Event Coverage Swap Meet Setup Do's and Don'ts

Turlock swap was always good, esp. buying. One morning my brother and I walked up to an old gent with a table, first thing I saw was a Stewart-Warner Mariner dash cluster. MINT...Center backing and all, no gauges.
Picked it up, "How much?" He said, "Fifteen dollars." I had a twenty and a ten...Made him take both, "I insist, for you taking care of this for me. Thought I'd NEVER find one!"
He said, "God bless you, Son..."
We walked away, my brother hissing, "That was stupid! You coulda got it for ten..." I didn't explain it to him.

Turlock again, last part of Sunday, my son and I were walking out a side gate, an older gent was parked outside, a car trailer full of rusty Ford axles, wishbones, torque tubes...I spotted a front end under some '40 and '46 stuff...
"How much for the axle with the wishbone?" He pointed to the one with his cane, "Fifteen bucks." I paid him on the spot, then Rich and I climbed in to unload it. It was a '37 tube, virgin axle & bone, round spindles, tie rod, and mechanical brakes with wide 5 drums!
He asked if I was interested in anything else...I said, "No, thanks..." but should have grabbed the '48 axle with dropped 'bones!

Bought a nice Weiand 4-jugger in the box at Watsonville, brand new, $12. Von Franco walked up with a chrome '37 tube axle, ("old chrome") he got for $10! He also scored a 3-spoke original Bell wheel from a painter who bought his old '34 pickup..."Hey, wanna sell the steering wheel that was on the truck when you got it?" The painter said, "That ugly thing? You can HAVE it!" Franco bought the staggered Crager intake off its Olds engine a week later, $20 with four 97s...I said, "Let's hire that painter. He could make us some money..."

 

Does anyone else find good deals on Hot Rod stuff at Antique Swap Meets and good deals on Antique Car parts at Hot Rod Swap Meets? Bob

 

As a seller, I clean my stuff up and everything is priced and labeled with a description. My wife watches my stuff while I shop and this makes things easier. She knows she can drop 10% and I have my phone for offers lower than that.

As a buyer, If its not priced I really have to want it to ask. Most times I'll keep walking.

 

I price a lot of things but I do that for my convenience as a seller. If someone gets a mad on because lots of other things aren't priced, I figure they don't want them in the first place. Even priced items can get low ball offers. I don't get insulted because the "low baller" just let me know the one item that caught his fancy. So I counter with a lower than marked price "if you buy right now".

When a buyer walks up I greet them and keep it friendly. I point out the major category areas and let them know I'm there to help and answer questions. I'll invest a bit of time with a shopper but if he's not shoving cash in my hand, I excuse myself to talk to the next guy that has walked up. I try to pay attention to what items people pick up and check. If they eventually get serious about something, I may suggest a "bundle deal" with the previous item or throw in a low priced item to encourage a done deal.

My goal is to return home with less than I brought. To that goal, I strive to make the next sale. I could hold or drop my prices depending on how fast or slow my sales are happening. How much "profit" I make on each item is secondary to how much I make at the end. Sales add up and multiple sales add up faster.

I'm pleasantly surprised at how many customers from the year(s) before drop by and check out my latest goods...... and maybe buy some more.

 

I don't really sell at swap meets, but I am a buyer. If a lot of the "good stuff" is picked over before the opening and jacked up on someone else's space, and I know that it has happened, I may be less likely to go to their next swap event because I myself didn't get the amazing deal that the big profiteer got. It doesn't matter what it was. It's just the idea that the organizers let it happen. As a vendor you have effectively paid for an advance early shopping opportunity that the general public may not have if they have nothing to sell to buy a space. They can buy a space to get this opportunity but it may be empty. I go to swap meets to get good, fair deals. If I want to get screwed I'll just stay home and shop the limited selections on eBay.
I've given a seller more than he asked for an item that was priced too low before, and felt good about it.
If your wares aren't priced, don't get grumpy when I have to price it.
I perceive the "gems" in the bottoms of filthy boxes to be of lower value. Especially true if my hands are gritty after I rummage through. Mechanix gloves are your friend. There really is added value in clean items as it shows you care for them.

 

Get a PayPal account.

 

I didn't read em all, read enough though. My spin? It's all bullshit! It's a card game, a crap shoot, a lottery ticket! Maybe they want "your stuff" and maybe not. I've taken serious and popular stuff for less than 1/2 price and left with ZERO SALES a couple times. Seen the same part in shit condition for more $$$ on other tables sell as my nice stuff for less just sits there. You never know. Was it my haircut? Did my anti-perspirant fail? Am I that scary looking?

None of the above, it's a gamble pure and simple. Sometimes the best lure is like bass fishng, show em something shiney. Is your wife/girlfriend hot? Park her sexy ass in the seat next to you. Yes, that works better than you think. Sheet metal parts? Forget it! Too big, too heavy, 90% of the gate didn't come for that and they never do. Who's gonna haul a 55 Chevy hood home on the roof of momma's Civic? Got a rare part that you know exactly what it's worth. Now comes Mr "seen em on ebay for 1/2 that price". "And you didn't buy it? Sux to be you." Or try, "Yup, that's where I got this one. Brutha gotta get paid." You might as well have fun with this stuff. I always start out real nice, treat everyone like we've been friends for decades. That way they remember you and maybe be sure to hit your table the next year. Sometimes there's real dickheads and you have to shine em on. At the end of it all there's no real hardcore way to draw the average swap meet buyer to your stuff. One meet you're the windshield, the next you're the bug. Ya pay's your entry and takes your chances, but the best advice I can give is have fun.

 

Back in the days when I had crates full of dollar items, I'd start packing up on Friday at Hershey. We had a corner spot and a 55 gallon trash can was out front. Nothing draws a crowd of pickers faster than the sound of half a crate load hitting the drum. Made for great people watching. Bob

 

I like to carry a few plastic shopping bags in my pocket and use it like a glove to handle greasy parts and carry them in if I make a buy. Here in Phx. we have a monthly parts swap meet. One time I was looking at a GM power steering pump that the guy had priced at $10. He said it leaked out of the seal and it was priced as a core. His dog kept anxiously pacing around and he said she needed to poop but wouldn't do it on the asphalt. He said his son was supposed to meet him there to help but hadn't shown up yet. I told him I'd take her for a potty break and had poop bags in my pocket. I told him I'll take the pump and asked if he'd put it to the side until we got back. When she got her business done and we got back he said I could have the pump for free and gave me a Coke from the cooler to boot. Sometimes it pays to help out another dog owner/car guy.

 

I had a man and wife buyer who were professional restorers. It seems the lady half got all shocked and indignant because I wasn't adding on sales tax. She probably wore the bookkeeper hat at their business so she was adding 2 and 2 and coming up with 5 and figured I wasn't paying income tax on my vast enterprises either. I just calmly told her that the day when I start making a profit that's when I'll start worrying about tax.

 

Don't like the racket the "profiteers" use then as you stated go on set up day and rent a space,drive your empty vehicle into it and go shopping. I have done that for decades. Some of the bigger meets(thousands of vendors)it's the only way I swap. I rent my space,go shopping and by the end of set up day I have my inventory for the first real day of the swap.Often times parts will change hands 3 times before the general public walks through the gates. Swap meets for many is a business and any edge you can get you use. I enjoy the social aspect of a swap and the bantering that goes with it is fun but at the end of the day it's about money. Unless it's a swap close to home there are gas-food-lodging costs that can add up quickly.
The buyers I like the best are the ones who look at a part....let's say it's priced at $100...and snort and say "I can buy those all day long for $20" I hand them my card and say I'll buy all they can get and pay them $50 per. In 40 years I have yet to get a call.
By the way...it isn't profiteering,it's capitalism.The way some talk(not saying it was the OP) making money is a sin and I don't buy it.

 

Again lots of advise . Some or alot of the things that go on before during and after are just how it is. I as a seller would like to do what it takes to draw people in. There have been alot of idiers on table configuration and such and that sounds good.
We all have our bitchs about certain aspects but thats mostly just human nature ect.I will try my best to take alot of whats been said here and make it a more enjoyable time for all. I think having fun is important.I myself have gotten to wound up about some of the things that go on. The swapmeet sales are not happening to feed my family,I do it to fund projects.I need to relax more and this thread has helped point that out!!
I meet one of my best friends at Hershey about 8 years ago.Noticed his "Flatheads Spoken Here" sign and saw he was from near my home town..Charlie is a good guy!
I think also there are as many reasons to be selling and reasons to be buying as there are items up for sale. I wear two hats at swapmeets but if Iam there just to sell,I have to bring my blinders so I dont blow the "Profits" on other stuff.

I also will bring more personal items along for the long haul like food and drink,paper towels,sunscreen, my hat,sun glasses and rain gear .Its hard to sit at Hershey for 5 days.The only time i left the spot was for showers and dinner after 6pm with the guys. All those goodies out there..........

We rent a portapotty

 

I can't get over the number of 'grumpy people' comments on here. I don't think sharing what you 'ideally like to see' is being grumpy. After all, the OP asked for advice and feedback on a public board. Lots of opinions.
Sure, I prefer to see things priced. Not because I'm afraid to ask, but because more often than not, the vendor is either talking to someone, or away shopping. I'm certainly not afraid to ask if an item isn't priced though, I've gotten some great deals that way.

I'm enjoying this thread... lots of fun memories from swaps, both as a vendor and a buyer. Fun to share stories and do a bit of complaining. But certainly not grumpy or bitter about anything.

I was at a swap a few years back, guy had a 40 Ford rim in perfect condition leaning up against a table. I asked how much he wanted for it. He then proceeded to go off on a long story about how he couldn't possibly sell it because it was the original spare from his 40 Ford that he bought new. It'd never been on the road, and the paint was original. He brings it to every swap but can't part with it. Yada, yada, yada.
I shrugged and walked off. Swung by at the end of the day as he was packing up. He had most everything packed up, except the rim. Asked him again how much he wanted for it, and ended up carrying it away for $30...

At a swap meet, everything is for sale.

 

We always bring a small spinning reel, rod and a pretty worn $5 bill. Tape that 5 to the hook and lay it in the aisle and the fun begins. Yea I'm that guy.

 

Are you also the guy with the critter made out of a scrap of fur, on a spring cocked lever, inside the lid of a wooden box marked "Live Animal"?

 

I agree that you need something to get folks attention, one of the things we do is use funny signs the most popular one is this one:

 

Quite true. If she is good looking,can support me and all my bad habits, I can be bought

 

You've seen my act.

 

I like this. I'd stop and look.

 

what really gets me.... Shoplifters at a SM.... you are packing-up, something missing, and you can't find it on your 'sold sheet'....

i can't wait to see the responses to this

red

 

as a sell everything that i want to sell i put on tables. the stuff that i think is hard to sell on the ground i like to be fair on my prices. not cheap but int the top price either that way someone can resell if they think they can make money on it. i don't drop price before the show opens screw the leaches trying to steel stuff to resell. i also don't haggle with other venders before show. if i want it i pay for it. if i buy something at the swap meet i don't resell at same one. i wait till the next one. i don't bring anything heavy only a few guys will buy heavy stuff and they want it cheap.

most of the stuff i sell i bought to use and am not using it so even if i sold 3000 for the day most likely i lost money.

 

Unfortunately that is not true. At the Fathers Day show the one thing I truly wanted the owner would not even put a price on. Sure, it wasn't in a swap space (it was a bicycle that he was riding around) but it really bummed me out that it didn't come home with me. Who knows, maybe he's a member here (for some reason I didn't ask) and when he sees this he will realize the error of his ways and offer it up. Here's a photo of a similar bicycle.........................

 

I've only sold at a swap meet 2 times, mainly to clean out the garage before a big move. I did price just about everything. Some stuff I let go for whatever offer was thrown out just to get rid of it. Other stuff I left some wiggle room but held firm on that range. I did find that if you have something shiny or unique on your table it tended to draw attention. In my case an old Boat steering wheel with chrome spokes and a fake wood grain rim, I guess it looks like a late 60's factory wheel from far away but it really did grab attention. I had several items that guys low balled me on and then came back and bugged me several times and in the end paid my price. Small stuff like emblems, I'll get a case for next time as I found several items did walk away. Overall I found it was fun selling and meeting people.
On buying, at some yearly swap meets, I've found certain regular vendors are way over price so just skip by them. If I see something I want and it is priced cheap as is, I'll pay what is marked. If there is no price I'll ask, you never know, I've bought more stuff that was not marked than marked.

 

Wait for a sunny day....................

 

I,ll be the first. You have to watch out for the "team" effort. Two guys walk up and split up to either side of your stuff. One guy distracts while the other grabs something. I ve had that happen. Its rare but happens. You just have to pay attention and notice if someone picks up an item. It can be hard to do and in my case Iam almost always by myself. This is just one of those dark areas of a swap meet that nobody likes. I have small items on a table near me so I can keep an eye on them better.
Also,I do hold firm on prices till the the show opens,I am there for the crowd people more than anything

 

Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

I, too, have had things go missing from my tables. At Latimore valley this year, a nice shiny, aluminum breather walked away. I would like to see that person's expression if he was caught at it. Several years ago at Hershey, some one tried to steal a Cadillac carburetor, he got caught, and he was glad when the police came to rescue him. I don't condone a beating, but, embarrassment goes a long way.

 

best place to get deals

 

I only set up to sell at Nashville, so I have plenty of time to organize, pack, and PRICE parts.

I organize the spread by category, all the Model A parts, all the flathead parts, all the truck parts, etc., segregated so the guy looking for one A piece doesn't have to root through the other stuff.

As a buyer, I like stuff priced! You're trying to sell your shit, help me out. I'm not going to wait on you to get off your cell, quit BS'ing with your pals, or have your wife get in touch with you to check.

 

lots of times if a seller has some interesting stuff , something I want , I may pay full price , get to talking to him and buy other items , they will more often than not give me a good deal on other stuff , me being the same way . most people are fun to talk to , walk away from those that are not . lost three good friends within the last seven months , life is to short not to .