Hot Rods Portland Swap Meet For Sale???

I felt the same way on Saturday at the expo buildings. I found nothing to buy but a few diecast cars and books and magazines. I couldn't find any usable parts that I needed seemed like just a lot of "stuff", like it was an estate sale more than an auto swap meet. Things are really changing. Puyallup has gone down hill too.

 

I don't know if you bought it, but I only saw one blowr intake at the Expo outdoor area, was marked $400, standard deck. Nothing there in the way of blowers.

 

I think if I go next year I will focus my time at PIR and possible make it up to the Expo. This year I just hit the Expo thinking I would not have time for both. In hindsight, I can get through these pretty efficiently and I could probably have seen what was left of PIR on Saturday morning and then scoot up to the Expo since it was going through Sunday. PIR I think was supposed to wrap up by 4:00 Saturday. I parked at Diversified Marine, right across from the prepaid Expo parking lot which made the to and fro pretty easy. Had a good day though, always fun looking around "Thrill of the hunt!"

 

I was looking at that 34 Dodge coupe, a kid comes up and says you REALLY should buy this car! A born salesman. It was a cool car.

 

I love a good spiel. You should have responded to his assumptive close with a nice open ended "why is that?" and seen what he was really made of. Yeah, I love a good spiel.

 

Not sure what day you were there, but on Thursday there were no empty spaces at PIR, and actually PIR had redone the setup to allow even more seller spaces than previous years. So on opening day we were surprised to see more sellers there than in past years.

 

The last couple of times I have been to PIR there were guys packing up in the middle of the afternoon on Saturday and the one time I only had Sunday to go it was already getting emptied out but I found some serious bargains. One of them being non automotive but I got a nice saw for beer money that would have cost over 200 new. My problem is that I would have gone to look and visit more than buy this year as I just don't need much that could be found at a swap meet.

 

PIR will take far more time than Expo, even when Expo is full! It's going to take 5-6 Hrs. to walk PIR, even if you go quickly and skip past a close look at everything!

 

Unless you go with a chatty cathy like I did. 8 hours and we missed the road past the dirt track and the main drag from the bridge to the start line! He's paying for the golf cart next year.

 

Sounds like the swap for me then!!!

 

It takes me 6 hours, every year to
Do the entire p.i.r swap. This is taking my time and hitting every booth.

 

It's too bad they can't get their shit together and schedule the swap meet a little later in the spring! Years ago the excuse was scheduling conflicts, but fer chrissake, it's been like 60 years and they have no "bargaining power" to get a better date???!!! It's the same hit-or-miss weather every year! What did Einstein say about insanity???? "Doing the same thing over and over and hoping for a different result"

 

I have a feeling that at this point they could stick the swap meet in August and still get rain. It just part of the swap meet experience at this point.

 

I have a couple friends who have been on the swap meet committee for many years, and I asked why they couldn't change it to a warmer month? Even if it rained then, it wouldn't be so cold and rainy! I was told by both that it's a tradition to use the same theme, "Always in April" for the Expo, and PIR is never going to do a different time than Expo. So it seems we're stuck with first weekend in April until the committee gives in and changes things. Which I doubt will ever happen.

 

Meh. The horrific weather-magaddon that everyone predicted never came to pass. Just the usual bouts of showers and sun breaks that you expect pretty much March through June. No big deal; the majority of outdoor Expo vendors bring canopies. To a steelhead fisherman like me, the weather was nothing.

We had a great time selling at Expo. Sales on Thursday (setup) and Friday were excellent—right on par with last year, which was a terrific selling year due to pent-up pandemic demand and fabulous weather. But Saturday and Sunday sales fell off considerably. That’s when I headed out to scoop up bargains from depressed vendors who took the drop-off as a sign we’ve reached the end-times. Their gloom is my profit.

But yes, Expo was notably sparse. It was a little thin last year, and I was hoping that was just a pandemic hangover, but the trend has continued. I don’t think this is due to one big factor, but rather a whole lot of little ones. Lots of speculation that they might consolidate the stalls and create on-site buyer parking, which is needed. We’ll see. The vendors on my row talked and we’re all giving it another go next year. It’s a fun meet, and I’ll support it while I can.

I also found some very cool stuff for myself. And keep in mind, I’m so busy with setup and selling on the first two days that I don’t really start shopping until late Friday or early Saturday. You’d think all the cream would be skimmed off by then, but it’s not. You just gotta poke around.

 

I thought the weather has always been part of the Portland ambiance. Besides, there are always vendors that roll the dice and bring a barrel full of umbrellas. Some years, they make out like bandits with near "name any price" costing, other years the umbrellas can't be given away.

 

This is the same bullshit response that they have given for years! When they were forced to move to May years ago because of the Smithsonian Exhibit we had beautiful weather and they were approached by many to move it....nope....always in April! I am not the only one that is done with slopping around in shitty weather!

 

You guys are cracking me up with your suggestions that the committee is stupid or stubborn for not changing the dates. I can think of all kinds of reasons why they wouldn’t do that, not the least of which is that hundreds if not thousands of returning vendors and volunteers across both meets have had those dates locked into their mental calendars for decades. And none of us know what’s in their venue contract.

Big events like this have all kinds of interconnected dependencies. Blithely suggesting a change of dates is like walking up to somebody at a car show and telling them they need a different carburetor when you don’t know their compression, what camshaft they run, or even how they use the car.

But I do agree the rain can suck, so I get your frustration.

 

It diden't change the vendor or crowd turnout when they had to switch it to May some years ago, I was there and it was bigger than ever and there wasn't a negative comment by anyone! The loss of over 1200 parking spots this year make it much more difficult, the big winners are tow truck companys that love to charge big $$$ to tow rigs out of the mud at Delta Park.

 

I agree with @ClarkH , its amusing to read the various responses about this years Portland swap meet.
I forgot to add the most amusing element, of this years swap meet for me.

On the move in day Wednesday, it was the most sunny day.

I was sitting in the door way of our big trailer, and I was enjoying the sunlight and the warmth of the sun, out of the wind.

At that precise moment, a big flock of the geese, that never leave the area, flew over our trailer, and bang, BINGO, a nice piece of undigested green, grass, goose shit,
hit my boot, dead on bulls eye!



I was quick to wipe it off with a handy paper towel, and as much as it pissed me off, I just had to laugh out loud, at the precision and the coincidental trajectory, of the flying piece of goose shit !

After all, its their turf, they live there and never migrate!

Gotta love and appreciate and tolerate that element of the annual Portland swap-meet, its just one of the myriad, little inconveniences, that are a part of the experience of going to the annual swap-meet.

As far as that element of "ALWAYS IN APRIL" pretty hard to NOT notice, the element of the inclusion of April Fools day, your a fool if you go, and your a fool if you stay home and miss out on all of the fun and cool stuff and cars and trucks that attend each year !

Your results may vary!
You can count on that!
Thanks from Dennis.

 

Agreed. Helped with parking one year in the rain at that north lot across from the now dog park. I’ve never pushed, shoved more cars and tried to direct more idiots that didn’t know which way was up from down in my life. Never again

 

Having moved back to the Midwest, I miss out on the Portland swap meet. And I miss it. That was a perfect start to spring. I regret not ever going to the PIR meet.

 

Those geese are nasty in that entire Vanport area. The golf course that lies adjacent to PIR across the slough is 36 hole Heron Lakes. I have seen many geese get hit in the fairways by incoming golf balls. One day a buddy took the head right off one with a less than TV worthy shot. But I can safely say they have hit us more times than we have hit them.

 

Vending at the Expo I'd say it was an off year. Lots of reasons why I guess. Friday was okay but selling Saturday felt like a long winded Sunday. I couldn't get over all the empty spaces & general lack of people. Last year was the best I'd ever done at Portland. This year, when you factor in expenses I'm lucky to break even. That being said, I'll still go as long as I can. I love swap meets. Seeing people, hanging out with my dad & friends, buying cool things I don't need & helping parts I don't find a good home.