How are everyones local swapmeets doing in this economy

[junkyardjeff]

Last weekend I went to what used to be a large swapmeet about 2 hours from the house and came back very dissappointed,it was all I could do to see it in a day and now I was done a little after noon and found nothing. I know it might be the sign of the times but I looked forward to attending every year but I dont think I will go next year,I have noticed it getting smaller and smaller every year and noticed more late model parts too and this time I was looking for more newer stuff and could not find any. I will have to admit that I do like shopping on the internet for some things but I love going to swapmeets and might have to eliminate some and plan on attending one very large swapmeet a year,I doubt it will get better so I just had to vent.

[boblichty]

THe closest large swap meet near here is the big Dave and Ed's Meets at the Canfield Fairgrounds, other than those, I mainly attend Carlisle and Hershey. That's coming up so we will see how it is this year. Last year at Hershey if your remember the banks collapsed the every same week as Hershey. One vendor next to me immediately packed up and went home. I asked him why? He said he lost his retirement and "had" to get home to do "something" about it. The bank collapse hurt us all but I stayed and had an excellent year in the car corral selling several cars.

Back to local events, I don't deal in parts by my friends at Canfield tell me they have been doing just fine this year. The amount sales are down are usually attributed to competition by Internet sources and a general decline in people actually restoring cars. It is clearly cheaper to by a car done with the other guys labor in it.

I am looking forward to another great year at Carlisle and Hershey this fall, lets hope I am right.

[earl e rizer]

Swap meets here in Ontario Canada have turned into non auto related flea markets for a large part. Why? Because of the internet. It really is great using the net to find parts and it has been good for keeping prices realistic. I enjoy swap meets, but only if they are auto specific. If I need socks I can find them elsewhere.

[keiser31]

Our local swap meet two weeks ago was a bit of a downer. Sure, we got to see some friends and a few parts, but overall there were scads of empty spaces where there should have been vendors. When we pulled our rig in, the girls at the registration table said that they were pretty much sold out as far as vendor spaces go. Once we got in to our crammed space, we realized that we could have spread out a little more for better parts exposure. We did not know that a third of the vendors would not show up at all. The prices were a little steep, too. I think that people are trying to make up for some low income by jacking their prices up. The internet does help, but it also hinders. It is a good thing for a parts search, but for selling, it is slowly dropping in bidders as far as I can tell. Lets face it....most of us are hurtin' financially at this time.

[junkyardjeff]

Even thought I am complaining about the weak swapmeets I kind of contributed to it by selling some of my parts on the internet,I tried selling for a few years with a buddy but I only brought the parts that I really wanted to get rid of and did not care what I got for them as they needed to go. I had some valuable and obscure parts that would of taken me forever to sell at the local swapmeets so I joined car groups on the internet to find buyers and get a decent price out of them and I dont have to pack and unpack,I have found a bunch of parts on ebay that I would of never found at any of the swapmeets I frequent. I liked to sell at one local big show but they raised the space prices and used to give out two vendor passes with a space but then started charging 20 dolars for the extra pass so I quit selling there,I am torn between buying on the internet and going to swapmeets as I lke them both but decided to not go to some that are a couple hour drives and do the one big local and go to Hershey or Carlisle since I have never been to both.

[junkyardjeff]

I found a bunch of parts for my 65 country squire off ebay and got them cheap for awhile,I think there might have been someone else that had one that found ebay as then I started to have to bid on parts where before I was getting them for the starting bid. I would of never found those parts at any swapmeet but I dont want to see swapmeets go away.

[starfireelvis]

I went to Canfield (Ohio) on Sunday, which is traditionally a slower day than Saturday; however, I found that there were plenty of entries in the car corral, a very good number of vendors (they even had some in the overflow area, which is the racetrack outside the general fairgrounds area--usually I've only seen that in the Spring), and the parking lot seemed pretty full, not to mention running into quite a few of my old car buddies there.

Now, I don't know if people were spending their money, and anyone else who attended can confirm or contrast what I saw, but there seemed to be enough to look at and take in. I do know Canfield is a three-day event, with discounted pricing if you get a multi-day pass; it does seem that the local one-day only events here (in Randolph, as opposed to any three-day events there) seem to be slow with not as many vendors.

While we're on the subject, why is it that recently it seems like so many vendors at Carlisle pack up during the middle of the day on Saturday (not counting severe weather)? Speaking from someone who makes a living in sales, I think that's crazy. You have to work when the people are available, and for many, that is only Saturday (and Sunday). I was one of those, who, many years ago when I first started going to Carlisle, was only able to attend for one day (via an overnight charter bus that arrived at dawn, and left at 5 pm) when I first started out. To me, this is something of a disservice.

I fully realize that there's the other side to consider, of course, that of the vendor. Again, putting myself in their shoes, why not stay--hell, your stuff is already out, and there are plenty of people who work Monday through Friday, don't have the vacation time, but are still willing to drive all night if necessary to get there for the weekend. You've got all/part of the day Sunday to pack up, get back home, and, do as I do--take the following Monday off from Carlisle or Hershey to chill!! For the weekend, I would think that there is still some chicken on that bone, so to speak, for the vendors to take in a decent amount of extra cash, and not having to haul back quite as much, if they stick it out for the whole day on Saturday. (And, if the week sucked, damn--more reason to stay extra and try to salvage as much as you can. You're not going to lose any more money--why cut off your nose to spite your face?)

Now, as for Hershey, I've been going for eight years, the last four for the entire week, and I STILL can't get my hands around how vast and wide everything is. Unbelieveable! I fully expect that the type of people who come to Hershey are the true-blue automotive aficionados who choose not to take part in any recession or down economy. Have I been more frugal this year, in making the shows I go to a matter of quality over quantity? Sure. But, I ain't gonna miss the big one! Hershey is the Super Bowl of our old car hobby.

My favorite time of year, and looking forward to both Fall Carlisle and Fall Hershey--see you there!

[junkyardjeff]

Since the swapmeet in Indy is shrinking I have thought about the one in Canfield and might try it next year,its the same weekend as the one in Indy and since I wont be going back its time for a new one and maybe find some parts. I think I found only a couple parts at the one in Indy over the last 5 years so its not worth going back.

[greenie]

We went to Canfield for Friday and Saturday. Friday saw about 20% empty spaces but Saturday the thing got filled up beyond anything I've ever seen there. Nice people, reasonable prices- and some really unusual stuff. Sure, the real high dollar NOS stuff gravitates to Ebay, but these flea markets still have great value. We came home with a truck load. They charge $5 for a single day and $7 for the whole 3-day weekend-with free parking. Reminds me of Carlisle in the 1980's. Want a bargain? One guy had a complete grille and shell from a 1940's International (KB) truck for $100. Rust and dent free from the Dakotas.

Like this one........

[junkyardjeff]

They did some changes to the swapmeet in Indy that might be a factor in its getting smaller,it used to be friday,saturday and sunday but now its thursday,friday and saturday with no sunday.

[poci1957]

Jeff, I wonder if that is the "chicken or the egg"--is it shrinking because of no Sunday or is there no Sunday because it is shrinking?

I went to the Indy meet last week (Friday) and in May (small) and I think I have watched it shrink for the last 10 years--it is a shame as the Hoosier meet used to be very good (and less than a 3 hour drive for me). It seems to be on a downward spiral--more people see it shrink and decide to stop going and thus it shrinks more. I hate that it is happening--too bad. Does not necessarily seem related to the economy though.

In other midwestern meets, the July Iola WI meet is going strong and seems to have stable numbers. I am told the two events in Jefferson WI are also going strong, I hope to go to one of them next year. I don't know why Wisconsin has several good meets but Indy cannot hold up, any ideas?

[junkyardjeff]

I hate to abandon it since it was the swapmeet I looked forward to for the year if I went to no others,it looks like I will go to another other large one to make up for Indy.

[Jim Rohn]

regarding leaving early at swap meets

most leave early because they have driven a long distance to get there and set up on Tuesday or Wednesday and did all the selling/buying during that time. They probably have a long drive back AND have learned that the people that arrive on a Saturday afternoon are not "serious" buyers ... sad but true fact.

The ONLY exception I have seen to the leave early syndrome is at the Good Guys swap meet (at least the one in Scottsdale)

Most people spend the day looking at cars THEN go to the swap meet as:

a. they wanted to see the cars

b. don't want to drag around their "finds"

We noticed that we had sold right down to the departure time on Sunday afternoon because of the above and the people that were there manning the booths, etc could only get out at that time

Any other swap meet (Pomona, etc) is over by noon ... (this may be a West Coast thing)

[Paul Dobbin]

We drove 600 miles to the Charoltte Auto Fair at Lowe's Motor Speedway

inspite of reports that it was smaller. Bought some good stuff and met lots of real nice car people. We can browse at swap meets and buy stuff we didn't even know we wanted. Hard to do that on Ebay!

I'll skip the 1100 mile drive to Hershey this year, not because it's smaller, but because I don't really need anything this year. I will go again in the future because it's fun and I get to see people from all over the country that I know and get a real good show in the process.

Yes, the local swap meets are down, but hey've been getting smaller for years. Could it be because the guys who saved all the really old stuff are

themselves to old to do it any more? Most of the old guys I knew when I got in this hobby are dead or to old, now I'm and old guy and I'm keeping my junk.

[jimkf]

The swap meets here in my neck of the woods seem to be hanging in there...but I think that's mostly due to the 'professional' vendors...those that sell at meets more than once a year. I collect pretty obscure stuff and there was a time where guys who were cleaning out their garages would bring those odds and ends to places like Randolph, Canfield, Dunkirk and the like so guys like me could both find what we needed, and pay a fair price for it. Those days are slipping away. Internet selling and the cost of doing business at a meet are the two main factors, in my opinion, that have contributed to the decline of the local meet.

I still attend Hershey, not so much to find parts and such, but to be there and say that I did it. I see lots of friends that I only get to visit with...beyond a phone call...when I'm there and that's worth the 5 hour drive. Now...if I could just find a hotel that didn't charge an arm, leg and first born for a bed while I'm there, I'd have it made!

[Terry Bond]

Local swap meets dead? I Don't think so! Here in Chesapeake our Tidewater Region has been holding an annual swap meet for several years now and we've seen it grow. It's held in March so it's a "coming out" party for old car nuts. It's not only a big social occasion, it's a great place for goodies. We've got several big event dealers that regularly attend just to buy stuff like license plates, performance parts, etc. We've tried hard to keep this event friendly. Booth space is cheap and you have a choice of indoor or outdoor spaces. We're generous with space size too, so it's easy on the vendors getting in and setting up. Good food is available cheap and we keep things strictly automotive - no yard sale stuff, crafts, etc. We have stuff from brass era to muscle car show up. It's also a good opportunity for local businesses that provide services to the hobby to set up and meet customers. We usually have the areas top pin striping artist there, etc. We're proud of our event even though it is small (around 50 vendors). We are able to still have the small time hobby folks who are just clearing out under the work bench set up to sell. One of our regulars is a guy from North Carolina who sells gas pumps and gas memorabilia. He's always done well there. Here are a couple of pics to drool over. Yes, I've found great spark plugs there for my collection and sold brass lamps!

Terry