greenie Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 It’s not Hershey, but it’s still a huge swap meet. The amount of old iron suggests a lot of regular Hershey vendors are here. The front field and the infield are nearly full. The upper north field and the back section along the interstate are nearly empty. Sales were spotty on Thursday with a light crowd. A steady rain overnight is supposed to give way to a sunny Friday. If you’re here post a picture of your spaces. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael C Wauhop Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 Can someone explain to me why Carlisle was held and Hershey was canceled? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 Carlisle owns their own property, and earlier in the year came to some agreement with the state. Hershey is not on our property, and late in the game, the property owner (or their lawyers) wanted to impose some requirements which AACA could not abide. I'm glad to see Carlisle satisfying the needs of many car fans! 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenie Posted October 2, 2020 Author Share Posted October 2, 2020 Typical Carlisle weather. 10 pm Thursday, not a cloud in the sky. An hour later, rain. Rain all night. Not a downpour, just rain. Perhaps the Lord got confused and thought this was Hershey week. Cold sleeping in the cargo trailer! Feels like Hershey! Friday dawned clear and crisp. Sunny all day but certainly not warm. Large crowd and sales were steady, if not spectacular. More than one visitor asked: “ Why didn’t they move the Hershey swap meet to Carlisle next week?” I’ll let that one lie. Saturday should be another great day. Come out and see for yourself! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkhammer Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 We took a pickup load up early this morning. Mostly sunny day in the 60's and comfy with a jacket. The crowd was unexpectedly large and vendors were aplenty with lots of good parts. I sold about half of what I took between 8:00am and 3:00pm. I think many of the folks that normally attend Hershey, whether a vendor or spectator was there. I'm really going to miss Hershey next week though................................. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motoringicons Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 I have heard more than a few great reviews about Fall Carlisle this week. Glad the Miller family was able to again pull this off. Wishing brisk sales to the sellers and happy hunting to the buyers! Enjoy!!! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobileparts Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 Great picture from the hill !!!! And you got me in it !!! I have been here since Monday --- and it has been fantastic.... We had the drisel rain for much of the day Tuesday, but we were all able to get mostly set up... We all were finished Wednesday during the day... Foot traffic in here Wednesday was light, the serious people were in here digging in. Thursday's attendence was pretty stout, but the buying was a little light... Today, Friday, witnessed a strong crowd, with fervent buying everywhere... An unannounced (earlier in the week) rain came in at 1:34 A.M. until about 5:00 A.M. last night, but it did not affect the show at all. Today, Friday, was absolutely gorgeous --- one really couldn't ask for anything better !!! All precincts reported (at least every single vendor I spoke to) that they were happy with today's sales.... It is not too late.... Don't be shut out for 2020... Do the 3:00 A.M. thing, get down here and have a GREAT Saturday at Fall Carlisle... 99 % of the vendors are still here !! Swing by I L 78 - 80 for an awesome NEW and N.O.S. spread of parts from the 1930s through the 1970s.... P.S. Has anyone noticed or looked at Hershey weather for next week???? Maybe, I am a glutton for punishment, but take a look.... Tuesday through Saturday --- five (5) straight Drop Dead gorgeous days --- five (5) straight Drop Dead gorgeous days..... Yours, Craig, see you in the morning.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
30DodgePanel Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 Never take it for granted. We all know how easy it is to shop online but please never take these great ole swap meets for granted. Especially if you live in that part of the country. If you are reading this and if you're within range of Carlisle you should immediately turn off your device and drive straight to Carlisle. Our local swap still sees over 100 degree temps this time of year (didn't they say heat was the enemy of the virus?) with plenty of "social distancing" yet our locals who run our swap have folded up tent till next year. Hopefully Goodguy's goes off without a hitch so we can at least enjoy some kind of car fun, even though it's mostly hotrod stuff I still hope to find a few rare parts. Thanks for sharing pics, Greenie. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMaz Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 I was at Carlisle today. It was very disappointing. The crowd seemed light. The flea market was what it typically was, and the crowd that was there seemed to be buying. The car corral was abysmal. The entire hill was vacant. Of the small number of cars that were there, half of them were modern. What really bothered me were all the political signs among the vendors. As a business person, you are certainly entitled to your political opinions. But if you expect everyone to patronize your business, leave the politics at home. I don't expect politics in my face at a flea market space any more than I expect it at my local supermarket. I ended up leaving early. 5 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 We're praying for a speedy recovery. Bob 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobileparts Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 7:30 P.M. and I am sitting down eating breakfast... I will finish packing in the morning... I am too sore to continue... What a fantastic day here at Carlisle... Place was packed.... Buying was tremendous... I sold more today, Saturday, than any Saturday in over a decade.... There were plenty of people carrying / buying nothing .... But there were plenty of people filling carts and wagons with merchandise. Weather was just perfect.... Truly, just a great close to a very good show.... Carlisle has to be happy... Huge attendance all week... Every vendor I spoke with was happy with this week's results...... 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobileparts Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 Hey Steve Maz, You must have walked the wrong aisles???? Did you utilize the FREE Carlisle Book to check out great spots on the field to make sure you had a valuable experience ???? You certainly didn't stop by my booth -- and that would have been a rewarding and enriching time to make your visit a success.... Sometimes, you must plan ahead to create a worthwhile adventure.... One can not walk down the middle of aisles, not look left and right, and expect to see anything other than other's feet. Maybe next time, you will figure it out...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobileparts Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 Anybody bother to check out the weather report for Hershey next week ?????? Five (5) glorious days of PERFECT...... Five (5) glorious days of PERFECT........ (Wonderful...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketraider Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 That's the advantage of having a buddy who's in tune with you to walk Carlisle. One looks left, one looks right, and we stop when we find something interesting. Didn't make the 6 hour trip this year as we weren't sure what food and restaurant situation would be. There'll be next year! Though it figures the best weather in years, we didn't go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldford Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 Well, I got back from Carlisle late last night. I've been vending at Hershey since about 82 and tried Carlisle for the first time. We set up on Tuesday PM and were treated like royalty by the Carlisle Events people. Very different from Hershey, where in the past 5 years or so, we have met a mixture of friendly and not so friendly officials. The crowds were steady Wed, Thurs, and Fri, but Saturday was very sparse in our area. We packed up early for the 6 hour drive home. Would I do it again, not sure, we have older stuff. It was different than Hershey, but fun just the same. Thanks to the Carlisle folks... Frank 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe_padavano Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 Got back late last night. We were there since Wednesday morning. I missed the belated Spring Carlisle due to work commitments on the rescheduled dates. I really needed this week. Crowds were good Thurs and Fri, not so much on Sat. We didn't sell a lot, but that wasn't our point, either. Having spaces on site makes for a nice place to put the camper and socialize. Found some good buys, though mainly tools and supplies. I did get some parts for current projects. Car corral vehicle population changed during the day - it tended to be pretty sparse early, but filled up each day by noon. Many big vendors did not attend (Steele, Ames Performance, etc), which explains many of the large blank spots in the main selling field as they likely did not want to give up their spaces. The north field has been declining in attendance for years, and there were very few vendors there this year. Many of us with north field spaces have been trying to relocate to more populated areas when blocks of spaces free up. I heard one unsubstantiated rumor that Carlisle Events was trying to turn the north field into inside parking, which doesn't bode well if those spaces remain unused by vendors. I spoke with a number of vendors and responses were mixed. Some (like Craig) did well. Others reported a lot of traffic but few sales. As with prior years, I personally didn't see people carrying big parts out - sales appear to be trinkets, automobilia, wax and polish, etc. I still fear that the number of people actually working on or looking for projects remains in decline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe_padavano Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 10 hours ago, rocketraider said: Didn't make the 6 hour trip this year as we weren't sure what food and restaurant situation would be. There'll be next year! Though it figures the best weather in years, we didn't go. We dined out Wed-Sat nights. Every restaurant we went to had a different policy. One was take-out only, one was a very restrictive dine-in, and three others had variations on less restrictive dine-in with every other table closed off. One of those required reservations only, though we were able to talk our way in without one. Hoss in Carlisle even had their salad bar in operation, though you were required to wear plastic gloves before touching any of the serving utensils. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kelso Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 I agree with Steve Maz, Pre war was pretty scarce, and yes leave the politics at home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobileparts Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 (edited) In NORMAL years, I vend at Carlisle and Hershey... I put out slightly different spreads at the two venues... Since I cover the 1930s through the 1970s, Carlisle is 50's & 60's and newer, Hershey is 50's & 60's and older.... I am certainly eligible for both.... What I found at Carlisle this past week is: A) With NO Europeans, NO Scandinavians, NO Canadians, etc., the attendance was very stout... Carlisle was extremely ecstatic about it --- one of their higher ups came over to me this (Sunday) morning as I was packing... And we talked about the week for about ten minutes.... Half the people were just wondering around -- and clogging up the aisles, but the other half were digging in and buying for cars they have, new additions, or projects they had wanted to start... Every vendor I spoke to Saturday evening was happy with his weekly sales. C) I had my best Saturday for sales in over a decade of Saturdays!!! It was still my third best day (behind Friday and Thursday, in that order). Even the Saturday crowd (I thought particularly large, from my standpoint) was buying. I had 18 called in orders, additionally... Two of them, we had spoken, and their plans changed, and I will have to mail them this week; the other is from Canada, and we'll figure out a plan B. The other 15 were all picked up... For me, this was a very successful Fall Carlisle... But, of course, can't make up for next week's big fat goose egg at Hershey... Thank you, NOT .... 2020..... Edited October 4, 2020 by mobileparts (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenie Posted October 4, 2020 Author Share Posted October 4, 2020 Good description. Last year at Hershey, Bill Miller, Jr. walked by my vendor space the morning after he and the late Chip Miller had been honored at the AACA Museum. He was kind enough to chat for half an hour; and he related to me the story about Chip and him being asked to remove Chip’s 1954 Corvette from the Hershey Swap Meet field in 1973. We talked about the early years at Carlisle, when the two Miller families did most of the work with just a few employees. If you had told us that a year later we would be here- we wouldn’t have believed it possible. It’s amazing what the Miller’s have accomplished over the past 46 years and their success this year is like a delicious icing on their cake! Yes, Hershey is special, but after so many years and so many events- the Carlisle Fairgrounds feels like home. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobileparts Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 Greenie, I am in Western New Jersey -- on my way home to Longgg Island... Funny that you say that, because Hershey is once a year... And I used to be at Carlisle six (6) times a summer, so I always said, "Hershey is Heaven on Earth.... But Carlisle is Home !!!!" All these years later, it still holds true..... Craig.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenie Posted October 4, 2020 Author Share Posted October 4, 2020 Craig: When I was younger, my wife told the kids that Daddy lived at Carlisle and only visited his family during the week. Now that I am retired, that is becoming more true. I attended every Carlisle event this year; typically on Friday to avoid the crowd. I avoided the food court and rarely stepped into a building. I felt very safe each event. Fall Carlisle was my only vendor event; and it seemed a good substitute for the Hershey Swap. I did miss all my customer/friends from Canada (Ontario!); and Western Europe. I hope they all return in 2021. And I’ll be back at Carlisle. They helped me stay (fairly) sane throughout this terrible pandemic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMaz Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 20 hours ago, mobileparts said: Hey Steve Maz, You must have walked the wrong aisles???? Did you utilize the FREE Carlisle Book to check out great spots on the field to make sure you had a valuable experience ???? You certainly didn't stop by my booth -- and that would have been a rewarding and enriching time to make your visit a success.... Sometimes, you must plan ahead to create a worthwhile adventure.... One can not walk down the middle of aisles, not look left and right, and expect to see anything other than other's feet. Maybe next time, you will figure it out...... Thanks for the advice. I've been going to Carlisle and Hershey for ~30 years. I'm normally not looking for anything in particular; more just window shopping. I enjoyed walking the flea market this year, but I mostly go for the car corral, hence my disappointment. I've never seen the car corral so barren. Granted, I usually do Carlisle in the spring and Hershey in the fall. Maybe it's a fall thing. I miss the old Carlisle days when the whole town was in on the event. You'd see old cars parked everywhere. People rented spaces on their lawns. You'd see cars being driven/towed up and down the Turnpike on the way there and home. There'd be a huge traffic jam getting into town in the morning (ok, don't miss that). Anyway, I really appreciate you and all the vendors that showed up and the people that did bring their cars to sell. Thank you, it was sorely needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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