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

Raining here, I got a good deal on HASMAT suits years ago, always bring a few along to sell as rain suits, always fun to watch one walk away. Bob

 

I assist selkets to correct errors, or help sellers I'D their psrts....yesrs later it pays off.

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Thanks Don, now I gotta clean the coffee off my monitor, damn it......
I think you & me might be cut from the same cloth...

 

My buddy and I have setup at Canfield, Ohio for several years. Attitude is everything. We are there to sell, not to just show off parts we have. If I have a part marked at $10.00, don't offer me $1.00. I'll just walk away. Stop by and say hello. Always willing to shoot the breeze. Space 236.

 

As a buyer don't be a dick if a vendors kid is minding the store, if the part is clearly marked pay the price or wait for the seller to do your wheeling & dealing. Daughter was so happy to sell a Harley wheel for $25.00 bucks years ago that was marked $125.00. Bob

 

A lot of good advice here. This is what I do and it has worked for me.
-Be polite and respectful. (yes sir ,no sir, yes ma'am etc.)

-Acknowledge your customer, (Hello, Good Morning, How are you etc.)

-Price your product, but also put OBO to show you will negotiate

-Be willing to dicker a little, you set the opening price with your tag, so it is only fair to be willing to work with someone who is interested.

-Presentation is huge, use card tables displaying everything neatly, Rather than have something in a cardboard box, where it goes unnoticed, flip that box upside down, now the part is on a pedestal.

-Invite buyers to look around, make them feel comfortable, That guy with the holes in T shirt and oil stains on his jeans with long greasy hair may be a millionaire.

- DO NOT stare them down or throw out attitude when they start looking at your stuff. If you have stuff there, it should be there to sell, otherwise open up a museum and admit you are a hoarder who just wants to show off your treasures.

-If a buyer is on the fence, and you are having a conversation, pick up the part and put it in their hand, and show them something about the part. Usually since they have it in their hand, and you have taken the effort to share information, they will buy it. Not sure if this is a subconscious thing, but it usually works.

-Always be able to make change.

 

I'm 66 and deal in pre 1940 stuff for the most part, if someone under 30 shows any interest in any of my stuff chances are he is going to walk away with a good deal. I remember when Mel was nobody, but knew he was on his way. Bob

 

Another thing I do is I have a bunch of Hot Wheels (bought them at an Estate sale for about 15 cents apiece) have them marked $1.00 and when kid starts looking at them, if they have a parent with them, I give them one....that little act of kindness (or marketing) has sold a lot of stuff for me over the years

 

I don't set up to sell often. Hershey is the place I sell stuff that I put in a box all year just for that event. If I have decided to sell it then I am more than willing to negotiate. As anyone who has bought from me will tell you. Everyone walks away happy.
Oh, and I am too old to be insulted by your offer. Just having fun!

 

Some great reading here (and for free too!)

https://books.google.com/books?id=D...KDAB#v=onepage&q=swap meet psychology&f=false

One key point I think in the article is the section called the "Psychology of Alienation" . In a nut shell, if you treat a swap meet like a social event and become involved with your customers, you will reap the rewards of better sales.

PS Yes I do think way too much.

 

^^ Deep^^ I am usually kind of shy but seem to have no problem talking to strangers at swapmeets.
Relating to what they need or like is fun.Some of the stories are great! You may even get a lead to finding something you want. A light hearted approach should make things easier for both buyer and seller. I always have fun. The set up and pack up for me is the real work.

 

Swap meets have a tradition and history that goes back to the first monkeys that climbed out of the trees. And you know what a horse trader is, right? Have you ever seen a price tag on a horse? No, you have to ask. I'm totally surprised that even one person has expectations of going to a swap meet with anything and everything marked with a price. And here we have several. (I don't recall who said what and I'm not pointing at anyone, jut at the general idea.)

It's a SWAP MEET! You want it all priced? Seriously, go to the mall or Wal Mart. You go to a swap meet to find treasure, hoping the seller thinks it's trash. Everything is negotiable and the buyer has complete control of the final price by forking over the cash or not. The dickering is part of the charm (Dare I say tradition?) of the whole event. If you lack any concept of charm and prefer being the town grump, feel free to waste your day, not the seller's. Keep walking and looking for that perfect seller. I blame the internet for the utter lack of social skills, this chip on the shoulder shopping and fault finding mind set. "I want to see instant best price or I'm going to click to the next site!" I repeat..... It's a swap meet! You're going to get a little of everything. some items will be wrapped up with ribbons and some will be covered with cruddy grease. That should be your expectation and how you roll.

It's said "knowledge is power", so isn't it worth investing a moment to find out the real, acceptable price of a rusty but still useful, unmarked item, even if you don't buy? Because maybe you will find a similar item 2 rows over but now you will have a number for a comparison of value and condition, etc.

Sorry if I seem grumpy at the other grumps. I mean this whole rant as an encouragement to be flexible and boost the enjoyment of the hunt.

 

The respect has to be on both sides of the sale. Its a tough deal. There are as many personalities as there are parts for sale. I am just gonna take it as it comes along and try to adjust as quickly as possible.Again respect from both sides of the sale,then everyone will be happy.

Going to buy a 10x20 tent from tractor supply this week. I think I will make a tunnel or aisle kind of U shape to funnel people through. If the weather goes south then a bigger tent will help more then two butted up. The water wont run down between them. I am staying on my spot in a small tent on top of my flat trailer and then have a 10 x 10 over that for more weather proofing.Up off the ground too. Our group there rents a porta john with a locking door.Some of us older guys need a mid night draining, and in my case it will be from the after hours beers.Those are always nice after a good day. Fedco

 

Maybe she could or maybe she couldn't but at least you got her attention.

I sometimes look for things without a price tag, it usually means I can't afford it but it gives me a reason to chat. I seldom leave a swap meet without a treasure of some sort but for me when I am "buying" it is as much of a social gathering as it is a buying experience and several times over the years I have found stuff that was not at the meet because I stopped and asked about a part.

 

Yes, its a swap meet and everyone involved expects to dicker with the pricing. But stuff with no price will often get passed by. I will usually pass unless I absolutely have to have it. Its up to the seller to offer an opening bid. No difference in putting a price tag on it or just shouting out an opening price when someone asks about it. A lot of times the seller is involved with a buyer and a tag with a price will hold a potential buyer there until he is finished talking. No price and he may just keep walking.
Thats my 2¢

 

^^^ One of the best points for having stuff priced!!^^^

 

don't set your paper thin aluminum corvette finned valve cover to close to the edge of the table because some one who your dad fired is bound to walk by and knock it off the table, and keep walking like nothing happened.

 

Haggling is not typically part of the American culture. Most Americans were raised with stores with price tags and that's that. This is not the way it is in most of the world . In fact in many cultures it is an insult to pay asking price or not to haggle. Fortunately I was raised in a large city with many recent immigrant friends so it is not unfamiliar to me. EACH culture or nationality has their own "rules" but this article gets you some ideas.

http://www.reidsguides.com/t_mo/t_sh_haggling.html

PS. Best haggling story I heard goes like this:
An older friend who grew up in NYC told me in the late 1950's his mother (not Jewish) would take him clothes shopping on Sunday morning to the Jewish haberdashery for new school clothes. She would make sure she was the first customer of the day. Rarely did anything have prices on it. You needed to ask, then were expected to haggle. You see, Sunday is the start of the week for Jewish businesses and many of the older shopkeepers were superstitious. Being the start of the week , many shopkeepers believed if they didn't get a sale to start the week, the week would be a bad sales week. He was the best dressed kid in school for years.
That S.O.B talked me out of more great parts ..

PS. Would like to hear from H.A.M.B 'ers abroad about their swap meets.

 

In a backhanded way, you're making my point in our discussion here. There's no such rule that a swap meet seller is obligated to open any bidding with a tag or a shout. I flat out guarantee you that if a swap meet shopper passes over everything that's not marked and keeps walking, that shopper will lose tons of excellent buying opportunities. It's a lot of work to price mark everything and prices of swap meet items are always in a state of flux, moving up sometimes but usually down if it's been around and getting stale. There are many valid reasons prices aren't marked. My items are small and sticky tape just doesn't work for them so I got these tags with the elastic strings. I'll get dozens of people per meet that have to test the tinsel strength 'til the strings break or pull lose. It's what they do.

I agree that in a bonafide store, whether a grocery store or an antique store full of old stuff with an occasional car part, marked prices need to be the policy. But a swap meet is a whole 'nother planet. The rules are..... there are no rules. That's why folks come early and scan fast. It's blusterfakepokerface, smiles and frowns as needed. I was at a swap meet a few days ago. I saw a chrome Harley piece while I was doing a fast scan, wasn't marked and I had to get right back to my booth. I came by hours later and told the guy I had to buy cheap because I would re-purpose it as a start of a shift knob. He asked "What's cheap?" I said "5 bucks". He couldn't get his hand out fast enough to seal the deal and he tossed in some more stuff he thought I might use. Why? Because I asked about an un-priced hunk of metal that will someday soon be a $100 item.

 

Shift Wizard, I agree with everything in your post, I price all or my Hershey stuff so family and friends can take the money, I'm out shopping 90% of the time. DO NOT Put a price sticker on magazines or sales literature!!! Bob

 

At our local s/m I price the stuff that is over a 100.00 bucks and not the lower stuff. Our meet is only 2 times a yr.

 

I don't need to se price tags on everything, I just like to se a few to get an idea about the sellers general price level. If the seller is busy and the tags I see have high prices, I might not bother waiting to ask about the unmarked item I'm interested in. On the other hand, if other items are priced low I might gladly wait for the seller to get done so i can ask.

 

Glad Hershey starts on Tuesday during setup. Set up day my prices are firm. After that is game on for both sides .

 

A question for sellers. Is your final price final???.

A tip for any 1st timers that go shopping, bring an umbrella for the wife and a big hat for u, kinda like my advatar. The sun is strong and drains. Also if you go with your wife take her out to eat after and keep your eyes on you lady and the cars or else you'll be driving home grumpy. And don't u ever look at mine. Hahaha

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Yes. For most any part of mine worth money, I have a final price (or a bottom dollar). If I can't get that out of it, I'll take it home.
I've had guys lowball me repeatedly throughout the day, just to watch me pack the item them want back in the truck and drive away.

 

Regarding bottom dollar on an item and stupid low ball offers, I've been known to say many times "don't even think about reaching for your wallet".

 

Good to know speedycanuk & southerncad.. Makes sense as i would be dealing with a fellow car guy they know what they are selling and won't take a loss on it

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To touch on the attitude part of things again, I just got back from the Alexander Steam Engine Show. Killer flea market and all kinds of mechanical coolness. It was the friendliest event i have been to all summer. I was greeted by a smile and "Good Morning" by vendors over and over. What a difference that made in my overall experience. Must point out that the average crowd age was over 50. Maybe that had an effect?? Doesnt matter, being polite and pleasant to total strangers,goes a long way!

 

From what I have seen in selling, many guys seem to be employing the same tactics at the swap meet that they use with women.

When they cannot get what they want, they immediately switch to insults, or in some cases, threats.

It is not limited to swap meets. I get this with Craigslist crazies, too. I had a guy take the time to write me a 700 word essay on why he should be able to by a 4x4 I was selling, for $1000, and not the $5500 I was selling it for (it sold for $5200).

 

I like to buy high and sell low....makes everyone happy. Sometimes I employ the 3 trip rule....if I trip over something in my shop 3 times I give it away.

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