WHAT IS HAPPING TO SWAP MEETS We just returned from the IOLA WISC SWAP meet and I am wondering why do some people continue to set up at big meets like this? -they have nothing priced -they have all thier stuff just in piles or boxes -they are not at thier spot all day to sell -they do not own the stuff at thier spot -they say the owner "will be back later" or "tomorrow" -they do not know what the part is from -they are angered when asked the price"again" -they are angered when asked during feeding / beer drinking(morning) -they have stuff displayed "not for sale" -they change prices up and down when asked repeatedly -they have no change for$10-$20 -they have the rest of it at home -they will sell/ lower the $ the last day -they can't take less cuz its rare? -they are angered by any question about anything -they can't make a sign that tell's thier stuff is from" a 55-38???" WE FOUND SOME NEAT STUFF AND LIKE SWAPS GENERALLY WILL WE GO BACK? 10 HOUR DRIVE 1 HOTEL ROOM $10 FO PARKING 30 GALS OF GAS?? 8 HOURS WALKING AROUND FOR $255 IN PARTS (6) WE MISSED ABOUT 1/3 OF THE SWAP SPACES AND DID NOT LOOK THRU THE SHOW CARS MAYBE THEY WILL SEE THIS AND GET BETTER PAPERDOG
IF you ever had a spot at a major swap meet ( and as a HAMBER ... I would guess the answer is YES ) ... you see this all the time ... But I, as a vendor get tired of of the DUMB questions ... Anymore when I set up at Charlotte AutoFair ... ( 5 spaces ... on the pavement ... great spots ) ... I rarely sell stuff . I rent out 5 spaces to friends ... and sit a tent up on mine. Set a few chairs out, rent a Port-A-John and lock it up for private use ... stock the cooler up with drinks and have a good time walking around and talking with old friends and HAMBers. It is a SOCIAL event ... My main complaint ... heard at the swap meet is ... It will bring that on eBay This is from guys you KNOW cannot do eBay ... and mostly likely do not have internet ... and just have heard some stupid prices on some part or piece that they have . If it's any consolation ... most of these offensive and troublesome vendors WILL HAVE to load their parts up and take them back home ... because they did not sell much ... due to their poor swap meet sale practices ...
E-bay is choking the life out of swapmeets.......but it's kind of hard to blame the sellers. Be truthfull now, what would you rather do A: get up at the buttcrack of dawn or sometimes the night before and camp out, deal with the idiots that want everything for three cents on the dollar, get a third degree sun burn, have to load/unload all that crap and pay for food/hotel/gas or B: Sit at home in air conditioned comfort while the entire population of Earth bids on your crap?
Good points Muttley and Duece but as a customer I expect more form most vendors (swap meet or otherwise) Here's what I do: Make an offer, if they don't bite, move on. The world is full of those folks who don't / won't / can't give a crap about what they do for a living. Do you really want to deal with them? No, just like you don't want to deal with the gum smacking, slang talking, tattooed, eyebrow pierced teenager at the local fast food joint. But what choice do you have? I'll tell ya, you can go somewhere else. When someone isn't real interested in helping me so they can have me shove cash into their grimy hands I move on. Unfortunately that's the way it is... If they don't want to make the sale, then they don't get to make it to me.
Swap meets can be very frustrating....there are good vendors and bad. I kinda feel the same way...it's kinda worth going cause of the treasure hunt factor, but often a major PITA! Last one I went to, Fat Lucky & I were "detained" by the Rosanky police department....because of an asshole vendor. (old bitter dude that was pissed off because we thought his prices were to high so he wanted revenge) We didn't do anything wrong at all...seriously. Left a bad taste in my mouth and I'll have to be in a REALLY good mood to ever go back. It would be cool if the organizers of swaps did have a "encouraged etiquette" sheet to give vendors. Seems like it could benefit buyers and sellers... I've talked to vendors that say they don't even care if they sell stuff, they go for the experience and to see old friends.
Dude, I didn't know you were one of my customers? Say hello next time you stop by! I'll make sure not to spit in your burger.
And - I love watching them run around trying to find someone help load all their HEAVY crap back into their trucks and trailers. (that's when my old back injury "kicks in!" )
Be truthful? As a buyer I want to see and inspect the parts. I dont like buying parts sight unseen over the internet. I also like the swap prices that are lower than ebay. I like bargaining with a guy, not watching shills jack the price up on ebay. I HATE paying for shipping. I LOVE swapmeets
Here's my two cents.........and that's exactly all it's worth... I think there's too many people involved in swap meets that are of the flea market mentality. They see a way to make a quick buck. They are out scouring the countryside begging this stuff we crave from farmers and where-ever else, while we're making a living at a job and then we wind up paying them a higher price. Remember the Hotwheels craze. A little diecast car anybody could buy at Wal-mart for 79 cents would suddenly be worth $35.00 just because Mr/Mrs Dumpster Diver (a generic term and not pointed at the hamb member with the same name) can support themself and not have a real job like the rest of us. Some people call this the American Way. That's really fucked up if you ask me. Why? Because I refuse to support these people. Choke on your junk and find a some other way to support yourself. On the flip side of the coin, my wife and I witnessed a woman selling her house and all of it's contents because she could no longer keep up with the flea market lifestyle. Her entire attic was full of diecast cars, Simpson collectibles,Ninja Turles, etc........whatever was popular at the time. She had brought all this junk downstairs. It had been wet several times and stunk badly of dog urine and, to me, looked like it should be thrown away. A man came along offered her a price to haul all this junk off for her......which she was more than happy to accept. He opened a store up and not only sold all this junk but made enough to open a second store. I guess somewhere theres a person that just has to have stuff like this........I just wish these people would keep it at the Flea Markets!!!
I go to a lot of swap meets but only set up as a vendor at one ( just happens to be next week end ), Maybe the Swap Meet organizers should make up that "Etiqette" sheet for the vendors and the customers,..... I do really good at keeping a cool head with some of the idiots, smart allics, know-it-all's and show off's that file past my humble little booth for two days, but you could be giving stuff away and people would want you to pay them to take it, or tell you your overpriced. If you want a real education,...... set up at one of these events and see it from the other side, last year I had a guy walk up ( yes with the traditional rodder look,and his three buddies, leather, tats, shades playing the part) to my spot and pick up a Magnesum American Torque Thrust,...... and tell me it wasn't really an American it was a knock off or cheap reproduction, that it was a bad quality of "Aluminum" cause it turned so dark,..... He asked me what I wanted for the set. ( two 15x5's and two 16x10's ) I said well what do you think there worth? He said he would give me fifty bucks for all 4 of them,.......... I told him were to far apart but thanks for the offer,...... he insisted on knowing what I wanted, I told him and he went off in a hissy fit. Because I was the over priced jerk on those fake Americans with the bad lightweight "Aluminum",............. start'in to get the picture ?
Man, is that true!!!! If you really want to see stupid people in their natural habitat......set up at the next swap meet. It can be entertaining for a while, but it does get frustrating quick!
My two-cents.... worth maybe half of that....... All good points, and while e-bay is great for alot of stuff, and the swap meets often are 90% full of over-priced crap, there are still alot people that only sell stuff at the swap meets that you would never find anywhere else..... In other words, there is still gold to be had at the swaps if you have the fortitude to search them out..... My buddy found a 32 Grill Shell admidst a bunch of Allis-Chamber tractor parts last year at Iola.... you never know what's there unless you are thorough in going to swaps.... I also found a set of 6x Pontiac heads for twenty bucks last year at Jefferson.... they were buried beneath a bunch of junk small block parts... I asked the guy what he wanted for them and he told me to make him an offer.... so I did
I went to Iola this year and I did run into the "it's not my stuff, the guy will be back later" thing a few times, which sucks for me, but then again, if I was selling, I'd at least want to go look around for a little while. I had very little money to bring this year but I bought a load of great stuff with what little I did have so I'm really happy. I would like to see less of the guys who sell toys and chinese tools and T-shirts and shit like that. I look for the biggest piles of "stuff" and I go to those spots to shop.
Man I've done so many I needed to take a break for a few years. As a vendor, I always treated people like I've known them forever and want to give them the best deal I can. I figure they'll be likely to hit my spot 1st in the future and that helps all of us. Then there's Mr. Know-it-all. Everything I have is worthless garbage, but he'll take it off my hands and see what he can make of it. Right. I start out politely with a thanks but no thanks and let it digress from there. I had 1 guy come back with back ups once because I wouldn't sell him my stuff at twice the price and had to tell him so. I even thanked him for his interest and went on to someone else. Perhaps he heard me tell my buddy "...fuck that asshole." I told him and his friends that they had 2 choices once I dial 911...police or ambulance. "Which one you think you'll need?" On the better side I've made some great contacts and found awesome deals from some regulars that seem to hook me up cuz I do that for others. You know, brotherhood? Kinda like the HAMB, right?
I love swap meets, but only vend every year at the one here in Lincoln. If you have a booth, You really cant take your time and enjoy looking at everything else, even with a buddy helping you. It would be nice if they would separate the Flea market/new stuff types from the real car part vendors.
man, I must be doing something wrong. When I set up at the swap meet, I have one goal in mind TAKE NOTHING HOME.... Thats right, some of it is probably junk, but at some point over the weekend someone will offer me something for it. and I will take it. Often times I will throw out what I feel its worth and if the buyer does not buy, I tell them to make me an insulting offer. 9 times out of 10 we can find somewhere in the middle to meet. Maybe I should start overpricing my crap like the rest of them so I can get rich with them. Sometimes I'm to laze to fuck with ebay. So I'd rather get anything at all for the parts, they are basically worth nothing sitting on the shelf in the garage not being used.
Even the worst Swap Meet is better than a day at work! I am getting tired of the "Crap" vendors. Selling everything from "As SEEN on TV" crap, to 99cent store shit. I have yet to go to a recent history Swap and not run into the "He's not here, he'll be back after bit" bullshit. But cellphones certainly help. Call him. tell him you're there to buy his crap, does he want to sell or not? Highlander is right you got to treat everyone like they're your long lost best friend up front then go from there. They're called inter-personal skills use them! My problem and it is the only "REAL" problem I have is the people who are say 50+ years old and hate young guys. YEAH THEY'RE QUITE PREVALENT. I am pushing 30 but in their eyes I might as well be 15 and clueless. I go to all Swap Meets with my dad. I have lost count of how many times, I've had to walk on, and send the old man back to get the deal done. I have seen the double standard pricing so many times I won't swap meet without my dad. This year at Pate, I was checking out a cherry "A" coupe body that came with a IFS frame. As I turned to walk back towards the front of the car I overhear from the lawnchair jockeys under the awning avoiding getting anything wet but the backs of their throats with Suds. "He's too young to even know what that car is" WOW!!! Is all I can say. Yes, ePay is chokeing the life out of Swap meets but it is what it is.
I'm down to doing 3 swap meets a year now. I love them, but they are alot of work. I don't take junk (not what my wife says), and try to be polite to everyone. Sometime it is very hard as there is allways a asshole around. On one hand ebay has hurt, on the other the real buyers get there early to buy. If they want to pay my price, I'm happy.
If..and when I vender it is to sell.. to get rid of stuff. But then again, I dont' sell crap either, I make sure that what I sell is worth what I am asking. I would expect the same. Some people who sell go in with the wrong purpose..to make money.. I think that a swap meet should be about getting rid of what you don't want/need. tok
swap meets as such are BUSINESS. some vendors are better businessmen than others.. I try to do a few small swaps locally. I tend to get rid of the heavier "useable" stuff at swap meets (transmissions, axles, heads brakes etc etc..) as shipping these items are a pain in the arse.. I tend to not stray far from my spot.. and when I do.. someone is coverin me.. I love to buy from the guy's whos not at his spot.. for some reason I have an advantage when I am waving greenbacks under his buddies nose.. (his buddy is the only one who doesnt want to unload the part I am trying to buy more than the guy who owns it.) and as for the chineese shit parts vendors.. they are the reason I save so much $$ on a gym membership.. every one I just walk on by..
Okay Lets Get On With This Disscussion I Go To Almost Every Swap In This Area Mpls/st.paul Sometimes Making It To 5 In One Day I Go Real Early And I Try To View It All Skipping The Coffee And Taco/corndogs Stand..i Am A Broad Coverage Buyer As Rod Customsand Era Related Stuff And Toys Too I Have Sold At Swaps As Way Of Earning A Living For About Ten Years So I Know Both Sides Of This And Feel That Things Have Gotten Out Of Control Now... I Have Many Good And Bad Stories Of Crappy Vendors And Buyers But I Like Swaps Better Than Ebay Good Luck Paperdog
All I ask is to put prices on stuff OR don't get mad when I ask.....it's like I'm a burden asking what they want for something.....if you're tired of telling people (which I would be too), put the ponies on it! Yes, my grandpa seems to get better deals than I do.....we work well as a team though.... All in all, I have to admit, I love the psychological game that goes with dealing......
...Dog...please stop capitalizing the first letter of every word, and please start using commas...your sentences are running together and they are hard to read... thanks
I was a flea market vendor before I got a drivers license in 1967, they used to be all over back then. I only set up at Hershey now and just drag iron there. Fact is no mater were the flea market is or what you are selling the MOST you well ever make is what you ask for an item. eBay is were the parts are, eBay is were the BUYERS are. As a sell that is were the BUCKS are too, along with whatever currency they use in the WORLD WIDE viewership.The shipping fees are cheaper that gas, food, and lodging, sun block, and nothing ever gets wet or blows away in the wind.
personally, if i NEVER sell at another swap meet, it'll be fine with me. now, i just wander around an am able to leave when the urge hits. 1 hing i hate with a passion is when ,after you have to ask how much, they give you this" well, how much do you want to give?" bullshit. my standard answer is "a buck now, how much do you want for it?" wtf, people, at least ebay is up front on how much it's gonna take to buy it... btw, it USED to be "it'll bring THIS much in california" to which i answer "this ain't california" yep, showing my age, i guess....
Sometimes I think we miss the factor of region in alot of these threads. Especially when it comes to price/selling/buying. The cost of living between urban socal and say rural south dakota has got to be astounding. What the guy in SD could pick up for a couple hundred - the guy in SCA might HAVE to pay five times as much. I've seen arguements go on based on what is a good deal or what is fair - between guys living in six figure trailer parks and guys in five figure houses that are mansions compared to the guys trailer. It's that backwards. If you looked thru the socal autotrader and the rural utah autotrader you'd either laugh or cry depending on which side you lived on. Having said that, I remember when swapmeets were an alternative to garage sales. People just dumped the contents of there garage in the pack of a pickup and dumped them out on the ground at a swap meet. That day is surely almost certainly - gone. You may find a few folks liquidating like that on any given sunday. But the vast majority has been taken over by the "antique" trade. People that have found a niche business selling stuff on the weekends that they found during the week. Or imported from china. I don't mind the availability of ebay but the fake bidders have driven up the price on everything. I don't even assume that I will be the highest bidder anymore. I assume that the fake inflate bidders will win. And that maybe I'll be the guy that gets the email "The high bidder fell thru would you still like to buy this..." I mainly only go for items that are retialed on ebay as "Buy It Now" items. You can still find good new stuff in that manner. But anything old - forget it. Same goes for alot of junkyards. But they're usually the type mentioned before - guys that have seen ebay at their nephews but don't have a clue or even internet to sell anything on it. But they KNOW how much it's worth!!!! And not a penny less. Prices that have been pushed up by fake bidders that no one actually pays. There will always be value in swapmeets. Gets you out of your underwear clad stench and out in the fresh air. You can see things and feel things before buying them. And you can deal face to face. One on one. Not one million to one like Ebay. But I've seen the flip side too. I helped a girlfriend liquidate her dead grandmothers stuff at a swap. We sold the clothing for 25 cents a piece. We still had people that wanted to dicker us down five or ten cents! On a single item! A nickel for christ sake! LOL! I was more ebarrassed for them than mad. And it wasn't some poor person that couldn't afford it - we would have given it away. I'm to sick today. Otherwise I'd be at the Long Beach swapmeet right now. 49Lincoln
Re-reading my post I wonder why Ebay doesn't hide bidders names and prevent the seller from selling to anyone other than the highbidder? Wouldn't that cut down on fake bids pushing the price up? They'd have to relist it if their fake bidding went over the line of what anyone else wanted to bid. Am I missing something here? 49Lincoln
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