Swap meet etiquette for a first timer

take cash... be sure to show it... and leave your name and phone # on the part if you leave it with them to come back and get!!!

 

Good Idea...

and dont go to a swap meet with a check book..Bring cash if you plan to buy anything...

Money talks...Bullshit walks!!!

Tom T

 

I like Sundays, you can pick up some awesome deals because some people are there trying to liquidate that crap they've been tripping over in their tiny garage. Then there are those that don't mind bringing the same stuff year after year.

It seems there are only two kinds of venders, the ones trying to get rich, and the ones trying to clean out the garage and make some beer money (or parts money)!

 

If you have an item you want in your hands.
don't let someone else buy it out of your hands, and don't do the same to someone else. Happened to me too many times.
Don't bid against someone else either, it's not an auction.

Don't say you'll be back later.........if it ain't true.

Don't be afraid to walk away.

Swap meets are full of people looking to buy cheap, move the item to their spot, and double or tripple their money.
Watched a guy do that at Carlisle with Cars.
One time a guy tried to lowball a friend of mine on a car minutes after we got in our space. Ahead of time I made him give me the paperwork and handle negotiations. Guy had a briefcase full of cash, but was offering too little. Watched him buy a nearby car, move it to another spot, and put it up for double what he paid.

We got $500 less than we were asking for my friends car............way more than the first guy offered, and well within our "negotiating" goal.

 

I'm young too, and haven't a lot of experience at the swaps, but one thing also to keep in mind is what YOU are looking for. Keep in mind its value, what you can pay and its rarity. If your looking very rare and specific bring more cash, and show up first thing. That way if its there, you can grab it up. If your looking for something that you can find by the dozen, show up Sunday with less cash.

 

The only thing that makes me mad as a seller is for someone to make an offer or to just say "Will you take X for it" and then not buy it.

DO NOT make an offer unless you are willing to hand over the cash if he says "yes".

Nothing else makes me upset as a seller.

 

Most of you seem to be under the assumption he's a buyer. He stated he's a seller.
Again, I still feel anyone who asks "Whats the least you'll take?" is too rude to even make a decent counter-offer. Bantering is fun, having someone attack you right off isn't. As a seller, I enjoy the back-n-forth with people. It's part of the atmosphere. Thats why swaps are more fun then ebay.

Its supposed to be fun first, right?

 

1. Always take a small pocket tape measure.

2. Never buy something that is to big to fit in the vehicle you brought.

3. Take a tote bag,wagon or 2 wheel dolly (depending what your looking for).

4. 9 chances out of 10 you will end up buying something that isn't on your list and you really don't need,... but it was just waaaay to cool to pass up.

5. Don't take the vendors expert word on anything he is selling, he might be right and he might be a expert,..... but check it out for yourself, For every honest vendor there is a unscrupulous one.

6. Be honest, if the price is to high, ask if thats his best price, if he is still to high, politely tell him thanks but I'll pass,.... don't be a "Bee-Back"

7. Never insult a vendor,... If you come back later and the part is still there he might be more likely to consider dealing on it with you.

8. A deal is a deal,.. once you have negotiated a price and paid the man, it's yours !,.. this ain't wall mart you can't (shouldn't try to) take it back,... so buyer beware, and know exactly what your buying.

9. "Should-A, Could-A, Would-A",... Best after swap meet game,.... you'll think of some of the parts you missed, passed on, didn't buy, or even some you did buy and regretted it,.... It has happened to me and all my pals for decades,..... So if after the swap meet you have any of these thoughts, Congratulations!, you have just entered into the swap meet right of passage. (these are memories you will regret for the rest of your life)

 

He's buying.

 

Buy cheap, always bargain, unless the thing you're getting is a pair of E & Js for $50.
I go for the jugular in the bargaining department, I do it on behalf of my friends who are too squeamish to do it, it's fun. Bottom feeding at noon is always a blast, that's when you get shit for nuthing, free even.

 

a couple of swap meets ago i locked the keys in my 99 f250, went back in and bought a piece of thin stainless trim for $2, came back out and reached in and hit the unlock button, didn't even have to bend up the trim. lol

 

Hi I'm a seller and I'm a person too.There are great people and asshole at every
event .Bad behavoir is bad behavoir on either side of the counter.There are three
ways most people try to buy things.
1 Pick it apart to knock down the price .(If its that bad why do you want it )
2. Become my new best freind . (I have plenty already)
3 I only have this much money . (we know the money in other pocket game too)

My prices are negotiatable and they can go up too. (i don't have to sell to you
no matter how much money you have .

My biggest bitch is the guy that uses all three methods and then hands me large
money for a small purchase . (that insults my intelligance and pisses me off I have cancelled sales on that one.)

Have a good time find some treasures don't be a dickhead and stay away from the asshole sellers.

 

I always make the potential buyer come up with the number,... when I get asked "Whats the least you'll take?" (and I get asked that a lot) ,..... I look em' straight in the eye and ask them,... "What's the most you'd pay ?".

I had a guy want to buy a pair of E&J Type 20's from me at a meet 6 or 7 years ago,.... he shoots me a low ball offer, so I said, "You should buy the other pair at the meet" ,..... he looks at me confused and says " I have been all over this swap meet and I didn't see another pair",.... I looked at him, smiled and said "Exactly" ,..... He looked at me for for a little while, searching in his head for something to say,.... and silently reached for his wallet.

 

if i see something that catchers my eye i go for the thing next to it or stop and look at everything except what caught my eye i glance over it and ask what you want for it. maybe play around a little with there other stuff and then throw them a offer on the eye catcher. usually works its kinda like playing mind games sometimes. one thing i always stick to is if its in my hands the other person who might be willing to pay the asking price should wait till i put it back down rather then just yell i'll take it and try pulling it out of my hands. i had that happen to me twice. if you take a wagon don't stand by it if your trying to make a deal cause they will see what you have been buying and the kind of money you are throwing out there. and take some small bills, don't knock a guy down from $100 to $50 bucks and hand him $100 dollar bill and ask for change. that sometimes pisses them off. most of all have fun haggling them down.

 

Well, if selling...remember that anyone with a HAMB shirt and higher rank gets his pick free. You have to carry it to his car, too. Harsh, sometime, but rules is rules...

 

haha... funny you mention that as I had an old wagon that I used for swap meets but hadn't oiled the wheels. At one event some guy came running out of his space and oiled the wheels up on it.... he said I've heard and watched you go up and down the aisles and back and forth all day with the wheels squeeking and couldn't take it any more...

 

Back in the 80's at the FMRC Dearborn meet, we epoxied a quarter to the cement floor in the middle of the isle right in front of our spot,....

All weekend long, that never got old,..

 

What etiquette? Swapmeets are full of all kinds of people and some are assholes. Bring a magnet, a wagon, magnifying glass and lots of cash. If you see something you want, buy it then, he who hesitates pays more later.

 

Take a girl with you and let her negotiate for you.....a cute smile....and shorts, goes along ways.

 

Here's my secret plan (mostly): I figure out what it's worth to me, then do the math between that amount and the asking price. I double that, make it my starting point and go from there. The operative concept here is, "I'll split the difference with you." Everybody wins that way. For example, if the asking price is $500 and I want to pay $450, I'll first offer $400. You'll be able to tell right off how negotiable the seller is by the counter offer. If he comes back with, "I'll take $495," it might be a long session. If he moves it down by, say, $25, you move your offer up by $25. At some point you try to make it a win-win for everyone and split the difference. Sometimes, you have to readjust the value for you and move your end point to match the process.

This works from a seller's perspective, as well. The object is to be fair, not steal the part or rip off a buyer. And sometimes you actually get a bite on the first offer.

Good advice on letting the seller define what it fits. Also, make the seller set the initial price. If you are offering out of the blue, you have absolutely no control. Another money tip: Don't make a deal, then have to find your wife, girlfriend or buddy to get the cash. Money talks, as others have said.

As an aside, I've driven across town on a "OBO (best offer)" Craigslists ad, only to find the seller was set on the original asking price. Be prepared to walk away. Don't reward bad behavior. On the Craigslist example, I called her out on the OBO and she said, "Well, that's the price. I can get it easily." I said, "Maybe, but not from me." Sometimes when you keep your principles, you get to keep your money, too.

 

You're on a roll today!

 

This works, I used to have my ex work her magic all the time.
The "make me an offer" with no price tag irks me to no end, hey douche, you're selling it, you tell me.

 

If she's carrying a fresh plate of warm chocolate chip cookies,.... you'll end up giving her everything she wants and more,. plus money to boot. (us guys are so predictable !)

 

I have traded many a part or labor for chocolate chips cookies over the years.

 

Does the term, "low ball" mean anything to you? "I'll give ya' a nickel for it." You'll find out really quickly what they're really thinking.

 

If you dick around with me when I am selling the part WILL BE GONE when you come by later in the day to try and lowball me again! It will be back in the trailor, sold cheap to a pal or sold to the guy standing next to you for $10 less than you offered me Mr Douchebag.

I price my stuff to sell already, don't offer me $30 for some $75 headlights 5 minutes after the gates open. This actually happened a couple weeks back. The next guy in the booth looked at the lights and said "nice lights, $75? I am from Cali and they would be $100 out there!" In the end I traded them to my pal for a bitchin steering wheel he had that I needed for my Tudor. He paid $30 for the wheel

 

What was the quarter off of?

 

I hate this! When we bought our house they were having a garage sale in the barn. There was this huge ancient sheet metal brake, not a box and pan style but useful none the less and at least several hundred pounds. I asked if they were interested in selling it and the old lady said yes. I asked the price and she replied with the "make me an offer" so I said fifty bucks thinking it would be a lot less for them to move and it would come in handy. She replied "oh no, it would have to be much more than that." I may have payed more than that if she had named a price but I sure as hell was not going to make an offer after that.
The worst part, when we moved into the house I found several broken sawzall blades and a pile of shavings in the barn where the brake was. My guess is it wound up at the scrap yard.

 

Haha yeah i would but she's occupado that day with her mum and aunt so i'm on my own. The only benefit is my automotive knowledge is more vast than hers (particularly) and i'll know what i'm getting myself into.