a problem asking a seller what he wanted for an unpriced item. If someone has a $20.00 tag on a $50.00 item I hand him the twenty and keep walking. Hate painted on prices, I sometimes forget to bring along sandpaper. Bob

 

After 40 years of swap meets, some really good some really shit from a sales view point, all have been good from a social view point.
I price some bigger dollar items, never price smaller items, if someone is interested they will ask, always put good items out front, always have a box of little bits all jumbled up, this gives the restorers something to scrounge through to haggle a $2 dollar item down to $ 1.50 , I always take one of my interesting cars, gives me something to look at when the crowd isn't buying.
To be fair I have never treated the swap meet as a do or die sales function, as a seller it is what it is, as a buyer I usually only have eyes for targeted items, I never but stuff for the sake of it, unless I see such an item that I could flip for a large profit, this has probably only happened a couple of times.

any way that's my 2c worth

 

I have some poster size sheets with large items that I don't bring, I also like to bring my "tree" sign.

 

I haven't seen it come up here yet, but... I love vending because I get there early, set up early, and then get to check out everything else before the gates open to the public. Some of my best deals have been before the gates open.
That being said, I know guys that refuse to sell before the gates open, and I never understood it. If another vender wants to buy what I have, I don't care if he plans to re-sell it or not, as long as I get my price. Whenever I see venders with blankets over their stuff until right before the gates open, I always shake my head and wonder why.

I had 7 dented up 16" trim rings for sale for a long time. Probably took them to 10 swaps with cheap prices for them, but no buyers. Had a vender two spots down come over and buy them off me. He carried them down, pulled my price tag off and put his own tag on, double the price. I laughed, but I didn't care, I didn't have to cart them around anymore. The past 4 swaps I've been at, he's had them for sale. Price is slowly being decreased down to what he paid for them.

I do that with magazines. Kids and parents both appreciate free magazines for the kids, keeps them interested and occupied.

 

I have been thinking of doing some swaps this year, as well as having a garage sale. I have 20 years of crap to get rid of, plus more. I decided to sell it all on ebay instead so I have to deal with fewer people.

 

I don't know how other swap meets are set up but many meet organizers here "frown" on selling before opening to the public, not sure how they could enforce it though.

 

From the organizer standpoint, I guess they could be concerned that there will be nothing left for the spectators? But at the same time, they've gotten their money from the vendors. They shouldn't be concerned if a little pre-gate sale action happens.
And as you said, virtually no way to enforce it.

 

Man some of you guys are grumpy! I could care less if an item is priced or not. If it's something I'm after or interested in I'll take two seconds to ask for a price.

I look at it as a 50-50 chance. Either it's an out-of-this-world price or the guy didn't know what to ask for it so he didn't get around to marking it. I scored a complete original 32 bull nose from a guy for $5 the other week that wasn't marked. He was an early Ford nut too! Was just in a box of "stuff" on his table, so you never know. I like the thrill of the hunt, so I don't mind digging in bins/boxes, and asking about the price on anything and everything.

When I setup at a swap meet I do it more as a social event and not as much looking to pay my mortgage.. I price stuff so there's room in it for another guy to buy and resell or feel like he got a decent deal (unless of course it's very rare). I'm extremely busy and I'm not retired or a full time parts seller so I don't have weeks or days before a swap meet to price every part, blast it, clean it, etc., so I make an attempt to price stuff throughout the entire day. I even have grease on my clothes too (GASP!) and I still seem to do ok. It's a swap meet selling used, old car parts.. not a craft show or concours event...

I think the key is to not take it too seriously and expect the world. Hell if I only sell $100 worth of stuff but meet a handful of new people or learn something from someone I'm happy.

 

When it's a two second operation, it's not a problem. When the seller is busy talking to others or temporarily unavailable those seconds easily turns to minutes.

 

Don't put it out at your space if "It's not for sale".

 

I will never price your stuff. If you say what will you give me I state that I am not pricing your stuff and keep walking.Snowman

 

Pre selling to others vendors is fine. What I dont like is the dealers that sneak in and try and gooble up all the stuff. They dont pay to get in. some of them say they are there to help their buddy set up and so on.This last weekends swap,no one was at the gate checking early in the morning on setup day and the first day. The promoter lost alot of gate money and there was no control of the crowd coming in.

 

Cripes, don't ya just hate those posers.

 

I clean up most of my stuff. Sometimes a bit of refinishing on some things. I seldom put price tags on my stuff. A few reasons I don't?
Different things are worth different prices a different places. I find average Ford stuff is worth less at Hershey than a small show near home.
Some things I have I tried to sell a few years ago, nobody wanted it. Left it in the barn, now it's the hot item. So old price tag will be wrong.
Also exactly the opposite of the above. Today there is no interest in it.
Did you ever put something on the table with the price tag that was on when you bought it?
Most of my customers at local shows know me good enough to know I am not usually the crazy priced guy.
Remember when you set up at a flea market it is usually to recover funds not to lose a lot of money.