Event Coverage Swapmeets? What do you expect from them?

I did a search on this thread and there was only one short mention of Security. Show me a paradise where there ain't no thieves and I'll buy it, pave it and put up a parking lot.
There needs to be some form of Security to police the grounds at night. One positive thing about inner city "parking lot" swap meets is the pole lighting at night. The lot at La Grave Field in Fort Worth is daylight at 3 am. It needs to be in that section of of the city

 

x2!

 

Like Speedy Canuck said about the swap meet in Barrie here in Canada they have a
few old trucks driving around with a couple of guys that will bring your large items
to a corral area near the gate, your stuff gets tagged and piled together for you to
pick it up later. They've been doing it for years and I haven't heard of any problems.

There's another swap meet here in Waterdown that combines the swap meet with a
cruise-in. If you bring in your rod you pay the same $5 spectator gate fee but you
get great parking in a car show type setting.
This brings in a lot of people that may not have gone to the swap meet but enjoy
the car show and end up buying something at the swap meet.

 

Lots of great input again. I have an outside company to run food concessions. I will make it a point for them to keep price points on food and beer down to a reasonable level. I do agree that is necessary to charge a couple of bucks to get in. If 2-5 bucks is gonna discourage you from coming to a swapmeet you should really find a different hobby. I am still taking in all you guys have said. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to this thread. It has been very helpful already. Dale

 

That's about it.....the biggest thing is trying to keep the swap from turing into a flea market....

 

Amen on a reasonable admission fee. It helps screen out some of the troublemakers, thieves, knuckleheads and lookyloos who have nowhere else to be and are simply taking up space. I doubt that you will miss the few who stay away because of the ticket price.

Paying to park (as a buyer) at your event would be another matter....

 

I was thinking of charging for parking(it would be a low fee, maybe a donation) only because there is a hospital next to the facility and the funds would go to the children's ward possibly. Shows good community involvement with the powers that be. I am still up in the air on this part of it. Like I said this is my info gathering stage. I will not let it turn into a street bizaar(sp) that's for sure. I might have an area set aside for antiques and collectibles away from the main auto area. Just a thought. Brings in more capital and you just never know what cool things some dealer might bring in that's automotive in nature. I have found neat stuff that way before.
Oh, and someone mentioned security. I would have off duty police officers on the grounds at all times.

 

someone said security...good....another said - not close to date of another...the one we have in Ft. Worth at Lagrave Field is exactly that...he feeds off of the majors that have been around a long time. The locals like it...but there use to be a Garland swap meet - WITH SHADE TREES ALL AROUND...that some how is no more...no sure but I think Bob moved it down to Canton now...

just don't be setting up one....just to have another...oh and yes you'll need help...Boy Scouts help out on the Pate set up...

 

Thanks for the kind words about my show!

I've been sitting back, watching what other people say they want in a swap meet.
We keep our spaces cheap; $20, for all the space they need. The guys with trailers really appreciate this!
Our spectator admission is also cheap at only $3.

I really enjoy reading posts by guys who think either the vendors or the spectators shouldn't be charged to get in for some reason. After renting the venue, paying for insurance, advertising, port-o-johns, etc. etc., they think we should cut one of our revenue streams so they can have a free ride.

Our show didn't break even each month, for the first two years.
This past year has been EXCELLENT.
We moved the show to the first Saturday of every month, rather than Sunday. Bible belt and all.

The Webster Swap Meet in Florida is an EXCELLENT show, and the one I patterned mine after. They do it on Sunday.

You can't spend too much on advertising.

here in Atlanta, at least for my show, guys won't show up before 7am, and they won't stay until 2pm. I've given up trying to keep them later.
The spectators REALLY drop off after 12 noon as well.

-Brad

 

Brad, I pm'ed you. Let me know. Dale

 

Ok here I go .You asked this is my list

1. Be organized .(Do your job so we can do ours )

2 Don't screw either sellers or buyers . If it doesn't work for both parties it doesn't work .

3. Have simple rules ! And enforce them !

4 Spend a $ on advertising in the right places . Not everyone reads the Nickel Ads .

5. Treat your vendors with a little respect . Vendor is not next to ***** in the Dictionary . I have looked .
6. Ask for feedback and listen to what is said .
7 If you are only putting on a swap meet for your own ego . Stop

Maybe this is a little heavy for some but I have done lots of events and I hear these complaints over and over and over .
Thanks

 

Having been both a buyer and seller for many years, I'll throw out my 2 cents.

Limit it to automotive parts and supplies only. Leave your flea market junk at home. I didn't come to buy a used skilsaw or crocheting needles. If the wife doesn't want to look at parts, she can stay home.

No professional vendors. I don't come to a swap meet to pay full price for new parts, regardless where they're made. 50% off of retail? Ok.

Make spaces reasonable size. I did a local swapmeet recently, and space size was 24x15. That's about enough room to park my truck.I bought 2 spaces and set up 3 8 foot long tables.

Make space fees reasonable. My 2 spaces were $35 each. By the time I covered my expenses for time off work and space fees, I cleared a couple hundred dollars. Not too bad, until you consider that I had approximatley $5000 worth of goods laid out. Everything from $1 items to one engine for $1000.

Devin

 

Unless you know you can pull in every joe with just some auto parts to sell, you just made the whole thing very small, eliminated the draw for everyone but the car guys, and cost yourself a bunch of spot sales.

Bring in those professional dealers and maybe you then know you sell enough spots to charge the guys who just want one a lot less money. The more spots sold the better chance the promoter has at coming out ahead before anyone's even walked in the gate, and that to me is the secret to a successful event, if you have vendor spots and can't at least break even on your venue rental from those, the odds of there being a second event aren't that good.

Flea market stuff is the stuff the wife and kids can be checking out while you look for car parts. Not every vendor may have enough car parts to fill a spot but he can fill it up with some old tools, toys, models, books or whatever else. Plus as I said before, that stuff sells. Car parts don't always sell.

I mean there's no reason you can't just not look in the booths you don't want to look into, and if people are dumb enough to p*** up your bargain for the new stuff at the pro vendor, I don't feel sorry for them, they probably wouldn't have bought my stuff anyways unless I gave it away for next to free. By the same token if you miss the $25 Stromberg 97 because the booth has a batch of toys in it, that's your bad, not mine.



I p***ed up going to a car show swap meet today, and I notice a lot of other regular car show swap vendors did the same, at least three were here set up at the flea market instead - where most shows are $10-$25, these folks wanted $35, one I talked to said the show promoters insisted you pay in advance too. By comparison one spot at the Syracuse Nats is $50 and good for three days - and worth paying in advance because it's not likely to rain all three of those days. Whereas a one-day show, I want to be able to show up and pay at the gate and if it's $5 or so more, that's fine - it leaves me the option of staying home if it rains cats and dogs and no one's going to come. Which, it did rain this afternoon, and the forecast was iffy, so I doubt I missed much.

 

Ive bought and sold for quite a while, and the most frustrating thing to me is when vendors start packing up early, and it snowballs. This started happening here at the Lincoln NE swap meet years ago(its a one day event). Now days if a buyer doesn't get there before 1pm half of the vendors have left or are leaving.

 

I am still monitoring this thread and I am reading lots of good ideas. Much appreciated.

 

The LA Roadster Show Swap meet is the best by far its so wide open thay will sell any one a booth we go in buy a spot set up camp and work it from our camp and we work it hard no one tell us where to park just pay and find a spot

 

I go to Peotone Illinois, Cedar Rapids, Elkhorn, Jefferson WI, Springfield MO, Brownsburg IN, and teh Indiana Fairgrounds,,
$5-7 dollars to get in is great,, parking for the same is ok as well, we all have to make a buck,, but in Brownsburg, they up'd the get in fee to $22 and $10+ for parking,, We went back 2 more times and the Swap spaces/vendors died off,,
$25-$35 for a space is a decent price,, I always say,, sell the spots for a decent price and you will have people lined up to get in,,
When you get a chance,, bring some more to Illinois and surrounding areas!! Good luck

 

As my one buddy repeatedly drilled into my head, if the event starts at 8, half the best deals sold to other vendors the night before, and what's left is gone by 10:00.

What one of the train shows I go to does to keep you there is at 3:00 they pull a vendors' name out of a hat for a free spot at the next show. Of course if they pull your name and you're not there, you may not get in at all to the next one...

 

okay here goes

owners..
for profit.. or fun?
have a complete plan start to finish,,be prepared ,advertising well in advace, secure well drained location,layout, signage,large knowlegable staff , delegate ,delegate
(local car club ,scouts , high school band -danceline kids ),enough biffys ,garbage,emergency plan,rule enforcement staff,equipment with backup,electricity?,cash handling plan,set-up,clean up crew

sellers
$10-15 per space... 1 space =about 1 truck/carparking spot.. need more it costs more
...one flat rate for vendors and seller can work if you have the room..
prepaid limited to many spaces ...you know how the lay out will be right?

know when your sold out ?
rain snow refunds?
anything legal should be allowed(limiting vendors narrows attendance)
how many people have strombergs or 30's car parts?
this ain't a party place ... careful in this aspect!
don't allow alcohol ... sales / give aways or to minors
fires, grills ,garbage, rowdy crowd control ...have rules

offer a senior (age ?)free swap spaces with tables and chairs and helpers
a car club space or spaces offered for thier help

buyers
pay to get in $5 kids ?
if you must give a coupon make it for free coffee or donuts til gone... 800 coupons for 2 bucks off out 5 do the math
give a ticket to get in .. track attendance and dollars earned
offer a mailing list sign up for next show
offer a hauling service to eliminate driving thru show and potential problems with accidents

car show too... compact the whole show so its ez to see it all.. have a expansion back up plan

multiple lines to get vendors in quickly, customers too

set aside outside parking for rods , cars ,truck trailers and handicaps

drive up area for pickup, dropoff

a few people that have ultimate authority with walkie talkies. think of finding the answer guy 100 times or more

food vendors centrally located with seating

give folks a reason to hang out all day door prizes . music...demonstrations


if you leave something to be done the day of the show it won't get done



my biggest gripe is vendors not manning there space and items not priced .. after walking some big swaps and then" the guy ain't here" '' don't know how much his stuff is" and i'm not planning on covering the miles to come back..more than twice

i will add more when i think about it a little

 

usually rain and mud

 

It's simple really---

Less Sham-wows, T-shirts, nascar collectables, etc, and more people selling hard core vintage parts.

 

I sold at the recent super big RENO Swap Meet held at the ARCO Arena on Sunday off I-5 in Sacramento, CA. Lots of promotion here on H.A.M.B., and elsewhere. Arrived about 6:30 PM Sat Nite to pay for one space on Sunday. Turned out that they did not mark any spaces with numbers. So, had to sit in line with hundreds of other sellers until about 8:30PM when I was lead to a spot. At no time did anyone collect payment for spot!! You had to ask around where to pay, which was at a trailer about 1/8 mile from my space. Go to trailer and stand in line waiting for someone to start to take $ and sign up. Many in line had pre registered and had not been given a marked ***igned space either. By the time they started helping us it was dark with no lights to be able to see to fill out entry form. I was back at my space after 9PM. Some swappers never did pay for their space. Oh ya, I just wanted to get a space and come back in the morning so I did not have to sleep in truck. Had about a one hour drive home. Had found some old chairs and yellow marking tape laying around to "mark" my space. Got back Sun morning about 4:30AM. Walked around looking at stufff and found an empty space closer to porta johns and moved there. Sunday tons of buyers showed up and things went pretty good. Only a couple food vendors. For a deposit they would let buyers drive in to pick up parts. I did make some project $ and bought a couple parts, so can not really complain. But, was the most confusing deal for a seller I have ever seen.