Event Coverage Swap meet observation

I’m 23, and have hit every swap meet I can get to for the last few years. It’s not entirely surprising that the average age is getting older, I’ve had plenty of interactions where I just wasn’t taken seriously, or the seller sold it to their buddy even after we had made a deal (happened with an FED chassis that I’m still mad about)
There are lots of young guys who like traditional hot rods, less that can afford it, and even fewer than that with the technical resources, time and space to build one

 

We had 4 track.

 

I can relate to being a care giver, I am 45 I have missed a lot of shows over the last 22 years that I have been my mother's caregiver (she has MS) since my father passed away.
I tend to do the local swap meets but I am the kind of guy it would like to get out and drive across the country to Hershey or go to Northern California for Turlock but I can only get out for 6 or 8 hours at a time.

 

This is true. I learned the hard way at this meet, made a deal with a guy for 2 containers of 55 parts. Settled on the price, he said I need to go get my truck, take about an hour, and I'll pick 'em up. I trusted the guy, turned away a couple more buyers while waiting for him--he never showed up. Live and learn.

 

I recently went to a VW bus show/ swap here in FL, after a while of walking around I realized everyone there was, at the very least, in their late 30s/ early 40s. You can say the younger kids don't wanna learn or care about cars or are more interested in computer games but what it really boils down to is money. Money has become the gatekeeper to this hobby and younger guys and gals, even the ones that work their tails off just aren't able to save money to afford anything like this. This is of course my opinion but I don't feel like I'm off target much.

 

Agree with you--to a point. Hot rods are normally a very long term dedication, not a quick overnight thing that works perfectly the next day. Yes, money drives it-just as money drives the younger set toward the latest cell phone ($1,000+), computer, sound system, Ipods, etc.etc. These are instant gratification, they work great out of the box--not so with a hot rod, it always needs something. A hot rod can be that old pickup gramps has that needs "fixin' up" or the 50K + beauty queen listed on car sites. The younger mindset i've encountered want the queen that drives right now, not gramps that will take forever to learn and scour the world for parts. The "older generation" normally bought a gramps type and were in the junkyards on Saturday's, but back then they didn't have the options of today. Plus, hot rods needs space, a lot of space-as in a big garage where they can be fixed-electronics are hand held for the most part. This thread is about swap meets, that's why the old dudes like me are there looking, selling, and yakking, normally about the old days. Can't blame the younger set though, they have been brought up in an electronic world and are comfortable there--and old hot rod types were the ones who raised them and wanted them to be the best, better than they were at that age. There's room for both except one is getting considerably older and definitely smaller in size.

 

There's definitely truth to that.

I loved going to swap meets when I was in my 20's, now in my late 30's with a family and career, I find there are more and more demands on my time. I think swap meets are becoming less relevant with the ease of listing and purchasing things online, where years ago it was the easiest way to sell your parts you no longer needed and hopefully to find what you needed.

I still love swap meets, but I don't get to every local one like I used to. I buy a lot less now at swap meets just because the stuff is either overpriced or I can't find what I need.

I should do a purge and sell a bunch of stuff at a swap meet, though.

 

Too bad the Big 3 swap meet in San Diego is no more

 

Swapmeets in Socal are in a weird decline. After Covid...many guys wrongly blamed the Pomona swapmeet staff for checking test results or vaccine status and crowed...im never going again! The staff didn't want to be doing that..believe me. The Pomona swapmeet is on LA County property so you can do the math. Below are some pictures I took on a beautiful cool day...all the empty spaces used to be filled with vendors.

The Long Beach swap is slightly better in turnout. It's really amazing that they get the turnout they do considering it's a monthly deal. Lots of hard-core racers there and lots of really cool stuff comes to the surface there. The Big 3 is gone...sadly..it was a great swap. There used to be periodically swaps in Bakersfield and Fresno but they are becoming more scarce.

I just think it's weird most of the decline in swaps quality and quantity ive noticed was after Covid. Maybe everything being shut down for awhile broke the habit of swap goers? Are they buying parts online now? Who knows its strange.

 

When selling at a swap meet, I will only hold something for a person if it's paid for in full. I will put it in the back of my space until they come back when they are leaving. I also tell them what time I am leaving, so they pick it up before. This has always worked, and the parts have always been picked up before I leave.

 

I think it's easy to keep doing your regular routine, but when there's an interruption (such as a shutdown due to a pandemic) then you have to be thoughtful about returning to that routine. The Covid-19 pandemic allowed us the opportunity to break our routines and think about how we want to proceed when things started up again.

For me, I'm a lot more protective of my time now and selective of what events I go to than I was before the pandemic. I buy a lot more of my parts online than I used to as well. When a local speed shop needs to order something in that will take 2+ weeks and I can have the same thing from Summit Racing in a few days and I know they have it in stock, that's the way I'm going to go.

I was looking for accelerator pump nozzles for a Holley carb and went to 3 stores before I gave up and ordered online.

 

I never missed it once I discovered it. I have kept hoping that somebody would redo it or do one similar in Oceanside or Escondido or something along those lines. But there is still a fair share of decent swap meets some obviously being better than others here in So. Cal.
In the SD area that happens twice a year there is one called "Santee car show and swap meet" It is pretty good although a bit small because it is at a drive-in but a lot of the guys you would see that were local to the SD area that would go to The Big Three will show up. I live 100ish miles north and it is definitely one of the better swap meets for hot rods and customs so I try to get up and go to it when I remember, the only way I have ever remembered about it is somebody hands me a flyer at a different swap meet.
I want to try to Tulare if next spring it isn't cancelled for being a flood lake, for some reason I never went to it when it was in Bakersfield I have no idea if it's a big swap meet or a small one or if it's geared more to the muscle car hobby like Long Beach or the Pomona swap meets. The bad thing is now is most of the localish good swap meets here in the Southern California area are pretty small. There is the The Paradise valley Ford Model A club swap meet in devore (just North of San Bernardino at basically the bottom of Cajon pass) is really good and the price is excellent being free if you just want to look around. I think that swap meet has the potential to be better but they never advertise it and their website is an abomination for anyone living in the modern era that uses a cell phone to surf the Internet but the swap meet itself is definitely a great pre-war type swap meet although a little small but it has a good turnout of people both buying and selling Then the one I really like is that the Long Beach veterans stadium (at the same stadium that hosts the high performance Long Beach swap meet) it is hosted by the Long Beach Model T Club it's usually in the second or third week of July it's a great pre-war swap meet although it's more geared to the restoration crowd there is plenty of traditional hot rod type stuff floating around.

 

I or my friend that I go with occasionally sell at Long Beach and Pomona my buddy sells vintage toys out of a blue vintage van and is at pretty much at every swap meet. I usually sell my extra hot rod stuff and old car type stuff and maybe a few trinkets I find at local estate sales. As you said Long Beach is still a pretty good swap meet although not a lot of hamb type stuff (it's more of a treasure hunt). Pomona in my opinion has a few issues besides being overpriced not only for vendors but people that are walking in, you got to pay for your car to park you got to pay to get in the gate and it's just overall an expensive experience. On top of that being that it is at Pomona fairgrounds you would think they would resurface the parking lot after 60+ years of use, maybe put in some real toilets or at least have a guy clean the porta potties and a couple of portable sinks (like they do at the roadster show swap meet). It's not really a good hot rod type swap meet not that it ever was but it's definitely worse then 20 years ago for HAMB friendly stuff. It's more for lowriders and bombs these days (I could appreciate the bombs and I would say they are Hamb-ish friendly but aren't exactly the same corner of the old car hobby). I am one of the ones that will usually stay home from that swap meet I might hit it once a year and I'm done selling there. If I am lucky I might make $800 that day but between gas and the entry fee I might only be making $750 it's just not worth the headache in my opinion.
All that is left that is hamb friendly that is fairly large is the LA roadsters Father's day show/swap (I sold there last year I've sold there a few times over the years and I've walked it pretty much every year since I was high school age in the 1990s) it too has shrank in size and although it's a good swap meet it's got a terrible layout and a lot of people that sell there are disgruntled with the staff and the cost of entry so I won't be surprised if it keeps shrinking. Who makes a swap meet go north to south on all the lanes and then put one single Lane that goes east and west? More so on the cost, a lot of people are just cleaning out their garage it isn't their full-time gig to sell at a swap meet and when 20% of somebody's potential weekend take goes to the swap meet it just seems to high priced. I don't know if I will sell there next June, I will probably walk it regardless but I don't expect it or pretty much any other of these major swap meets to get better. I don't think it's because of everyone is aging in the hobby I think it is cost prohibitive especially with the rise of offerup, Facebook marketplace and Craigslist plus the smaller swap meets that are still cheap to sell at.

 

Had fun this past weekend doing the Goodguys swap in Scottsdale. Must of walked ten miles in the two days. Prices seemed reasonable unlike last springs Goodguys. Lots of complaints from the vendors about the cost for a space. Almost makes it not worth the effort when you add food lodging and fuel to get there. Didn’t see a lot of empty hands.

 

Good point on the cost just to attend or sell at a meet. Mine was $45. for a space, about big enough for a pickup. Admission for the public was $2. Don't even ask about food/drink prices, like the saying says-if you have to ask you can't afford it. Out of town sellers really get hit with the fuel/food/lodging (quite a few just camp out) and any incidentals that crop up.

 

I think these big venues are going to eventually price themselves out of business. The car count this weekend looked down as compared to last year. However we had rain on Saturday which probably chased some away. With the cost of fuel, food, lodging etc. it’s getting more and more cost prohibitive. That and the large amount of money they want to charge for a meager spot will cause some to stay at home.