The Stafford swap meet was a disappointment

Walked around today for hours and saw mostly garbage there.. Its more like a flea market than a swap meet these days Who the hell brings pots & pans, giant christmas decorations for the yard, and general household crap like that to a swap meet for car stuff? I couldn't believe the amount of junk that was there.. spent $20 getting in, $13 on lunch and went home with sore feet and empty hands

 

ive heard this said about this meet , so i skipped it , glad i did , its gotten like the january Big E fairgrounds swapmeet , mostly race car junk and house hold crap , hope there s some good stuff at fitchburg airport

 

Got back at 3pm 7 hours and found 2 plumbing fittings. Maybe I should of went to Home depot

 

What's wrong with race car junk?

 

maybe the organizers should be more specific and say automotive only and no household junk on their vender applications.

 

nothing wrong with racing junk.. but there wasn't really even any of that either. I wouldn't be disappointed if it was at least car parts of some kind. Just annoyed that I wasted half the day walking by table after table of household junk and toys

The thompson speedway swap meet is much better than stafford it seems

 

I couldn't agree more. Regretably I think they are more interested in the fees with the vendors pay and not with what they are selling. Lake Compunce is right around the corner. They seen to do a better job of policing the non car stuff. Hope it stays that way!! Todd

 

I went today as well....lots of crap. I did score a few decent things, a pair of Guide headlights for $20 bucks and some very cool body files a very nice dolly and a few body hammers, all name brands for $40 bucks. Stafford has always been hit or miss so I mainly go for the people watching and if I score something...its a bonus.

That place is crawling with super duper white trash folk! I usually leave with a massive headache from all the pressure treated wood burning barrels and stoves.

Pete-

 

Carlisle Fairgrounds strictly lists that you must have at least 80% automotive items to be a vendor. So why does the guy with the spaces next to mine sell nothing but SOCKS?

I guess because he pays the same $95.00 per space that I do. Empty spaces mean less income for the organization.

At least they are good quality socks.

 

Stafford has been that way since I was a kid in the '80s. Maybe not as bad as it is now, but there was still a ton of junk, of the non-automotive variety there then too.

 

so sick and tired of going to swap meets and theres nothing but granny panties and house hold items ...

 

I skipped it too, spent some cash on Ebay last week and couldn't squeeze it today. Took my son to motocross in Middleboro Ma instead. Cheap today! But costly in the long run, Now he wants to race...

 

Oh Damn!!! I forgot about it..I'm going to feel terrible for the next three minutes..

 

MOTOCROSS! Was that NESC or NEMA??? I raced back in the day, southwick was my favorite track.

Pete-

 

We went yesterday picked up an 50ties plymouth steering column and box. Glad i didn't waste today.

 

I NEED socks!! That does it, I'm goin'.

 

Twenty dollars to enter a swap meet?!?!?

 

it is $10 per day, per person.

 

I told you.....Stafford isn't worth the drive .....from anywhere. Fitchburg , Mass is next weekend . Its a good swap meet. Lake Compounce is coming up soon and it is a TOP NOTCH swap meet . Amhurst , NH also coming up in May is great.

 

I went to fall compounce and it was a huge let down to.....30 cars and 50 rows of nothing broken dirt bikes and jet ski's is spring a different venue

 

Hey, I bought a neat old automotive dash ash tray for $5 plus $40 gas $10 to get in $5 to park (off site) $20 on food and drink and 3 hours on the road. But I did get to see more lawn tractors and chainsaws than I thought possible and what about those giant xmas lawn ornaments. I did see a guy running around with a H.A.M.B. hat on but he looked disoriented. I tried to catch up with him to give him CPR but he vanished into the crowd. I guess this is why we have this site to get some sanity back

 

at least the weather was good.

 

Guess it has gone downhill I made some good scores there in the early eightes.The old chevy truck didn't like the traffic gettin in the gate.

 

He was probably hallucinating from all the poison wood fumes!

 

Are you kidding!! A friend and I went to Thompson then to Compounce last Fall. I thought there was plenty of good car stuff.

 

a bad day at swap meet is still better than a good day at work.

 

I found a nice set of hood hinges for my Plymouth. Had a good time hanging out with my brother. The weather was perfect. The thing about Stafford is that you can't go with high expectations.

 

I'm Glad I didn't waste my time with Stafford and I will definitely not waste my time with Thompson this year either, all the same junk there also. The Spring Lake Compounce swap is better than the fall in my opinion, but they are still 100X better than Stafford or Thompson.
Chuck

 

Stafford is what it is....

I am working on an "invited vendor only" indoor swap meet for fall-winter. No junk, just quality parts and memoribillia. I'm still in the early stages of planning.

 

I have to disagree. The swap this year was better than it has been in previous years. Lake Compounce is 100X better though..