Swap meet etiquette for a first timer

Just remember a vendor's stand isn't a museum. This stuff is for sale. Don't go pawing through everything, pump him for with a bunch of questions then just walk away. At least ask for a card, or don't waste his time. Why tell somebody about all the cool items he has, and then walk away without having bought anything?

We have a rule at our house: if you go into a shop or go to a vendor and you really like what he's got, try to buy SOMETHING, ANYTHING. He's there to be in business, and to make a profit. If you don't buy anything, he can't stay in business. I've gone to plenty of shops, liked what I saw, decided to buy a t-shirt or a postcard to help the guy out. If you like his wares, spend some money.

If you POLITELY ask, "Could you do any better on this item?", most guys will give you a break. Maybe not much, but you'd be surprised.

Just act decently. They'll respond in-kind. Carlisle is a great event. Been a number of times, always enjoyed everybody I met there. Go have fun.

 

That reminded me in the 80's when I sold at Pomona, had a banner made for the side of the box truck saying almost the same thing. That sign sold lots of stuff.

It's not a museum
This crap is for sale

inkmunky:
Have a blast, swap meets are fun, even if you don't find the grail. Lots of interesting people with a few too many 'bench racers' but there's plenty to see and learn.

 

Went to the All Ford Nats at Carlisle this year and picked up some really great deals. Was able to negotiate most items I bought down by 25% or so. If it was just a plain killer deal to begin with I just paid the asking price. Picked up a decklid that I had been in search of for 4 years, but first fondled it and walked away. Got about what seemed like a 1/2 mile away and came to my senses and went back and got the decklid. Negotiating is fun, but if you really need the part, you better buy it or someone else is going to.

Showed up at a Mopar car show/swap meet with some Mopar stuff I had accumulated while buying a truckload to get a part I needed. While I was at it I threw some T/A parts, Torino, and who knows what else on the truck. I had a guy come up to me and tell me that there are all inclusive swap meets I could go to! Car guys are car guys. Who cares who sponsored the show. I wasn't selling butterfly windchimes.

Was at a local Mustang show and had picked up an under dash a/c unit. I'm looking it over when someone else walks up and asks the vendor what he wants for it, the price was not on the part, he said $20. With the a/c unit still in one hand, I got my wallet out and produced a $20 like a wild west gunslinger. Later I happened up on the other potential buyer telling some of the local club members about it and I let him know I had purchased one the day before from a private seller for $125. So I had $145 in 2 and if he wanted one of them he could have it for $72.50. He declined. So apparently he really didn't need it. tnrotter

 

I was at Carlisle in June at the Ford show. Saw a front fender and a hood that I wanted for my '61, but they were part of a package deal that a vendor had. He wanted these parts to go with a complete car. I asked if he would sell them to me separately. He said "No." Came back an hour later, took out some $100s, said, "Look, I'm serious and I want to work with you." He thought a minute and said, "OK, I can see that, let's make a deal." He was happy, I was thrilled, he even helped me get them to my truck outside the fairgrounds.

Let the vendor know you're not just jerking him around and the vast majority will work with you.

 

I look forward to a swap meet more than anything else, just a day to forget about everything and enjoy cars. Being going since I was a little kid now almost 40 years.

I will never get pissed at an offer, why? I don't care if its way lower than i want, I just says thanks but no, then tell them well I can do. If they want it great if not thats cool too. I'm sure I've done it to more people than they have. Its a swap meet, that is what its about.

If you get pissed cause someone is offering less than you want you don't need to be at a meet.

Never, AND I MEAN NEVER, tell someone they are too high!!! If you dont like the price go on down the road, hell you might find it way cheaper two rows over, but never tell someone they are too high on something! That my friend I will say go fuck yourself.

My biggest complaint ???

Sellers- mark your shit!!!! Nothing more than a waste of your time and my time than asking what you want for something. This pisses me off more than anything, usally its cause they want way more than its worth, then get pissed cause everyone that asked for the price all day long looks at them funny and walks off. MARK YOUR PRICE!!!!!

Best thing is just treat other like you would want to be treated.....I know, lame but true. Just be friendly to the guys and you will have a good time.

 

buyers:

KNOW WHAT YOU ARE BUYING. I know you cant be some kind of idiot savant who knows everything about everything, but most people go to a swap meet with something already in their mind. If you see it, you know what its worth on ebay and craigslist and other internet sites so when the seller tells you he "would put it on ebay" tell him you would gladly pay the fair ebay price for it.

Know what you are willing to pay. Get a number in your mind above which you will walk away, and below which you will buy immediately. I call it the magic number.

A fast internet phone is DYNAMITE for looking at comparables when you see that something you didnt know you were looking for until you saw it.

DONT BE A JERK about it. If the price is too high, just say no thanks. Better to be forgotten as a polite person than remembered as an ass.


sellers:


Ask what you like, but do your diligent research too. Know what the part brings, not much sense asking a price double what a new one costs just because you are proud of it.

Dont threaten to sell it on ebay for 2x 3x 4x what you are asking. Listing fees and final auction values and paypal fees and shipping hassles and dealing with non-payers and so on all count into that number. Besides, if ebay was the lucrative spot, you would have already sold it there before trucking it 150 miles to a swap meet.

DONT BE A JERK about it. If a guy lowballs you realize that his offer might be the most genuine (not always, but most lowballers back up their offers) and so you should be at least thankful that one real offer came your way.

If you have had it a long time and you get an offer, whatever it is, consider it very carefully. I am always surprised when I offer fair money on something almost no one wants and the seller counters higher. I just wait and see if hes more agreeable next year. Usually he is.

 

As some of the guys already mentioned, next time plan on going way earlier than Sunday. Carlisle on Sunday looks like a medium sized city the day after someone dropped a nuclear warhead on it. Probably 75 percent of the vendors are long gone. I'll never agree with the "show up in the bottom of the ninth inning for the real deals" theory, unless all you're looking for is common shit that can be had very easily, or you're into picking through garbage in order to drag home a rotten front fender for a '64 Impala that some vendor got tired of hauling in and out of his truck. A lot of the pieces guys want for their rods go on the first day, and not always for top dollar; you just have to be there when they hit the ground to have a decent chance at getting them.

 

Not lame just what i was thinking and how i was brought up and that was my plan from the beginning.

Heathen: I would have went earlier than sunday but work comes first and i had appointments to take care of. In this economy i'm glad i even have a job let alone a fairly lucrative job that's allowed me to cover bills and continuously buy parts for my project. And i'm looking for generic parts, nothing too specific, i'm really just going for the experience and to have some fun on my day off.

 

I have been buying and selling at swappmeets for 35 years, now I just sell at two swappmeets a year, maybe I got sick of the E-bay guys that just wanted to make a buck on my parts , instead of useing them , so now I take orders for parts at car shows or I sell wholesale to my vendor buddies, If it is a kid I make him a better deal because I know he will use the parts, I useally sell to the different car clubs and avoid all the hassell. It depends what you want to buy, sometimes you can get a better deal from craig's list or if you are just looking for a few parts, it's cheaper to buy from E-bay, if you factor in the cost of the tripp to the swappmeet, your time, the entrance fee, parking, hotels, ect. If you are going for the social factor, then buy a swappspace and split it with your buddies, and take some of your own crapp for it will help pay for your tripp. Maybe I got burn out with all the people that offer a dolar for a ten dollar part, for years my prices were always 30percent bellow the going rate, but with rissing fuel costs and some greedy promotors who started charging to much for the vendor spots , me and alot of my vendor budies quit going. The best swappmeets to buy are the small model T and A swappmeets, but you need to get their early, or show up late to buy the leftovers cheap. why don't you post what you need, and you might get a better deal from your fellow hamb. members.If you do go , dont tell the vender what the least he will take , instead after he tells you his price, make him a fair offer. or make a pile and he will give you a discont, if his prices are fair, pay his price, for their are guys always standing behind you, you have to remember that useally all the vendors know each other and are freinds, so if you get a bad reputation, nobody is going to help you find your parts, If you treat a vendor with respect, if he doesn't have the part you need , he will tell you were you can get it at a fair price. Leads are the most valuable asset from a swappmeet, but you have to be a nice guy to get them.

 

Most stuff I take to a swap meet is negotiable and some is not and some I'll just give away if it something that a guy needs, I don't have much in it and theres not a big demand for it, I try to take some hot wheels and somethings like that to give to the small kids. When I buy if the guy has it priced to low I won't ask if he would take less, but if its a little high I'll haggle with him in a friendly way, most people don't mind if your not a jerk, and the main thing is if its something you need never think I'll get it later....it will be GONE, hey have FUN.

 

The stuff I sell, I don't want and dont want to bring it back home. I pretty much take what I can get for all items. If the buyer needs something, I will even give them items if they really need it, depending on what it is of coarse . As a buyer I usually go just to look around but bring home cool old stuff.

 

"Sellers- mark your shit!!!! Nothing more than a waste of your time and my time than asking what you want for something. This pisses me off more than anything, usally its cause they want way more than its worth, then get pissed cause everyone that asked for the price all day long looks at them funny and walks off. MARK YOUR PRICE!!!!! "


A-Men on that!! The jerks who don't mark anything are also always away from the booth, leaving the booth in the charge of a 9 year old kid who has neither instructions nor a clue.
The 9 year old will happily spend the rest of the day endlessly repeating "Dunno...he'll be back in five minutes!"

 

Just as an aside, I love swap meets more than anything else, I'd rather go through piles of junk than look at pretty, shiny cars.

 

I hear ya on that one! I,d far sooner go looking through the rusty shit in the car corral than go look at the shiny stuff.Something about a just pulled out of the pasture/barn/shed/ravine/bush car that intrigues me.

 

I agree. I like to look at some of the older cars, but at the Ford Nats the NEW Mustangs were lined up liked a dealership clearing house. I didn't bother looking at them, but rather went around them to get to a very nice selection of Fairlanes. The selection of parts was great and most people were very friendly. There is always going to be the circus side show where some guy wants an outrageous amount for a 'rare' part and everybody stops and looks at the price. I think these guys are just needing attention. tnrotter

 

I'd rather go through piles of junk than look at pretty, shiny cars. ""

Junk is perfect and beautiful because it has infinite potential."
You can put the scattered pieces together in your mind into your own sculpture...or take them all home and finish the job for real.
The shiny cars are kinda nice, but the dullards who built them failed to do them your way! Fixing them would be more complicated than arranging the junk properly the first time.

 

Thats just plane FUNNY Man!!!!

I would love to side-car you at the next meet!!!!

Its just FUNNY!!!!!

 

NEVER make a counter offfer that you wont do right then, If i say yea I can take that, you better put ya hand in ya pocket, walk away and the Hammer comes out! BAMMM!
Walk back and look at me stupid, heres ya fucken $2 part , take it for nothing ya POS!

 

Words I live by- Never show a roll of cash.

 

One time at Petit Jean,
I had for sale a solid pair of '69 Chevelle tail lamp assemblies for $80.oo.
A kid walked up and said "Would you take $75.oo?"
I said "Yes" and he picked up the left one and handed me $75.oo and then walked off.

 

If you see something you like and it's a fair deal, buy it. It won't be there when you come back. Hard lesson learned.

 

Never walk away from a part you need. It will be gone when you come
Back
For it.


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If I walk up and someone is negotiating for something that I was interested in.....I wait until they talk the guy down...then when they say, let me think about it and walk away I hand the guy the cash and take it.

 

Jim,I sure hope the OP learned what he needed to know 5 years ago,,if he didn't he has had time to live and learn! HRP

 

as a seller at swap meets I've gotten burned out by the ridiculous low prices I'm offered for a part that I'm selling for a quarter of it's actual value. I now hang this sign.
REMEMBER!
this shit
quit growin'
on trees
40 years ago

it still doesn't work.

 

Back from the dead thread but reminded me of a joke concerning chronic low-ballers went something like this.

Buyer: I see you have $15.00 on this, I'll give you $10.00 for it?
Seller: Your mistaken that tag says $1.50, just trying to get rid of stuff.
Buyer: Pause.................. Would you take $1.00 for it?

See the like scenario happen all the time. Everyone wants a deal, me included. But very few are that good at it or have any etiquette.

 

Funny reading all these swap meet posts.....and maybe this will fall in line with some.....but I have seen buyers....cheap offer buy stuff.....that they in turn post up in their stalls for sale. I can't help but wonder if the offended cheap price offer sellers....ever took a turn around the swap to see the cheap offer buyers turning a profit on what they let go.
I know of one guy that would continue his hammer style until the last day......just to pack up his purchases and sell it again as new inventory. Gotta' love the American way.

 

If you're a seller and sell something, you really have no complaint if someone buys something from you and marks it up. A: Did you know what you had? B: Did you buy it for less then mark it up? Well, the person who bought it from you just did the same thing. That is capitalism and that is, after all, the American way.

 

Never make an offer on an item when another potential buyer is holding said item in their hand. Once they set it down - then it's up for grabs so to speak. I was bargaining for a set of shocks once when another guy says "I'll take them!" -Yeah, he didn't get them.
Low ball offers? Depends, You want ME to price your item? No problem, here's a low ball number. It's YOUR item - you tell me what you want - don't get mad at me if you're too lazy to price it.
I was at a meet not long ago when I saw an item I wanted - no price on it. I asked and the guy tells me to make an offer - I tell him well I just bought one in slightly nicer shape for $900 - what do you want for yours? He calls bullshit. I'm thinking, I don't really care if you believe me or not (although it was 100% TRUE) - what we are really trying to figure out here is: WHAT do you want for yours - he never did tell me. Hey I'm good with that, but found it funny.

 

hemirambler, that is so true, I would look at the guy and say to myself....you brought it here to sell and you don't know what you want for it....very strange....I have had fun for 36 years buying, selling and laughing....