Swap meet etiquette for a first timer

Keep it in mind for next time, doesn't matter her knowledge. She walks around with you, you pick out the item you want and hand it to her with an idea of the most you'd pay for it, and kinda walk away. If she's not a car girl it might take her a few times to get the hang of it but trust me if she's a gal she'll get the hang of it pretty quick.

I've been collecting vintage MIchigan license plates for quite some time. I'd fondle one, ask how much, then kinda get that look like I wasn't real sure then mention to the seller that I had plans to make a headboard out of it and others that I've collected, you get the idea, small talk. More times then not I'm being told to just take the license plate and enjoy or it's being sold to me for a fraction of what he originally wanted.

I'm in the process of doing the same thing with vintage car door handles.

 

Haha. I bought somethin once with a tag that said "Make offer" that was probably worth about 400$. I asked the price and he said make an offer. So I say "1$" The guy scoffs and looks away and I would'nt leave. I went up in 1 dollar increments until I reached 50$ and he gets sick of me and says 300$. That was less than I was willing to pay so I ponied up.

 

There's a lot of good stuff in here... basically you can't do anything wrong short of insulting someone right off the bat is the jist. Just like everyone has different tastes in cars everyone will have different tastes in dealing.

Oh and Bruce if i were selling sure i'd walk it to your car.

 

That's hilarious, waste their time, what a tactic, I'll have to try that.

 

You're making a headboard out of door handles, that's gonna hurt like hell!

 

No the door handles are for grabbing onto hahaha

sorry couldn't help it

 

My local paint supplier has done that, first time in there I got caught by it. Doh!!

Always take a tape measure and have a list of what you are looking for. Impulse buys are ok if on the low price.

For more expensive items I phone the wife first. Saves on an arguement when you get it.

Last one I went to I wanted a new two piece windshield for my 50 chevy and found one still in the box. I didn't even barter on the price as it was 1/2 of what it would of been online plus I didn't have to pay shipping.

 

Fuck man...that is priceless!

 

Remember, no matter how good a price you are given, a case of the clap is still overpriced.

 

Tman, how does a swap meet newbee (anyone, really) know the difference between sellers who "price to sell" and those who are more negotiable? Tradition suggests everything at a swap meet is negotiable.

 

There are people out there who are in "Look at all the neat high dollar stuff I have" mode and either don't care if anyone meets ther prices or even do not want to let anything go. Swap meets offer a HUGE variety of psychopathology and really strange people who just crawled out of a basement rather like my own.

 

bring a wagon. I learned that long ago. and don't loan it to yor friend who just bought a 9" center section since he will take his sweet fucking time getting back. meanwhile you found 10 items and you are now trying to carry them all at once and people walking by will tell you you need a wagon.

oh yeah... don't forget the bungee cords to hold down the big stuff.

never set an item down untill you are sure you do not want it. I snagged a set of offy breathers and M/T big block Chevy valve covers for 30 bucks once when the guy set them down. I told the seller "I'll give 30 bucks for those" and grabbed them up and put them in my wagon. the other guy was just standing there looking at me as I walked away.

I lowball everybody. if they are the type who get insulted by offers I figure maybe they should find something else to do on thier weekends

 

If the part is rare, you need/want it, and it seems a little too high, haggle as best as you can, but buy it.
I can guarantee it will be more expensive the next time you see one.

 

The worst thing you can do is walk up behind someone who is discussing the price and say, "if he doesn't buy it I will" You might get a knot in your head, or buy a part that is not what you thought!

 

No matter what the deal or negotation, the tried and true "please and thankyou" allways puts you in the Class category. I haggled like a portugese fish monger with this guy and we were still 80ish away from taking the part. I said its been fun but thanks anyway I'm not gonna do it, and I walked away with it for my price. The seller said that I was the first guy who said thanks all day. It was about 2:30.

 

never act excited about an item a guy has to sell... many moons ago I was selling and a guy comes up all excited and says "is that a 49 chevy air cleaner??!!" told him yep, then he asks how much.. I only wanted 10 but told him $25.00 and he was glad to pay it.

 

yeah,, wait til they set it down.....

 

I like this!
I have done the "whats the most you'll pay" before.

 

Years ago I haggled with an old guy for a $5 toy truck, I got it for $3. We were both laughing about the "negotiations". Now I'm an old guy!
I was once $50 apart on some woodie parts. Seller says let's flip a coin. I won and got them for my price, but would have gladly paid the extra $50 if I lost.
That's what makes it fun.

 

If you see something "cool", and expect to come back later to buy it,
one of three things will happen.

1 You will forget completely, until you get home.
2 It will be gone when you come back.
3 You can't find the same spot again.

 

Yeah definitely make note of this. Being a young guy myself ive had similar issues. Some guys will give you the shirt off their back cuz youre a youngin' the others will shaft you so be careful. and carlyle isnt as much of an old school swap meet so they might try to bone you a little more. just make sure you check everything over twice and dont be afraid to offer them less than what they want. Good luck and let us know if you get anything cool

 

You can usually tell by the amount of shoppers in a booth. I had 3 and four folks at a time dealing with me. I put prices on EVERYTHING. Those without prices are usually too high, they think they can shoot ayou a stupid price if you look like a sucker or have coin.

And I am not opposed to offers, just don't try and lowball me to death. If I am selling or buying and a part is $25 or more I think asking for 5-10 off is not unreasonable. I made a ton of package deals just to move stuff. If you relly gotta have a smokin deal, wait til move-out time. Lots of folks get stupid just to move parts. My pal boulght a Bear tire balancer for $40 after the swap since the guy was tired of hauling it around.

 

Well If the parts you are looking for is not rare or HTF then look around for a good deal . You know what stuff goes for and so do the dealers . If the sellers are nice then be nice and always ask question s about the parts you are looking at . If the seller gets pissed and starts bitchin then there is something wrong with it or he is a real dick . Most are OK but when you get an asshole jump right back at them ! Never take any shit from a seller ! If the parts is what you want and the price is fair , then buy it ! Know what you are looking at and when you ask the seller for a cheaper price and he gives you a break , you better buy it ! Don't cut a seller down on a price then walk away ! People like that suck ! And one big thing I really hate as a seller is when some asshole comes up and has to handle EVERYTHING you have along with the real nice stuff with greasy or sticky hand !
Just do the best you can and give some respect to the seller if he respects you !

RetroJim

 

be fearless the worst they can say is no and if you want what they got buy it and go on

 

I was there yesterday with Talljohn. My observations; the crowd was smaller than I expected - even tho the weather was perfect, 'saw quite a few empty spaces on the hill, there were quite a lot of guys with items on their wagons/carts but it certainly
didn't look like a feeding frenzy.
We picked up a few items at good prices, making me think there are "motivated" sellers out there. I think you could make some good deals on Sunday, assuming you can find what you're looking for. Good luck.

 

Things I hate as a seller:

1. Pawing through stuff, making a mess, and leaving it that way, not putting things back where you found them or at least attempting to not leave a disaster area. Mixing things from one box to another.

2. Asking "what's the least you'll take?" .. I reply, "what do you want to give me" - don't screw around, pay me what's on it or make an offer.

3. For that matter, trying to get me to come down further after I offer to take less before you've even asked because I want to get rid of something.

4. Asking me how much something is that has a price on it.

5. #4 and interrupting me dealing with someone else to do it

6. #5 and then when I tell you "it's marked right on there" and go back to who I'm talking to, you then telling me you would have bought it if I hadn't been rude about it. Bullshit, because #1 you were rude and #2 if you needed it you'd buy it anyways.

7. And of course, the guys who offer me half the marked price or try to offer me a dollar for something marked a lot more. Some days and on some items I'm pretty reasonable to deal with, but if you're looking for someone that easy you need to find the drunk fat chick with no boyfriend at bar closing time.

Things I hate as a buyer:

1. Stuff's not marked at all and I have to ask you for prices, maybe I have to wait for you to get done with three other people... sorry, I don't have time, I have a booth to watch too.

Actually that's about it for stuff that bugs me as a buyer.


Generally you want to either go early or go right at the end. Early to get the hard to find stuff everyone wants, late to get the deals on shit people don't want to bring home. They tell me a guy could concievably build his own swap meet inventory just by driving around the fields at Carlisle or Hershey on Sunday afternoon picking up all the stuff other people tossed away. I've sold stuff other people tossed out before; this summer I picked up an Olds Toronado cluster in May and sold the radio for $20 in July -

 

A few lessons learned after 35+ years buying and selling at swap meets:

There will be one or two A**holes at any event, but if you don't act like a dickhead, most people will respond with some measure of respect.

As mentioned elsewhere on this thread, negotiation is expected by most participants and some sellers really love to haggle and will rag on you a little if you give in too easily. Others can get pissy if you try to negotiate. If it's something that you can live without, tell 'em to have a lousy day and keep walking.

Rather than being irritating by asking "what's the least you will take?" on a price-marked item, simply ask if they can do any better on the price. I've had sellers respond with a price much lower than I was prepared to offer.

If you find that rare part you've been looking for years and the price is fair, just pay the man and consider it a good day.

When all else fails, have your wife or girlfriend take a shot at the seller (mine is a ruthless negotiator). My wife once saved me $250 on an item priced at $750, plus the seller ate the sales tax and took an out-of-state check! The seller would only come down $100 for me.

When selling, making tags with a brief description and price on more valuable parts is time well spent. A lot of suspension parts, rear ends, bumpers, etc. look alike to non-"experts" and some people are reluctant to ask questions. I've had people look at the part and tag, see that it was what they needed and just hand me the money, even though I would have been negotiable on the price. The tags also save having to answer "what does it fit?" and "what are you asking?" several hundred times a day.

The main thing with swap meets is to have fun, learn something, see a lot of amazing junk and hopefully go home with a few more parts for your project.

 

Some great tips here. When I used to sell at the local swap meet (not a car meet,) people would show up en-mass before I even got the truck unloaded. I quickly learned you should ALWAYS have your stuff marked for price before you get there so you don't get confused when 10 or 20 are all asking questions at the same time and you are otherwise occupied with setting up. Many just want stuff to resell at their place.

Once, for grins, I was driving down the swap meet lanes looking for a good spot and noticed that other sellers and some early buyers were following me around on foot. My wife and brother were following in other vehicles (we had a lot of stuff to get rid of), so in order to mess with them but mostly to mess with the other sellers, I made two or three laps around the place before settling on a spot. Great affordable entertainment. I felt like a rock star.

 

My mate tells me all the time 'you really dont give a f*#k do you' at swap meets, but he always gets me to talk turkey for him at swap meets. We have a pretty good thing going between us when it comes to buying.

Always check the whole site before asking for a better price, b/c if the guy has one more part you want 9 out of 10 you will get a smoking deal if you buy both.

Dont bullshit around, scan, pick it up, look at it........be 'certain' you want it, then offer.

When you offer, ask in a 'ehh how much for this' not like you have a stiffy and your about to mess yourself.

Dont take anyone with you thats going to ruin it for you, there is nothing worse than picking up a part, your about to make an offer and your mate goes 'isnt that the part you have been waiting for'.........game over, you will be paying the asking price.

Never ever buy a part another guy is talking to the seller about, you could be going through your shit the next morning looking for your teeth, or at best wearing the part in an uncomfortable way.

If something is clearly super cheap, just pay it, I have seen guys dueling over $2.... give the seller a break, is it worth $2 to miss something 2 stalls down?

If you see something a mate is looking for, always call him no matter what the time, the favor will always come back you in the future.........unless he's a pelagic hot rodder, then he will just be pissed you woke him.

Get there as early as you can, even if most sites are not set up yet, walk through quickly and scan, then repeat. I always hate the feeling you get when you first arive.......where the hell do i start............put this behind you and go, try not to look at what others have bought as it kills you if someone has something really cool, just say to yourself 'he would have paid too much'
Try to meet up with mates for break, its great to talk about the bargains you got and they may have seen something or talked to a seller about something your after or wanted.

Your getting into a world of sick sick people, enjoy it, I would take a swap meet over a car show anyday. Oh and i have a garage full of crap that i am prob not going to use for 10 years but i remember where and how i got every part.......good times, good times..............have fun, swap meet in moderation

 

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for their feedback.

I'm off tomorrow @10am sharp should be there around noon. This will be a whole new experience for me as i've been building my car through the HAMB so far. I'll definitely be posting my impressions/thoughts and any good buys haha.

Thanks again everyone.