If I ever put a swap meet score back out in my booth for a profit it's still something I wouldn't mind taking home if it doesn't sell. I was at the spring Portland meet a couple years ago and needed a set of wheels to finish a build. I bought a set Thursday, that sold again, another two sets Friday, that sold again, one set Saturday, that sold again, and finally a set at noon Sunday that I ended up keeping, essentially for free. The thrill of the hunt is half the fun.
Must be swap meet season is starting - this 2 year old thread has been seemlessly born again..... Local swap meets next 2 weekends in Puyallup. Heck I get non car related stuff more often than not from a swap meet. There is still an oak whiskey barrel with Coke lettering on it in the yard - from a swap meet 30 years ago. The wife had flowers in it ever since.... Bit I can't say I have any vehicle yet from 30 years ago.... 20 yes.....
Remember both Waddyacare....of course we set up pretty close to each other don't we !! See you in the spring on the north field hill....Bigbob the movie guy on the corner
Was at a swapmeet at Thompson Ct there was a Chevy box truck I was interested in the guy wanted like $1200 I took down his name and phone # just in case. At the end of the day 2 guys were driving around in the same box truck just filling it up with all kinds of crap that people just left behind. Lots of heavy stuff like 9" Ford rear ends , engine blocks, heads ect. I yelled out "Hey whats your best price for the box truck" "Sorry man not for sale" was his reply. I started talking with 1 of the guys him and his friend bought the truck for $300 their going to fill it up and bring it back next year and everything they sell will be 100% profit cause they got it for nothing. Then he said he will sell the truck or if it don't sell fill it up with next years junk and just drive it to the scrap yard.
Every store in America buys at wholesale, and marks up to retail to sell. I make a living buying used stuff low and selling high -- or at least for more than I paid. And if someone does this to pay for his hot rod hobby, good for him. And good for you if you have other sources of income to pay for your hobby.
i know this guy mark fenton who was selling 1935 ford grills 1 at a time from his boot, a cheaky wog european saw the price in those days $250 long time ago said $50 mark said 250 he must have come back 5 times 50 again he said mark said gee i must as well chop it up so opened the boot got the axe out and choped it in half wog was not impressed walked off i said you f...ed a good grill mark said i chopped it in the good spot fix it latter then got out another 1 for sale melbourne swap meet back in the 1980s
I usually find my stuff on e bay the next day, for twice what i sold it for. I usually don't have much in it. Craziest thing tht ever happenned to me, was an argument I had with an old man over a 3 duece manifold for a 322 Buick. This manifold had never been used, and came out of the trunk of a car a buddy bought. Apparently the old man thought i was desperate for money, offered me 60 bucks for the manifold, which was priced at 300. When I told him no, he started to yell at me, told me he knew I was desprate for money, blahh blahh blah. YEah, the day was a loss, but even a bad day at a swap meet is cheap fun. I loaded up and left, guy cussed me out all the way to the gate. I ended up trading the manifold away to help pay for my 59 El Camino. where do you get 60 bucks from 300.
Was selling at Pomona a few years back. I had 2 SBC blocks for sell. One was a 350 4bolt, the other was a one year only 66 SS 327. Selling them for $50 each. Wasnt trying to get rich, just trying to offload stuff. Anyways, dude comes over and ask the price for both and I tell him. He says "Can you hold them for me whille I walk this next row?" I say say "Sure." Note, no money was exchanged. As soon as he walked away, another guy that saw the whole thing walks straight to the 327 and ask "What do you know about this?" I say, "66 SS 327." He hands me the $50 and carts it away. First guy comes back a little while later. "What happend to the 327?!?!" "I sold it!" "But I said I'd be back for it!" "Yeah..... and you didnt fork over any cash and the next guy did!" He didnt leave the 350 4 bolt behind that time!!
am loading tomorrow for swap meet next wk end in webster fl. been selling at zypherhills, now webster for 38 years lot of stories and lot of parts bought and sold, now mostly a fun camp out weekend, friend,charlie price brings a lot of cool goodies. we loaded other friends trailer in 1981 and have never unloaded it just added to it. lot of BE BACKS, i'v don it also, if my wife is with me and i hesatate she say's YOU BETTER BUY IT NOW, she's heard too many should have stories. SEE YA AT WEBSTER @ the smoking stove......
Same thing happened to me on Sunday at the Cosumnes College - the fella interested was on an end space and had at least 6 other wagons for sale at the time. When I told him it wasn't for sale he then proceeded to "educate" me on the history of American Flyers. My most recent swap meet deal was at Turlock this year - finally found a pair of California 1938 P/C (pneumatic commercial) truck plates for my truck that were unrestored and in decent usable shape for a fair price. The unrestored ones I've seen in the past year or so have been singles and one badly damaged pair selling for well more than I can justify. The fella selling them is an old timer who I've seen selling model T and A stuff for years, I pick the pair up and ask his price. He replies "all paired plates are $40.00". Before I can react, he looks at the plates and says "oh, those aren't in that great of shape, I'll take $30.00" After I pay the man his now lowered asking price - he smiles and asks if I know what the P/C means. I reply that yes, they are for trucks. The old coot then says somewhat sheepishly he thought that he'd pulled a fast one on me and was glad to be rid of "those unusable plates"! We both walked away happy on that deal. Later in the day, I stopped by one of the license plate restorers booths to browse the plates looking for a San Jose Capitol Chevrolet plate frame for my other truck. While looking over the inventory, I happen to spot a pair of restored 1938 P/C plates. The vendor sees me eyeballin' the plates and informs me his asking price - $450.00! I compliment him on the quality of the work then tell him I'll pass - dude gets indignant and tells me I'll NEVER find another pair of 1938 P/C plates for that cheap. It's about his time I let him in on my recent acquisition to which he, of course calls bu!!sh!t. I then proceed to not only show him the plates but let him know what I paid for them - I swear his head got so red I thought it would pop! He started yellin' saying there was no way that those plates had been bought at this swap - he'd scoured the swap on Friday night and Saturday morning and if he didn't see them then they didn't exist! Knowing full well that you can't win an argument with an idiot I just smile and walk away. Later that day I make it back over to the area were the old timer I bought the plates from was, I stop in and tell him about my little run in. He tells me that "I know that cheap SOB well, and won't sell him a damned tin can anymore". We both got a good laugh out of it.
Sold my F100 for $25,000.....the guy took it to Barret Jackson and it went for $45,000. I guess I can't bitch to much, it's the same thing were talking about here. I can always build another one, theres a guy down the street that has a rusted out cab and a old frame for $9500.
i screwed up bad at a swap meet years ago....a friend of mine asked me to watch his spot while he went walking...so i did ...very crowded swap meet....guy comes up and asks... .How much for that wheel?....i glanced at an old cragar and it had $40.00 on it and i told him $40.00...and he took it....handed me $40.00.....someone else was asking about prices and such at the same time....a while later i looked over and the cragar was still there,but a $150.00 steering wheel was gone...we were not talking about the same item....friend was really pissed and i offered to give him the difference,but he didn't take it....lesson learned
I bought a '36 Ford rear end from a guy for $50. I left it there, told him I would pick it up later. When I got back, he had removed the wishbones, said I can't sell these with the rear end because they are worth more. I said, "We made a deal". He says sorry, but they don't go with it. I should have punched him. Some people......
Years ago at the PIR swap meet in Portland, a friend who has since passed was selling core qjets along the slough part of the race track that has concrete barriers with 8' or so cyclone fence on top of the barriers. Guy from California comes up and asks how much for the qjets, friend tells him $10 each. Guy says " I never pay that much, I'll give you $2 each ". Friend says $10 and they go back and forth, $2, no $10, no $2. Finally friend tells him for $2 they go in the slough. Cali guy laughs and again says $2. As the 1st qjet is launched over the fence and in the slough and the 2nd is loaded, ready to launch, guy says OK, OK I'll give you $10 and ended up buying all the remaining at $10 each.
Spring Carlisle is coming up so here's a story about the same meet a few years ago. You know how there's usually some other junk besides car stuff at these meets? Well, I walk around the corner of the entrance to an aisle and on this guys table are a bunch of smaller antiques. Really off-topic stuff. I notice this really cool folding wooden box camera that looks ancient but in really good shape. Guy says, "20 bucks". Turns out it's a turn of the century camera. Incredible workmanship. One in nowhere near as good a shape sold for $550.00 on eBay the week before I got mine. Still have it on display. Now I just need to make a similiar car-related score. LOL Andy
A few years ago my buddy and went to a farm auction, we bid on grain drill ( we wanted the angle iron out of it) we got the drill for$20.00, about 500lbs of angle iron. while we were trying to load them on the trailer a gent comes up and asked of we would sell the seed hoppers all twelve of them, sure $10.00 a piece you take them off. then we sold the seed tubes, there was 10 on each sure $5.00 each you take them off, then we sold the packer wheels 10 on each, we told the guy$10.00 for each you take them off, so we took the frames and our$520 and went home. Lee
See a deal at a swap meet, or anywhere for that matter, sit on the pot(think about it), end up with nothing but shit.
Well sad to say but years ago the joke was on me! I was so so stupid! I had over some time collected these quite rare porcelain gas signs, a bunch of them, and paid almost nothing for them! I am a poor guy and needed some money, wife said, 'Sell that junk you have, we need groceries! So I got a space at this little swap meet in Houston they used to have, Delmar Stadium, remember Delmar? Rented a U-haul trailor and filled it with signs. I had these signs priced at double what I paid for them, between $50.00 - $200.00 People swarmmed my lil space, going crazy, fighting over who was first, all the signs were gone in about the 1st hour! I thought W0W this is great! I must have made about $1200.00 the wifey will be happy! Later while packing up to leave, these guys were laughing their heads off, and asked do you have any more signs to give away? No all signs have been sold. What do you mean give away? You idiot, those signs were worth 5 times what you sold them for! One of those, the mint, 30" double sided Purol with Ethyl is probably worth over $1000 by it self! Haaaa Haaaa, FOOL! I was sick for weeks, had no idea, I wish I had those back.
Selling a merc crank one day at the lincoln swap meet...for $125. [many years ago] One guy is looking it over when another guy reaches over the 1st guy with the money. The 1st guy is deeply offended and they get into a fist fight right in front of my stall. 1st guy wins and bought the crank
If it's in your hands, it can't be sold out from under you. Although, I might fight for a $125 Merc crank too.
I love when guys say, "I give you (lowball offer) cash." That just opens the door for me. I then say that's great for my credit card machine just broke. More often than not, they will say, "Really?". Then I'll reply with some wise-ass answer like, "No, really. How the frig did you think you were going to pay?" I've haven't come close to ruining parts, but I done this: 81A double detent Ford trans. top w/ 91A 3" forks. The part that a lot of guys are looking for. Mine was mint. Asked $130. Guy at Hershey says I'll give you $50 and is now holding it. I get up and take it out of his hands, open my trunk, and put it inside without saying a word. He looks at me like my hair is on fire. I then ignore him. The same fool came back the next day asking about the the trans top and wants to know if I still have it. I say yes. He says how much? I say $150. He says it was $130 yesterday. I say yes it was, but it is $150 today. Do you want it? He says yes. I take his cash and say you could have had it for $125 yesterday if you played your cards right. Puts part in his bag and walks off.
I this to a buddy of mine at a swap years ago. I found a complete 4 banger motor I needed the head off of for pocket change. Paid the guy then dropped it off the cherry picker into the trunk of my friend's '80s Sunbird. He made me drive to the next swap meet.
The Jalopy Journal
