Got to Carlisle 11am Tuesday morning....took 4 of us 4 hours to set up....wed/thur/poor crowd....friday crowd was great, but not sales....saturday I started to close up at 12 noon and drove out gate #1 at 3pm....this was my last Carlisle as a vendor....the hardest thing to do is to admit to yourself you just cant do it anymore....I started as a vendor when they first opened up the infield of the race track....I have had a good run....made a lot of friends....helped a lot of people find parts....I will be selling on line, face book, and especially Jalopy Journal.....
Stan, you had a hell of a run! Sorry I didn't make it this time an see you. When spring comes you can go as a spectator and take it easy.
Change can be kind of sad whether it be aging or changes in the venue itself. With shrinking vendors and crowds Fall Carlisle for me just isn't worth attending anymore although I still think the spring event is pretty good.
Sorry to see you go Stan, but I know where you're coming from. The times they are a changin' & the golden years of "swap meets" & junk yards are taking their last gasps. Gone are the days when I'd stop by your stand & get free breakfast from you & the late Cadillac man. So sell your stuff here on the H.A.M.B. You might find that you might actually enjoy it & get into a groove. Yes, there's a bit of a learning curve, but think of the fact that you can sell your stock in the dead of winter & not have to wake before dawn, fight the traffic, set up, pay the vendor fees, brave the elements, pack up & fight the traffic home. I have a bunch of cardboard tubes sitting in my basement that you can have to ship some of your stainless. Life goes on. ...Greg
Best wishes for a long and happy "retirement" from the face to face swap thing. Enjoy the future online commerce. It's a sad time because of the "social" aspect of vending, but all will be well.
Yes lifes punches are inevitable...I hope you can Drive a Hotrod/Custom to keep the Dream Alive...enjoy the positives and perhaps restrategize as mentioned...
Sorry to see things like this. As a “customer at large” love visiting the swaps and have found some great stuff over the years as well as meeting some really great people. Last year with almost every event shut down worried that old habits would break and many longstanding vendors would bail. Looks like this could happen more and more. Noticed at some events the lack of people speaking with foreign accents has also diminished both vendor and attendees further making these live events less productive. I know it’s easy for me to say given all the hard work and trying conditions vendors endure, but hope Hershey this year shows good signs of life. Thank you for being there!
The Jalopy Journal
