Are the swap meets in your area shrinking?

yep seems like every year there is less to be had. i still go just cause i enjoy swaps more than the show and shine and the anticipation of finding that elusive part. part of the swap experience was hageling on the price...its just the way its done notany more . now its "well, i can ebay it for so much" well then wtf are you selling at a swap for ? i get sick of hearing that from vendors. times are definitely changing and and not in favor of the average hobbiest in my opinion...

 

At the lawrence swapmeet this year they tried making everybody do sells tax they were walking around bothering everybody then a crowed of guys ran them off. I don't know how they get off on taxing **** that has been taxed time after time.

 

I nominate you for Post Of The Day. LMAO!

 

Chikasha is growing, Denton seems to be doing well. The smallish ones at Canton seem to be thriving nicely (always a buyers meet). That would be the Lewis one, not the Bob's one.
A friend took a load of stuff to Rosanky last year and couldn't give stuff away. He is now kicking himself for p***ing on a drilled and dropped A axle for 10 bucks (duh!) He had a nice clean A axle that he could not get a dollar for.

 

I started buying at swap meets in the early 1960's, years before I had a drivers license. We are running out of parts, parts have become complete cars again, guys are getting older and don't load up to sell anymore, old friends do die, estates get settled and cars & parts come onto the market again. Its a LOT easier to sell parts today, there is a market for just about anything, and in any condition. I like to buy stuff, I enjoy the hunt. I sell stuff, the profit allows me to buy stuff that I NEED for a KEEPER. Sitting in the sun or rain to sell an item for $5.00 that would net $75.00 on eBay is bad business. Walking around in the rain or in 95 degree heat to buy that $5.00 item is fun, and the reason I'll always shop at swap meets. I only set up at Hershey, if I sell some stuff that is fine, but I'm going there to buy.

 

I've been to swap meets in Fla, Mich, Pa, NJ, and Georgia in the last year. They have definitely gotten smaller. I think Ebay has killed off some of it, but there are numerous reasons for it. Earlier posts were right when they mentioned the big name vendors were taking up spaces, gas prices are alot higher, folks that traveled and sold on the circuit are getting older along with alot of the buyers, and the country's political climate has alot to do with it.

Not only gas prices, but health insurance costs, taxes, homeowners insurance, car payments. mortgages; everything has risen in price tremendously. Alot of the spare parts money that used to be around simply isn't there anymore, and most of the vendors know which shows don't attract the money and they don't attend them.

The money it takes to become a member of the street rod scene has almost doubled in the past 10 years. And with the price of the big parts rising, like bodies, crate motors, rims, etc, the small part vendors are keeping right in line with the inflation and getting what they can out of the folks with the hard earned money.

Some of it has to do with the latest trends in hot rodding also. A few years ago, the billet scene was big. Everyone wanted shiny stuff, and only a few of the traditional ******** folks were buying the original parts. Then the trend turned towards building new (old style) cars, and the vendors went with the flow and started bringing more of those type of parts to the shows. Now that that traditional ******** rods are in season, the vendors are bringing out the old stuff, which is alot rarer and bought up sooner at the tables.

Also, the automobilia craze went into full gear a few years ago, and it seems there are more beer signs, oil cans and gas pumps than parts nowadays, along with alot of junk for the rice burners.

Ebay has become a trash dumpster for alot of vendors also. Older and more desired parts were picked over by experienced buyers, because they knew what they wanted and what to look for. And if a part didn't p*** inspection, it was left on the table. Vendors now know they can p*** off a part that hasn't been touched in awhile, by taking a few cheasy photos of it and listing it as a "rat rod" or "old school" part. Unfortunately there are folks who will buy this stuff sight unseen, not knowing the defects or down side of these parts, and after the sale is made, the seller vanishes. Don't get me wrong--i'm not stating this is everyone on Ebay, but it's happening more and more.

And it's so much easier to order new "old" stuff on the internet anymore, that some of the cars being built today are from parts gotten from sitting in a lazy boy and clicking amouse.

And it could be that since more and more people have become involved in rodding, more and more parts are being bought up, leaving the pickings a little slim on the tables at times.

My 2c's worth. Open for dissection...

 

Seems to me like there are getting to be too many being held in an area. In dallas area there used to be two big ones a year, Pate and Southwest in Irving. Now there seems like there is one every month through the summer. After some folks found out how much money could be made selling spaces, everyone wanted to get into the action. Just spreading the wealth a little too thin, that and everything seems to be higher these days. None of the vendors want to deal on parts. It's like their price is chisled in stone and their junk is worth that price no matter what. I see a lot of the same stuff being hauled around for years and never gets sold.

 

Yes...swap meets in the Pa area are getting smaller, and its also harder to find good parts to sell......ebay has made it so much easier to sell stuff....world wide market.....not finding just the right person that needs your part at a swap meet.....but I personally prefer the one on one contact at swap meets.....its a lot of fun.....ebay just isnt fun!!!!!.....stan.....stans-stainless@hotmail.com

 

I did some swap vending this summer and I don't think I'll do it again.

Pay $100 for a couple small swap spaces, spend another $100 or so in gas to drive down there, and spend my whole weekend sitting there, to sell $300 worth of ****. Honestly, you gotta sell a lot of **** to cover your expenses. And if I only sell $200 worth of ****, I may as well have thrown that **** in the garbage and done something else with my weekend.

Also, in my summer's worth of swapping, I learned that good, old car parts don't sell unless they're give-away cheap. The **** that I brought that did sell was stupid stuff, like beer signs, truck parts, old coolers, used tires, stuff like that. What I thought was the "good stuff" brought very few lookers and even fewer buyers, unless I was willing to give it away.

It's a lot more fun to go to look around and buy stuff, bring the old car and park it in the show, then spend the day sorting through boxes looking for deals. Iola is the big one here in Wisconsin, this year attendance was up for spectators, but the sellers I talked to all told me that selling was super slow. Everyone comes to look around, no one buys much.

I have noticed a TON of cars coming up for sale this year, way more than usual, not a whole lot of good deals though. Seems like a lot of guys out there are hurtin' for money and are hoping to cash in big by selling the project in their garage.

In the end though, I don't understand why people hate eBay so much. It's like a 24/7 swap meet that you can go to anytime and they have almost everything availible. I also don't see where eBay is so much more expensive than stuff at the swap meet. I find **** cheap on eBay all the time, and it's fun to look around on eBay to see what's availible, just like a swap meet. Much easier to sell on eBay I think, way less work for the money.

If swap meets want to attract me back to selling there, they're going to have to lower their prices a TON, renting a 20 foot by 20 foot piece of pavement for a weekend shouldn't cost a $100, and they're going to have to get more people to come and buy ****. Until then, I'll stay home and work on stuff or I'll just go to buy.

 

Why lug a part around all summer that 3 guys will fondle and no one will even make an offer on, when I can sell it on eBay in 7 days for a set price?

I make a point to grab good stuff when I can and I usually bring it to at least one car show before I eBay it. I had a Stromberg 48 carb, set up, but all there and no cracks, with $50 on it, carried it to two or three shows. The old guys all want to rob these things for $5 or $10. I put it on eBay and got $60 for it in 7 days. Plus like $12 to ship it to the west coast. And the guy was thrilled to get it, left me a great feedback -

I can sell toys and models and things, usually I sell at least one of those a show, I bought a box lot of DVDs and videos on eBay because I wanted some of them and the extras have been selling. But the milk crates and boxes I bring loaded with car parts are hardly worth it when all I sell is a couple hubcaps for a buck each. I have old solid br*** tractor carbs with what is literally a s**** price on them and guys put them down when they see the price.

I have a crate full of car mirrors, like $5 would get any of them, no one's bought a single one; I have a crate with a bunch of 30s and 40's car door latches - all in good shape - no one's even asked me for a price on them. I'm already ahead on what I paid for the whole lot these crates came with, so it's not like I'm going to be tough on the prices, and it's not like I'm asking eBay prices on all this stuff either. Most of this stuff is going to cost you at least $5 at a junkyard, though, there's no reason to give it away for nothing.

I've had a pair of '55 Packard taillights at the last two shows, no one's even made me an offer on them. One even has about 12" of the fender still on it where I sawed them off the car. I put the Olds Rocket valve covers on eBay and got the $50 I wanted. I have a bunch of old headlights I should put on, people look at them and I only sold the pair of '41 Chevy truck headlights I had $25 on. Sometimes when I look around I purposely mark my stuff a little less than the same thing someone else has - but I still carry it home.

I think if it's slowing down it's because vendors are sick of guys looking for stuff to put on eBay, picking things up with a price on them, and offering you one buck for it. That's the running joke with some of the guys I know from the shows - "I'll give you a dollar for that" ...


I mostly do it for the fun of finding stuff and to hand out car flyers, although the muscle I pulled Sunday is no fun at all. It gets me there and sometimes I find nice stuff. I got a really good box of HO trains at this show, a guy was trying to offer $10 for, I could see without even digging it was worth the $20 the guy wanted and I told him I'd give him the $20 no problem. I got looking later and there's easily $100 in stuff I won't keep in there. Usually if I don't break even on the day, I break even selling whatever I found while I was there. But I take less and less car stuff with me, and I think when I put it away for the winter I'm going to swap a bunch of stuff around and stop taking anything heavy with me. I mean, I knew guys in college that drove 5 miles up a dirt road and hiked another couple to steal a 350 Chevy iron 4bbl intake, they wanted one that bad - but if I carry one with nice paint all summer, I can't get $20 for it? It's not worth a fortune, but it aught to be worth that.



That said, the only shows I see a drop in around here are the ones that want an arm and a leg for the spots. The shows with the $10 or free spots always have good vendors and good stuff. I'm weeding out the ones where I lose money at and just doing one day stuff where I know I can sell $50 or $100 of **** in a day -

 

i do agree with all of you that the swap meets are geting smaller but if any of you set up at shows you will understand how people are. they dont want to give you nearly nothing for your good stuff. they say it is not worth that or they have to go ask there wife. you no what any man that has to ask there wife is a *****. be a man like you are and buy it. so what the hell. you can make way more money on ebay. take a little swap meet and maybe 3000 people will walk through the gates. well millions of people are on ebay. i used to set up at swap meets to sell my stuff. now i go to buy stuff and resell it on ebay. take a model a windshield that might bring 75.00 at a swap meet. i have sold three on there in a couple of months for 100.00 to 180.00 dollars. that is way they are swap meets are shirnking.

 

EXACTLY! RNY, I think you and me are on the exact same wavelength. I spend a day digging **** out to bring to a swap, then spend two days and $200 setting it all up there, just to have everyone walk right past. Swap meets are getting smaller because it's not worth the time for the sellers.

I remember swapping at Iola years ago when they still had a Rod and Custom show. A kid walked up and picked up a Sun tach I had $20 on, and he just handed me a $20 bill. I was shocked, I couldn't believe it. No one ever just pays the full price, usually you've gotta go through the 5 minute negotiation dance to get half of asking price. That experience was so unusual it still stands out in my mind 7 or so years later.

Buying is better on eBay too, if I need a specific part, all I have to do is look it up and put in a bid. It could take me literally years of swap meet searching to find some of the **** I'm looking for. And I've met a lot of cool people through the internet including eBay, so that aspect is still there.

 

The early V8 club stopped its swap and it was a cool swap.

 

I think eBay is hurting things. Great observation.

We had a couple crummy ones here around Detroit. They have only gotten worse over the years. All used-up, dirty old *** parts, some things broken here or there...most of which are for cars that you can get reproduction parts for that are like new and for not that much more money than the vendors are looking for.

I used to laugh when I'd read a "budget build" in Car Craft, and they'd say "we picked up the Edelbrock 600 carb for $25 at the Pomona swap meet." Yah right. That Edelbrock carb at any swap meet I went to was usually only about 10 bucks cheaper than a new one. Why bother?

Also, a lot of the parts are "car fresh" as in, covered in grease and oil, of questionable reliabilty, probably too dirty to take pics of and eBay...and not worth cleaning them up for.

If you have a newer Corvette, Mustang, Camaro or Firebird, the Detroit swaps would be nirvana for you.

If you're looking for something pre-1965, forget it. I have yet to see any 1951 Merc parts.

I had a Chevelle some years back I was looking for parts for, and the **** I saw for sale wasn't any better than what I already had, and for the prices they wanted I just ended up buying new from catalogs. It's turned into a garage sale of ****py, crusty, used up, rusty junk parts you already have (or are too late model for you) that cost a premium.Why buy a dinged up, faded and pitted $35 hood ornament with 2 of the three lugs missing when you can get one new repro for $50?

If nothing else, I go for the tool vendors...guys who sell hard to find non-make or model specific things, like bushings, grinding wheels, wires, specialty tools, etc.

Also, when trying to haggle, the new catch phrase has become "hell, I can eBay it for more than that!" Well...then DO IT, and stop lugging your **** around and asking too much for it.

rant over. LOL!

 

i live in south florida and im leaving tommorrow to go to auto fest in north carolina. is it any good. i heard it was good. i need some ebay stuff.

 

I usually do. Another guy I know told me how some guy picked up a Stromberg 97, a good one that everything moved on, and tried to offer him $20 for it. I just sold one Buy It Now for $125, he had his tagged that.

I don't mind cutting a guy a bit of a break and saving myself the h***le of packing and shipping and all that ********, but hell if I give it away cheap the guy who buys it is just going to eBay it himself 9 times out of 10. If you buy it from me for the same price as it would get bid to, think of the shipping and handling you saved -

 

In Michigan, when you buy a used car, you have to pay sales tax on it. If the car was sold and registered 15 times, the state got a cut of the action 15 times...it's ridiculous! To me, the gov't gets a cut ONCE. This has led to people putting the selling price on a 1998 Car at $1000 so they only have to pay 60 bucks for the sales tax...it's a joke.

 

As a seller on eBay I wholehartedly agree, but why even bring it in the first place if you know you could probably get more for it on eBay? You know people are going to try and talk you down...

 

I use to vend at the western Washington Swap meets and Portland of course until I got to where I couldn't load and unload anymore then I did my wire art at the swap meets and show and shines until my ability to walk decided to give way. Now I ride a 3 wheel bike and look for the parts I can't live with out and I have to explain and show my disability card every time I pay to get in it seems because they don't want people using bikes to get around. Oh well they will just have to get use to us old farts.

 

Same in Wisconsin, only we have a 5% tax, and the same thing happens, especially with old stuff, put down $300 to cut down on the taxes. Sure it's illegal, but **** 'em.

That's also a big reason why old ***les are worth money. You can buy an old ***le, register it with a $300 selling price (or whatever), pay a couple bucks tax and you're in business. If you go through the state, they'll want to inspect it first, and they make you pay the big taxes on whatever they feel it's worth.

 

Another plus to eBay, if you're on the legit with sales tax, is that there are no sales taxes if you sell something state-to-state. So if my eBay buyer is in Texas, there's no sales tax to charge, only if I sell **** in Wisconsin. I'm a legit eBay seller that has to fill out the sales tax reports for the state, but I usually don't have to pay in ****, because all my sales go out of state.

Granted, sales tax doesn't seem to ever get charged at a swap meet, but technically it should. If they ever really try to enforce the sales tax thing at a swap meet, that'll be the end of the swap meets forever. The government always wants to get their cut.

 

That's why I mark it anywhere from 50% to 100% over what I want to get out of it, usually. When I have a carb marked $50 and a guy wants to give me $20 for it, I remark it $100 so maybe the next guy will offer me the $50 I wanted in the first place. I get what I want and he thinks he got a deal.

As for the tax, I pay the state for the sales I do at the shows. I just hope they never want to look at my books - I don't keep any. I keep track enough to know what I sold in a day and usually lose the paper before I make it home. Usually I just let them send me a calculated bill anyways, except for the one year they tried to charge me $750 it's always been about the same as I figured up. Taxes in NY are a joke, anyways, as close as I can figure my $100 or so a year is feeding 3 illegal immigrants in NYC for a couple weeks or being wasted by the city council on a lawyer so they can try to go to court to stop a project supported by the mayor.



I also found out the cheapest you can sell a car for in NY is $1.00, I actually had the balls to bring them a reciept saying I paid 2 cents for a car (it was an '84 Buick beater and that's exactly what it's worth), and the system wouldn't let her charge less than 8 cents or so. I just told the clerk the guy I got it from said he was sick of it and if he thought someone would give him 2 cents for it, it would be gone - and that I had a couple pennies in my pocket that day. It was just easier than trying to get a hold of these people to fill out the damn gift form, I was lucky I got a ***le with it in the first place.

 

I overheard more than one vendor at Iola saying that they just bring the stuff that's to big to ship to swap meets. the rest of it they sell on Ebay.
I still prefer to hold the part in my hand before laying out the cash. But if the part isn't at the swap and is on Ebay, I usually only bid as high as I would pay for it if I were at a swap. I take the chance that I'll find one at the next one.

 

SO THAT WAS NOT YOUR TIME OUT KID WITH "KEEP ON TRUCKING" BELT BUCKLE WITH THE MACRAME BELT AT THE FLEA MARKET IN PINE CITY THEN...... HUH
PAPERDOG

 

I hate to say it, but in my area there is typically 3 or 4 a year. I have probably bought more parts off of ebay because it is There and i have access to it. Nothing beats a good old swap meet to get you geared up. I think you dont find much at a swap meet if you have project that is well under way because you are searching for certain parts rather than a whole new project.
I do think that swap meets are shrinking do to higher prices on ebay and the old load it , unload it head ache.

 

That sales tax ******** is the reason for the demise of the Dunkirk Ny, swap meet.( well not total demise,but almost) The government has no business messing with stuff I drag out of a field or barn and try to make a few dollars on it.Just another way for the rich to get richer and the working man to go broke.

 

okay sorry i just get typing and forget that caps is yelling in this cyber world ...my poor vision and limited typing ability is never a good reason to yell.. any body from a town just off 35w is okay by me... i do like your work and hope to meet you one day at a local swap/auction ..

paperdog