Event Coverage Swap meet 101

x2 Paul! ....I like seeing you at the swap meet........

 

me too.

 

I've been a buyer and a seller at swap meets for years. I do it for fun. There's no need for angry, hostile attitudes from anyone. Didn't we all get into this car hobby for enjoyment? Some folks need to remember that. If it's no fun anymore, get out.

 

Hmm, I don't see too many women at most swaps. My wife almost always goes with me and guys are checking her out like she's the first female they have ever seen!

Also, if there is a part that I have my eye one, she will go up and haggle with the guy. She usually has better luck than I do as far as getting it for a lower price. Imagine that!

 

Been selling for 35 years.Nothing fazes me anymore.I put price tags on the parts I want decent money for,no prices on the stuff I am just trying to get rid of because any offer may take it.My favorite line I hear every year is when I have a price tag on a item of $50.00 and someone walks up and says 50 is too high...he can buy them all day long for $10.00. I just smile and nod and say I'll buy every one you can find for 10 and pay you $20 each.Never had one of those types stop back to sell me anything.

 

I'm going to one tomarrow, I'll study this tonight.

 

Actually, I hate it when a seller says, "Well, I can get this much on eBay." That's fine, drag it back home and sell it on eBay then. I got cash in hand and this is what I'm offering. If you wanna sell on eBay, sell on eBay, don't bring it to the swap meet.

 

treat the seller with respect, but everything is negotiable!

 

I play a brain scientist on TV.

That's a good one...gotta try it sometime!

Here in So Cal there's a swap meet somewhere every few weeks. But, then there are the guys asking crazy Ebay prices for stuff. Some guy stuck in the snow, in some other part of the country that can't get out to swaps like we can here, might be willing to pay those prices, but come on!

 

Always price your items at least a third more than you want for them then the guy really feels like he got a deal when he talks you down to what you really wanted!! Works every time. I always want to talk people down so I always figure they do the same thing.

 

I Usually take a sign that reads " Prices adjusted accordin' to attitude ". It breaks the ice and leades to friendly bargaining. Also, I price tag EVERYTHING and always a few bucks more than I will actually take. See ya'll at the Charlotte autofair in April !!

 

Sometimes the best deals are when the seller leaves someone in his space. Like last year my buddy had 3 nice 35 Ford wire wheels for sale, asking $100 each, whould take probably taken $75 each for them. All morning people would come up and ask what the wheels were and he would just say 35, they would nood and walk on. He went to walk around, leaving his wife watching the space. A guy came up and asked how much for the wheels, she had heard him earlier so replied 35. The guy pulls out a $100 bill and offered it for all three, she took it and was so proud she sold them all!
My favorite swap meet story was several years ago. We had this old guy that came every year with the same stuff, all of it priced so high he hardly ever sold anything. To top it off, the guy was a major jerk and was known to pielfer cars sitting to get his parts (not his cars if you know what I mean, my buddy paid big $$$ to buy the grill back that WAS in his 36 DeSoto, but find another). Anyway he was next to my space one year, had a bunch of old signs out for sale. One of them was a cool old Los Angelas city limit sign, I wanted it but didn't even bother asking knowing it would be 2/3 times more then it was worth, plus I wouldn't deal with him anyway. Finally out of curiosity when he left I went over and asked the guy he left in charge how much for it and he said "he told me four on it" . Geez I thought, $400 for a $100 sign. Thanked the guy and turned to leave, the guy hollered, "come on, you can't buy a piece of tin that big for 4 bucks! I said your right, handed him 4 bucks and took the sign. As soon as the jerk got back and found out what I paid for it he runs right over, tries to hand me the $4 back, saying it was a mistake, he needed $400 for it. Anyone else and I would of laughed and gave the sign back, but with this jerk I said no, I had bought it and it was mine and if he wanted to buy it back he needed another $396. Karma you know.

 

That's classic!

 

hell- I just wish we'd have some swap meets over here that didn't have chinese tools and cheap chrome at every booth. Matters worse, usually higher than retail. If I wanted that shit I'd go to harbor freight or open a catalog. Pretty tired of seeing 1990's tailgates and roll bars too.

 

I had a matching set of 3-2 carbs for a 348 for sale at a swap meet one time. I had $225 marked on them. I went for a walk and left my cousin to watch the stuff. He was hitting the scotch pretty heavy. I found a manifold for them while I was out and when I got back I didnt see the carbs so I asked him where they were. He said 'here's the $75 you were asking'. There was some guys a few rows over selling rebuilt carbs for 3-2's and 2-4's and lowballed me about them already. They waited till I was gone and told my cousin they they wanted the carbs that were marked $25 apiece. Needless to say I didnt invite my cousin to go again.

 

Used to set up next to a guy at Hersey. He had those smart ass signs allover his space.We used to set a tarp right next to his space.Everything was a $1.00 . We sold so much stuff thanks to him. He died and his son set up the next year.Didnt post those signs and just about sold out. He came over and talked to me and said man my dad hauled this stuff around for years and never sold anything. Wonder why ?

 

I rarely put prices on my stuff, East Coaster for life. eBay is were I sell stuff, heavy crap goes to Hershey. A one dollar tarp and a five dollar tarp is the norm, with a few things of value on a table. I always love the expression on the face of some buyer that offers a low buck offer on an item I've given him the price on. "Sure!" .....Then he has to take out his wallet and pay me, and drag the piece of crap around for the rest of the day.

 

My wife won't go to the swap, she say's, why should I pay to go look at junk when I can walk out my back door and walk in your garage.

 

not in order of importance

1. dealers price yer stuff the bigger the sign the better and do both sides of hang tags
so if I ask and and counter $.. you decline..... and the guy next to me asks you better not lower your price cuz of panic!.. keep your prices straight...

if you ask me "whats it worth to ya" .. I'll lowball it its my job to protect my money!

what you paid , whats it worth today ...your final selling price is all that matters right now..

2. items not priced we assume are under 5 bucks (be ready for some haggling with the small stuff)

3. have change to handle any sale you make .. remember you set the dollar amount(even money up or down.. have something for 80 bucks be ready to make change for a 100 bill)

4. know what your sellin or say ya don't know .. not what have ya got?

5.get yer prices for your buddys swap stuff written down or tag it .. I can't wait while they go pee or get you a corn dog or you think his cell is turned off.., or they won't be showin up til noon!

6.don't lie if its a bad /missing vital part ...say so and why its so cheap ( I remember guys that screw me) be ready to hand out some( personnal) info for a major $ item..

7.do not set the item down to ask the dealer yakkin away with freinds "how much?" as the vultures are there grabbin it before ya can it get back in hand ...
so yell real loud" whose stuff is this and how much is?" and do not feel obligated to wait for a chance to quietly ask ..most rookie dealers are not that keen on the next customer waitin.(hundreds of guys walk by in a few hours be ready to sell .. chit- chat later in the day.)

8. have ones fives tens and 20's ready to make a buy.. price chizzlers that carry only 100 dollar bills are .. dicks

9.have your" buy it " price in mind before askin and the money ready to hand over ..correct amount as close as possible

10. bring only stiuff you are selling .. teasing me with neat stuff thats a cool display just wastes my time ... if your looking for a part like it make a large sign that explains it .. so I don't hafta ask

11. if you get mad about how many times you answer the same question don't take it out on me cuz ya have to answer again.

12. get your newly bought stuff hauled away asap ..nothing worse than a angry dealer who could have sold your purchase 100 times over at the low price you paid..and then stored for 6 hours
13 . if you say your leavin at noon stay til noon don't be a dick and leave hours earlier than you said you would .. some swaps take hours to get through let alone go thru twice ..

14. dealers take my cell #and call me asap if you want me to buy for my offer .now. today!

15 if your serious about buyin do not bring a "freind" .. they will talk you out of a great deal more times than talk you into it(or spot you cash!) .. and they will want to talk b/s more than really look ...

I know times are hard and guys do need the money bad..
so dealers have been a might edgy lately ...
make reasonable 1st offers without griping thats to f.. much..just say i'll think about it, swap phone no.s,note swap space location and when they are leavin for home..... ... move on


oh ya get yer stuff back out there so i can buy it ,(I have the money if its a deal.,

sold lotsa stuff for 25 years mostly just buy for my own needs now ..

 

I hate when some one says thats what ebay is getting frist thing iam not on ebay we are standing in the cold and rain talking to you in a parking lot if you want ebay money your ass should be home eating a super size meal with a deit coke

 

Will this be an on going corse????.........would love to get my PHD or Masters.
Ha! Ha! I love swapmeets and garage sales

 

BRAVO!!! Some of you guys are brutal. I didn't expect all this interest over a couple of signs. Glad to hear from both sides of the swaps. I would never insult a seller with a rediculous offer, even though I have had a number of them hit me. "DON'T GET MAD--GET EVEN. Make a swap meet a fun game. Everybody likes to get a deal, but as most of you mentioned "ATTITUDE IS WHAT COUNTS" I enjoy watching and talking to people even if I don't sell a thing. I've even given stuff away at times to a nice guy who might have hung around and talked your ear off. If you do the seller thing at a swap long enough, you can pretty much feel the buyer out. You never know if he might have a buddy there looking for just that big tag item you've been tripping over and packing up all this time. Thanks guys.

 

This seems like the most intelligent way to go.
The others are poor attitudes AND crappy signs
...-rob
Skeezix Stickers and Signs

 

after reading a few other posts i'll add
# 16 if to you its just a social -party scene and you are really not there to sell .. unless someone stumbles over something unmarked and offers "stupid" money why don't ya post a sign
"we are here today for fun ,this stuff for sale is an excuse to sit here away from our nagging wifes and to piss you true parts buyers off..so make offers - but react to my indifference accordingly!"

shheeese, sell stuff or party to me this swapping is more serious than some of you think .. i think a fair amount of fun can be had but not at the expense of your customers ..
waste my time , waste your swap space entry and the travel, work involved to load and unload .. geeez

 

Your wife called and said you can buy what ever you want.Great line its been working for me for 30+ years.When I did swap meets years ago just about everybody wanted to wheel and deal on my parts,it was just part of selling used or NOS parts.I had more fun meeting people and other vendors and picking up a few parts and getting a good lead on a barn find or a long lost junk yard.If you put a price-description on parts you will save yourself a lot time answering questions. I had a sign that read THE MORE YOU BUY THE BETTER THE PRICE GETS

 

swap meets are for smokin deals! not to pay what its worth! if i want to pay what its worth ill go online! and if some guy gets pissed when i make an offer "sorry i thought i was at a swap meet!"

 

Part of the whole swap meet experience is the "dickering" on price. I, like most people on here, have been going to swap meets for years. I prefer items to have prices marked (so, I at least know he/she is somewhat realistic) also, so I don't have to figure out who (of the 5 people standing there) actually is manning the space..just to ask the price. Large swap meets, can take many hours, even days to search out..so, time does become a factor. I will walk away from people with an attitude at swap meets, or anywhere else for that matter. As I continue to go to swap meets, I will keep in mind there are nice friendly realistic sellers/buyers, and that there are assholes..the nice friendly, realistic seller, gets my cash every time! The assholes can take there attitudes/shit back home with them..and tell their asshole buddies about the cheap bastards that didn't buy shit from them at the swap meet!

 

i agree 40FORDPU sometimes ill ask how much soemthin is just outa curiosity, and by the time they hunt down the owner of the part i lost interest. and stuck standing there! a dang piece of maskin tape and sharpie

 

Last swap meet I was at a seller had a 5 dollar item I was intested in - I offered 4 bucks - she told me to come back later and see if her husband would accept the 4 dollar offer. Found so many other deals that day I was broke before I ever got back to their spot!!!! Some meets are better than others - so are the buyers & sellers!!

 

I've been going to Spring and Fall Carlisle as a vendor for over 20 years and I agree with what desertratrodder and playtag said about pricing all of their stuff. I do the same, price everything, try and set everything up so it can be seen, on tarps so they are better visible, rows of $1, $5, and $10 parts, shorter stuff up front, larger and larger stuff as you progress on back in the spots. My thinking is if you can't see it, you can't buy it.

One guy always has a gag item out front to get everyone in a good mood. One time he had a bucket of different color nail polishes out front with a sign on it that said - "These are free - take a bunch home for your wife you cheap bastard!" - it had everyone chuckling, making comments - all in good fun. Because of that we sold more stuff to folks would have normally just walked by (as well as getting rid of all the nail polishes). Most folks are pretty cool once that gag item gets 'em going - there's always the occasional ass-hole no matter where you go.

Before we used to set up on Fri-Sat - hardly sold anything, and only sometimes doing well, mostly guys out for a stroll with buddies or their favorite girl. Now, I set up on Wed-Thur and sell and it's all business mostly, but it is a bit trying when other vendors are trying to grind you down on prices. I prefer selling to fellow HAMBers and folks from other sites but as long as I'm getting what I want $$ wise, I'm OK with it. I do try and advertise here and on a couple other websites first so many of the items are already bought and paid for, just waiting to be picked up, or if there's an interest I will hold it for them until they can show up at a designated time.

There's always 5-6 of us vending all together on 4-5 spots so there's stuff all mixed together. We always leave 2 guys at the spots to keep an eye on things - we're pretty good at watching the spots for guys swapping prices or trying t give you $5 for a $50 item. When guys go "walk-about" as we call it, they are always in contact via radio or phone should someone want their part. If they just take off with no phone or radio, they can't complain about something that was sold too cheap - label it and stay in contact - if not, it's your own damn fault. I've been on the good and bad side of this one - you learn.

We all usually have a specific list of what we want and when anyone walks around, we are always looking out for one another. We don't care whether it's priced or not - if it's too high, we say thanks and keep on walking - if not, we try and haggle and get the best price we can for one another.

Sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you as the saying goes - true in people, life, and swapmeets.