Ha Ha...I've learned and experienced alot in my time...as both a seller and a buyer! Selling Tips: 1. Make your table/swap space neat and attractive. You don't want some oaf stepping on your hood to get to the box of carbs behind it! Arrange your table with some of your best ey-catching "goodies" right out there as the focal point. Don't just pile a bunch of stuff up on the table and have people dig through it, make it orderly and presentable. People will linger around a nicely set-up swap space longer and many will avoid one that looks like it was set up using a dump truck! 2. Have some old car magazines in plain view and within easy reach of p***ers by. You'd be surprised at how many folks will stop and flip through them. It often leads to idle conversation and I've had it produce sales...even if it was just for the magazine! 3. Have a girl working with you! My ex wife was good for that! She was outgoing and guys like talking to and dealing with attractive chicks! She was also tough as nails on price, but most guys will pay more for a part if it's from a gal! I took the same parts to two meets...one with her, and one without. Made more and sold for higher where she was involved! (The drawback being that if it's your wife, you ain't gonna get that money for your car project!) 4. At***ude. Don't race up to hover over every lurker...let them look around and see what ya got. Keep a friendly, casual at***ude and answer any questions they may have...but let them ask before you start your sales pitch! 5. Bring change (small bills) with you. You don't want to have someone ask if you can break a big bill and then have to send him walking to ask for change. Be able to break a $100 before the meet opens! Buying tips: 1. Know what you are looking at. If you need to ask what something fits, that's fine...but don't tell them what you have in the process! You'd be surprised at how many parts will fit your car according to some unscrupulous "expert" vendors! I once asked a guy what bolt pattern his Cragar wheels were. He asked what kind of car I had...so I figured I'd have some fun with him. I said "An old Ford", to which he replied "Oh! Yeah, those came off my brother's Torino...they're for a Ford.". I came back with, "But mine has a Chevy axle in it..." and he jumped in with "No! Wait...I think they came off my old Chevelle!". I was enjoying the game, so I added "...but I had the axles re-drilled for the Ford pattern!". At this point, he knew he'd been played, and I got the wheels (Ford pattern!) for $10!! Fun for me...but he looked like a dope! 2. Take small bills with you. Keep your money organized and placed in different pockets. Lots of vendors aren't smart enough to bring change, and it's easier to ****er over price when you have exact change...vs offering a guy $4 for a part that he had up for $10 and then handing him a $20! Easier and better to have four singles handy! 3. Bring a wagon to haul parts back to your vehicle, but don't be in a rush to get them there. Many times I've sold a part for quite a profit when somebody spotted it in my wagon...if it's something I don't need right away, but that I got a good buy on, I'll off it for more money to spend on more stuff! 4. Don't panic when a bee flies up in your face and jump around swatting at it...or you may end up buying that 68 Dart grille you stomped in the process...ask me how I know!!! (No, I never owned a 68 Dart...but I bought a nicely folded grille for one many years ago!)
When buying, make frequent trips to your car to drop off your parts. If a vendor sees you've got some expensive or hard to find part in your hands he wont come down on price as easily. On the other hand, carrying around some cheap part identifies you as someone there to buy stuff, not just poke around and waste their time. I can play the stupid kid routine because I'm pretty young. I can low ball people pretty bad 'cause I'm a kid who doesn't know any better, and they believe it. When a good deal on an important part comes along, don't waste time ****ering on price or playing games. bust out your wallet and buy that sum*****, and get the hell out of there before the guy realises what he did. And you are guilt free because you paid the asking price. Learned that one after I bought what was easily a $300 part for $7, when the asking price was $10. I should have given the guy a $20 and told him to keep the change. Don't ever buy a part that someone else is dealing on. Should be self explanitory, but you'd be surpirised. Get there early. I missed out on plenty of good deals becasue I was 2 minutes to late. Dave
[ QUOTE ] Don't ever buy a part that someone else is dealing on. Should be self explanitory, but you'd be surpirised. [/ QUOTE ] Also pay attention to other people dealing. They get the seller to go low, but not low enough to make the buyer happy. But it might sound like a good deal to you, so once they p*** on the part its yours. Guy had a set of no-name finned SBC valve covers with a PCV hole drilled in one side....some guy got them down to $20 but didn't buy them, i got em for $21...
Lots of good stuff here. I usually go to look, sometimes I buy, and sometimes I sell. I find that the venue makes a difference. When I sell at the local little swaps (mostly 59/60 Chevrolet car parts, naturally) I usually bring home about $300 to $500 selling little stuff like sheetmetal and trim and gauges etc... But I went to Reno for Hot August Nights selling pretty much the same **** and I brought home over $1,000. When I buy ****, I try to pay attention. Last Sunday I saw a Mallory dual-point distributor mixed up with some 59/60 Chevy **** (lucky I didn't go to sell!) and I asked him what it was for and he said "348 or 409... $100". I was like... OK... and it was clean and complete with wires and all that stuff. So I'm walking around and a few rows later I find another one... exactly the same but looking like it was left outside and it had no wires. The vendor looked like a veteran and knew what he had. It had a tag on it that said "348/409 $300". I walked back and bought the $100 one. One other thing I learned is when I can be a cheapskate penny pinching sorry ***ed dude and when I have to bite the bullet and pay. The difference is... sometimes you're looking for that part and you keep p***ing it up because it's too expensive or whatever even though you NEED it. I've found out now that when I NEED something (not WANT!) then I'm like... **** it... buy it and be done with it. I don't know if I am making sense about this one. This past Sunday... I bought stuff I NEED: new windshield gasket for the 60 El Camino I am putting together, new convertible top-to-windsheld seal (mine's bad and it's getting a new top next week), headlight adjusters for my 59, the distributor (the one in the 59 is starting to get screwy). Stuff like this that I need I just forked over the $$ without arguing. Oh yeah and then afterwards I went to A****er and got a running 283 for $75 for the 60 El Camino. So I think I did pretty good... Travis
Along those lines of "Don't deal on parts someone else is dealing on". If you are a buyer ****ering on a price, either hold the part, or place your hand on top of the part. If any other potential buyer comes along, they'll have to hold their water, or outbid you and won't be able to ****** up the part you are ****ering over and throw some money at he seller for it.
[ QUOTE ] Take a girl with you. If you spot something you want give her money and give her room (you need to disappear) to "sweet talk" the guy down. I can laugh, joke, giggle, bat my eyes, make small talk (guys dig car small talk with a female, it breaks up their day). I've "helped" out many a buddy doing this. [/ QUOTE ] I just LOVE that idea........and I KNOW Denise would be VERY good at THAT As for buying.......If I NEED it BAD,I pay the price(if it is within reason) As for selling,I almost ALWAYS give a guy a break.....If he is DECENT about asking,or is willing to ******** a little bit. BUT.....if the guy is an ***HOLE.....and offers 1/10th what I'm asking.......the price goes UP
Simple selling tip: When they ask "whats your bottom dollar?" reply with "whats your top dollar?" (Thanks Pat Barnhart)
Ask the vendor what the price is for an item. I know a lot of vendors who HATE IT when someone picks up some part and says "I'll give you $5.00 (or whatever amount) for this". Some vendors might say OK, but most will tell you what they want for it (which most always will be higher than that $5.00). What I have then usually seen is the potential buyer slamming the part down and walking away muttering things about the vendor an his prices, which is NOT going to help if the guy comes back later to try and buy the part. If you have been to a few swaps over a number of months looking for some rare part and you finally find a nice one, but you feel the price is a little too high and you walk away to think about it for a while, what almost ALWAYS happens is that when you go back to buy it, you find that it just got sold. If you figure in all the hours and miles and gasoline costs and meals you have paid for looking for some rare part and you find one but let it slip away for a relatively small amount of money, you will be kicking yourself for a long time. If the weather gets bad at a swap and the rain begins, I always ask for a "packing up to leave/it's raining" deal price from vendors. More than a few vendors want to get rid of some of their stuff and would rather not take it home and realize that once the rain gets going there will be less and less buyers.
The best deals are before the swap meet and after the swapmeet. Before is good cuz you can buy stuff b4 someone else gets it. After or toward the end, the seller wants to sell it bad so he wont have to pack it home. I've had folks begging me to buy stuff at absurdly low prices. Also at the end of the swap, a lot of parts are abandoned cuz they REALLY dont want to take it home. Watch the Saturday morning arrival vendors too. Usually they are not 'professional' swap sellers and they dont ask top dollar. I dont have any advice about selling stuff cuz I always buy.
Be the first one at the swap meet and check every vehicle arriving. Go after the "garage clean out" seller and save him the work of setting up....I have scored things like a complete basket case sportster with ***le for $250 doing this.
I LOVE swap meets. I have been selling(and buying) at the charlotte autofair for many years. The MOST IMPORTANT thing for a seller to do is PUT A VISIBLE PRICE ON ALL YOUR STUFF! You would not believe the number of people that wont ask the price of unmarked items even though they are interested in them! Also, If a buddy is babysitting your stuff while you go "shop" he wont have to reply..DUH.this aint my stuff..DUH...He will be back in a couple of hours..DUHHHHHH. I always price my stuff fairly with a little of "haggleing" room. I always seem to have a succesful meet even when others complain about not "doing much" this time. Be friendly and smile..I goto swap meets to have FUN, Not to sit around and piss and moan. I always have a sigh at the front of my space that says"Prices Adjusted Accordin To At***ude". By the way.. I just got My Charlotte space info.. They are going up to 65.00 now..Wow..Oh well..It is still "the best show in town". Dale
Also.......if you have more than 1 item that is just alike......(EXAMPLE ... 2 aluminum intakes exactly the same) or the like......JUST put 1 out...not both. If the buyer thinks you have two or more of the same item... 1) He walks away thinking he can come back later.....(and may spent his $$$ before doing so) 2) You have 2 so you can be talked down (need to sell one) 3) Makes you a "dealer".......not good. 4) if you have two.....must NOT be that hard to find ..might better shop around for a better price. 5) People get confused easily......I have them NOT be able to select the one they want and WALK OFF.....
i don't mind paying full price for stuff (if it's reasonable) if the seller is not a total ***hole, but for some reason, ohio is the next california yet again, because i have seen way too many *****s at swaps. dude selling moon timing chain covers for 75% new price and they're all muffed up and likely bent, and treated me like **** for politely saying no thanks, another guy said he wanted 80 or 85 for an edelbrock intake for an SBC. i came back and asked if he'd take 75 and the dude says it's 90 or 95, somethng like that. the damn things cost 115 new. ****er wasn't even cleaned up, had no box and coulda been roached for all i knew. i'm no good at ****ering, but this summer i got a guy into affordable range and blew my whole wad on a pair of just-rebuilt double hump SBC heads for 285. i had a friend of mine talk to the guy and gave him my wad and spread the cash around to everybody. i think i might actually have had to borrow some from my pals to do it, so it wasn't total ********, but he was happy to work with us and was a good guy the whole time. yippee. i don't know, man, it would just be easier if people that wanted to give other people money for stuff could do so without being treated like they are walking piles of ****- not just at swapmeets, but everywhere from the local muffler shop (pissed me off today) to any other place that you can't go unless you are a card carrying member of their ***holes club.
[ QUOTE ] I offer what I'm willing to pay. I ask what I think it's worth. I don't sell to people I think are trying to use "tricks, methods, schemes or angles" life's too short for that ****. [/ QUOTE ] Oh come on.... Don't you remember the beard buying scene in Monty Pythons "Life of Brian"? [ QUOTE ] I guess that is why I get parts so cheap, or I am refered to as the "***hole" by vendors. [/ QUOTE ] Don't worry Jdubbya, it ain't just the vendors!!! I always take a Jegs or Summit catalog with me if I'm buyin speed parts, that way I can point out the fact that the guy wants more for a part that's beat to **** than I can buy it for new...
I used to set up selling at swaps with a few other friends. We'd get couple of spots right next to each other and set up our stuff and sit behind it. A few times each day, some guy would ask about some part and one of us would tell him the price (Say $50.00). The guy would then say: "Well there's a guy two rows over selling one for $30.00", and all of us sellers would say in unison: "Well go buy it from him then" It was funny when they came back later and wanted to buy the part. We'd all be asking: "What happened to the one the guy 2 rows over had?" Here's another tip, if the seller quotes some outrageously high prices, just walk away. There's no need to make some comment like "Jeez, I thought this was a swap meet, I didn't know it was an exhibtion of rare, really over-valued parts".
Big Jim reminded me of when I worked in an auto parts store... people would come in and ask for something. Then they'd ask the price. I'd tell them and they'd say "Well ABC Auto Parts down the street has it for $** (cheaper than our price) but he's out of stock. Without missing a beat I'd say "Well, when I don't have them, I sell them for (cheaper price than he gave me.)
some of the best deals are at "personal swap meets"...garage sales! i watch the thrifty 5c for garage ales that mention car parts, etc. i went to one a couple of weeks ago. harder than hell to find, street was spelled wrong in the ad, could not get thru to the phone number, did a reverse number lookup, bingo...get to the place, not even any signs saying there is a sale! its like noon on friday and i'm the first customer or something! and stuff was typically half the going rates...i spent every penny i had, was flat broke for 3 days after! but got plenty of **** to make a buck on... i think when buying, or selling, the right at***ude makes a differance. if you are buying for example, if you ***** about the price, you give the impression that you must not really need the part much, or you are just an ***hole...but if you're nice about it, and offer 1/4 of the asking price, but display that you are absolutely serious about spending money, the seller will work with you. a pet peeve of mine is the swap meet vendors who are loud and obnoxious, with some stupid schtick that is mildly entertaining the first time, but gets really old to every other vendor within 60 feet.
as a buyer, I may haggle, but if the price is reasonable, i will try to add 1 0r 2 cheaper items and basically get more for the same money. tp
Always get there early and get a swap space. Even if you have nothing to sell, it makes a "base camp" and gets you in the door early. Most of the "good stuff" goes early and brings good $ but some of those swappers don't always know what they have - then the early bird may catch the worm. If you find something you want or need - buy it. It won't be there when you come back. Wanna make $$ at this game? Buy at the swap but sell on Ebay. Sad but true. JH
I'm just a buyer (it's an addiction)But I have noticed for seller's it's good to have something that grabs your attention out front or highly visible Like a blower motor,set of cool wheels or what ever it takes to grab the buyers attention. They see that cool item then look around at what else you have. I stay away from the proffesional sellers and go for the Joe Schmoe selling his unwanted items. Clark
[ QUOTE ] I know how much theyre asking for it, say its a part at the meet for $40. I see it and walk away, just far enough to re-arrange my wallet. I only want to pay $30 lets say, so the rest goes in my pocket. I'll get talkin and laughin with the guy, then ask how much, he says $40, I open up my wallet and count it... its only $30, I offer him 'everything in my wallet', he takes it almost everytime. [/ QUOTE ] that's generally not a problem for me... i'm lucky to be carrying thirty bucks! seriously though, i'm not much of a swapmeet scavenger i must admit, but when it comes to buying things i ALWAYS offer a LOOOOOOW price first because hey, pretty often they just say "yup" and take it! i've saved literally thousands of dollars over the last couple of years by offering what i thought were insultingly low prices... i earnt that money, i want it to go as far as possible...
Sometimes if you get there real early, or if you're a vendor...it's fun to "follow" a part through the meet! It starts when some other vendor comes by as you're setting up, and buys a part from you that he thinks he can sell for more. An hour later, on your way to take a leak or grab a soda, you see the part sitting on HIS table for more money. After a while, you see it on ANOTHER guy's table for more still! Then, the last guy either takes it home with him...or you see some dude walking by with it and ask him how much he paid! (I had that happen with an old Ford intake. Sold it as I was unloading for $75, then saw it parked on the dude's table for $100....then elsewhere for $120...then some dude walks by with it at the end of the day and I say "Cool intake...how much did it cost ya?" and he says "I talked some guy into taking $115 for it...what a deal!" Ha Ha...it pays to get there early, Folks!!)
Swapping is just a game! If I'm selling I load up all the things that I've decided that I'll never use. so I've all ready decided "I don't want this part!" BUT I also bring some grabbers like a polished intake or some Hemi Valve covers Or some rare parts that I don't want to sell and I price them high and hold my price (and Hate it when some stupid *** pays double for one of my treasures) but with all the cool grabbers out people stop long enough to look thru all my stuff that I'm offing at any price to clean a spot in my shop. I set prices just to ****er I've all ready dicided that I don't need it and I'll drop the price on some thing and play hard on others its "JUST A GAME!" I don't care I once sold 3960.00 in small parts at a one day meet and when I got home my truck was as full as when I left and to this day I couldn't tell you what I sold except for a couple of my grabbers like the Baldor buffer I sold for $100.00 over list to some gal that wanted to polish her rings she made her husband buy it and I wouldn't drop a dime because it was one of my grabbers that wasn't really forsale dammit Now if I'm buying its a bigger game because I haggle over any part that catches my eye. I usually buy stuff for one of my projects (had over 25 at one time) but I've bought parts and then had to buy a car to go with them or just for wall hangers for future swaps. What can I say I'm a "Parts Whorder"
[ QUOTE ] Oh and my trick.. and that of most of the other so what gang.. get there before clark.. [/ QUOTE ] Your right...as for tricks, i really don't have any...though i did find it helpful to bring my wife along to a swap meet. Not because i charmed a seller into getting something for less...but she then understood the prices for some of the items we need, for example. i took her to carlisle, and though it was cold and rainy, we really had a good time..we wandered to a swap site that had a 49 merc speedo and clock...prized items i knew.. She asked the guy how much he wanted for them..he gave a price, then she said thanks anyway..as we were walking away she said "we should have gotten that whole dash we saw last year for less than that"..so we did.. that isnt' much of a trick, but it kicked **** anyway..cuz now i got a dash behind the couch, for less than the asking price of the speedo..
HEY! Nothin beats a swap meet burger on a good day! One funny thing my friends and I joke about is how many slot mags are at the meets every blessed year. If you EVER need slot mags, come to the meet right here, you'll have a healthy pick. One year we didnt have alot to sell, didnt have anything we wanted to part with. So I took down a bunch of 68-72 nova stuff, and dumb mismatched tires and junk. Plus a lot of **** that came with motors/cars that we hadnt thrown away yet. We didnt plan on selling anything, so we just had fun with our stall, and would strike up conversations for sure!! We had "eye catchers"!! Our prices were so ridiculuos everyone knew it was just a joke, they love seeing people with a sense of humor at the meets, its part of the fun! One was a battery cable. One end was hogged out bad, and the other end was ripped off it completely and the wires had been bent in a 'J' to loop around a bolt on the starter! greasy as a muther, had it priced for $40! Chevy oil pan, greasy as hell, looked like it had jumped the San Fran hills in a low rider. it was beat bad. It said, "chevy oil pan, ready for the circle track or drag strip!" it was going for $50 We had a can of spray paint. I know, this is an old one, but we had a sign that said, "Krylon rebuild solution! Restores as it dries!" $20 a can. And the real kicker was a 5 gallon tub of roofing tar. Half was used, a rusty roofing spatula was still jammed into the tar. The sign said, "ACME engine rebuild kit. Make rings perform like new!" $100 Man some people were laughin real good, and others would read the signs, look into the tar tub for example, give us a discused look and stomp off, witch made us laugh even harder. jesus it was fun! Alot of folks had a blast, they even came back with friends to show them our jokes too, hahahaha! Its really all just about havin a great time!
Oh Yeah.... That thing about getting people's attention. Whenever I go to swaps, I try to take my 59 Impala convertible and I cram my stuff in there to sell. Take it to the swap... everybody sees the Impala and they're like "How much?" and I go "Not for sale but check out my ****!" Travis
dusty sssshhhhhh dont be sharing this info now I have to eliminate YOU. ..Ok not really but you just gotta hunt, I found parts at the bottom of peoples trucks before its even uncovered. So just keep your eyes open. Thats all I will say on this subject....Danny
When I set up to sell, I usually have alot of fun messing with people that have their names on their coats/shirts or have something on refering to the make of their car. I have found that the majority of the guys have no clue how you know them or what they drive. When selling, have the "bling-bling" stuff front and center. I am one that usually has set prices on a few items, but if you are in or near the ballpark on all the other stuff, it most likely will become yours. I have scored some early buys, and then resold at a large profit, and I have traded stuff that turned into a better deal than the original part. I am a swap meet junkie, so more than likely I will run into some of you around them.
OK, I'll cut loose and let you guys in on my own top-secret swap meet tricks. These have worked swell for me over the past years and I hope will help you all out: First off, only attend swaps that are being held on really cold and rainy days, OR very hot ones. If it's cold and rainy, wear something thin and absorbant. If it's hot and sunny, wear something black. If you see something you really like, take some time to ponder wether it is really "right" for your car, then go back just in time to see another dude walking away with that special part you have recently decided is "exactly right" for your car. Now...having learned your lesson, when you see the next part that might be "right" for your car, immediately jump on it so those other dudes won't get it this time. Then walk 10 more spaces to find the same part for half as much AND in better condition. When you do make that BIG purchase of the day, make sure it is something really awkward and heavy and at the furthest possible point away from where you are parked AND be sure to spend your very last dollar on it so that you can't even afford to pay the kid with the radio flyer wagon to haul it out to your car for you or to even afford a burger on the long drive home. Then after you have damaged nerves in your neck from carrying that sum***** out to the truck, get it home to find that it is not EVEN close to fitting like you thought it would. NEVER measure anything - this is key! Then add all those newly aquired parts that you now know will not work on your car to your OWN pile of stuff to take to the swaps and try to sell to someone dumber than you. Well, there you go. See you at the swaps!
The Jalopy Journal
