Getting ready for Hershey

[pkhammer]

   I have already starting the planning and even loading for the Hershey swap meet. As I was loading the trailers, Boney, the dead mechanic was busy getting the Model A doodlebug ready to go. Fresh ethanol free gas, file the points, charge the battery, check the oil......etc. Boney is a bit of a "tractor mechanic" as @edinmass would say. His tool box consists of duct tape, baler wire and big hammer. I'm pretty sure I saw him setting the points with the flap of a match pad. Good help is hard to find. I think he's hoping to make the AACA magazine again.

   So, what is everybody else doing to prepare for the greatest swap meet and show on earth?

 

[1937hd45]

I should start the "Hershey pile" this weekend. I do miss the old days pre computer when people saved the Good Stuff for Hershey. Lots of too heavy to ship stuff and a dollar pile tarp. I've been lucky over the years and some good stuff pops up a week or so before we leave. 52 years in a row!

[JACK M]

Bump

[1937hd45]

Wonder if we need a brand new thread featuring parts you have had for sale at Hershey and on the internet for FIVE YEARS or more? 

[pkhammer]

 I have never figured out why anyone would enjoy loading and unloading the same old overpriced stuff year after year. Parts around here barely have time to rest before they find new owners. It looks like it's time to start putting together the Spring Carlisle lot of plunder.

[Hans1]

On 8/27/2022 at 10:44 PM, 1937hd45 said:

I should start the "Hershey pile" this weekend. I do miss the old days pre computer when people saved the Good Stuff for Hershey. Lots of too heavy to ship stuff and a dollar pile tarp. I've been lucky over the years and some good stuff pops up a week or so before we leave. 52 years in a row!

We should chat some time, this will be 60 Hersheys in a row for me.  A Friend I met there 50 years ago will be  camping with me, he will be 101 and 8 months old at Hershey time.

 

[1937hd45]

9 minutes ago, Hans1 said:

We should chat some time, this will be 60 Hersheys in a row for me.  A Friend I met there 50 years ago will be  camping with me, he will be 101 and 8 months old at Hershey time.

 

100+ at Hershey, That calls for some type of Award! Bob 

[Hans1]

He was 100 there last year

[30DodgePanel]

8 hours ago, 1937hd45 said:

Wonder if we need a brand new thread featuring parts you have had for sale at Hershey and on the internet for FIVE YEARS or more? 

I kind of wish someone would. 

I'm guessing the illusive side mirror for my 30 Panel is in one of yuns inventory  

 

50 and 60 years at Hershey? I'm jealous...

 

Edited March 15, 2023 by 30DodgePanel (see edit history)

[playswithbrass]

There’s the sister thread of things visitors have tried and wanted to buy and, unable to agree a price with the vendor, see them year after year getting rustier but still unsold. I’ll never forget a book I offered to buy at a lower than asking price and was refused.  A few years later I could see said book, still unsold, getting soaked in a Hershey downpour. 

[TAKerry]

Thankfully I dont sell at Hershey, Carlisle etc. I try to buy. There was a vendor that had a lot of signs, one particular I was interested in on the last day of the show. I made an offer of 75. to his 125. price. He said no but would sell me another for that price, of which I didnt want. I politely declined. Its his perogative but for me I would rather sell than take something home. 

[Walt G]

7 minutes ago, TAKerry said:

I would rather sell than take something home. 

I can understand that and I do bring things to sell, but have always priced things based on what  1) I have in it $ wise 2) how long I have had it in my collection  3) why I decided to part with it in the first place 4) thinking the person interested in it - sees it in person, has it there to buy - not pay for postage - doesn't pay the tax ( I pick that up in the prince sort of)  and most of what I bring if not all is stuff I like, only once in all the decades brought stuff ( NOS clamp on hand turn signals in the original still sealed boxes from the 1920s) I bought to resell, everything else I have was in my own collection . SO bringing it home is not an issue, I still really like it. I stopped the "do bedda"  requests some years ago, just don't have the patience to hear " I'll give yaz $4.58 " for an item marked $50.00. Never had much patience for that.

[West Peterson]

10 hours ago, Hans1 said:

We should chat some time, this will be 60 Hersheys in a row for me.  A Friend I met there 50 years ago will be  camping with me, he will be 101 and 8 months old at Hershey time.

 

 

Please contact me and let me know where you are located in the field. I definitely want to stop by, say hello, take a few pictures, and interview you and especially your friend. This needs to be a part of 2023 Hershey coverage. Thanks,

[Brass is Best]

6 minutes ago, Walt G said:

I can understand that and I do bring things to sell, but have always priced things based on what  1) I have in it $ wise 2) how long I have had it in my collection  3) why I decided to part with it in the first place 4) thinking the person interested in it - sees it in person, has it there to buy - not pay for postage - doesn't pay the tax ( I pick that up in the prince sort of)  and most of what I bring if not all is stuff I like, only once in all the decades brought stuff ( NOS clamp on hand turn signals in the original still sealed boxes from the 1920s) I bought to resell, everything else I have was in my own collection . SO bringing it home is not an issue, I still really like it. I stopped the "do bedda"  requests some years ago, just don't have the patience to hear " I'll give yaz $4.58 " for an item marked $50.00. Never had much patience for that.

 

There sure seem to be a lot of pikers every year. About 15 years ago I had a wonderful 1948 Chevrolet Station Wagon at Hershey. It was the kind of car that everybody had to look at. A lady walked up to it and saw the price. She became irate. she stood in the aisle and declared that the Woodie was way overpriced. Nobody would ever pay that price. Nothing is worth that much. Whoever owned the Chevy was ruining the hobby. On and on she went. She had several people with her, and they all stood around in agreement. I walked up and told her it was my Chevy. She told me I should be ashamed of myself for my price. I asked her if she would like me to change the price. She said yes. I took out a magic marker and crossed out my price. She had the biggest smile on her face. Then I wrote a new price $10,000 higher on my sign. Then I learned that she was not a lady. I will not put into print the names she called me. She even accused me of having an improper relationship with my mother. I told her and her friends to move along. A few moments later I made a new sign. I later sold the great Chevy for just about what I was asking. 

[Matt Harwood]

1 minute ago, Brass is Best said:

 

There sure seem to be a lot of pikers every year. About 15 years ago I had a wonderful 1948 Chevrolet Station Wagon at Hershey. It was the kind of car that everybody had to look at. A lady walked up to it and saw the price. She became irate. she stood in the aisle and declared that the Woodie was way overpriced. Nobody would ever pay that price. Nothing is worth that much. Whoever owned the Chevy was ruining the hobby. On and on she went. She had several people with her, and they all stood around in agreement. I walked up and told her it was my Chevy. She told me I should be ashamed of myself for my price. I asked her if she would like me to change the price. She said yes. I took out a magic marker and crossed out my price. She had the biggest smile on her face. Then I wrote a new price $10,000 higher on my sign. Then I learned that she was not a lady. I will not put into print the names she called me. She even accused me of having an improper relationship with my mother. I told her and her friends to move along. A few moments later I made a new sign. I later sold the great Chevy for just about what I was asking. 

 

That's the only time that ever happened to you? Hell, those kinds of people walk into my showroom almost daily. You know, the ones who read a car magazine and think they know more about doing my job than I do--the guy who does it all day, every day.

[Walt G]

Andrew and Matt, I can well appreciate and understand the insults ( and that is exactly what they are) that you have to face and put up with.  You both have a lot more patience then I do or ever will. Yet as my British friends state you "Carry ON".

Walt

[46 woodie]

Hello Hans1, you have me beat by 5 years, this will be "only" my 55th HERSHEY. I would also like to stop by and say hello and especially shake the hand of your 100 plus year old friend. Let us know where you will be! He needs to have his picture taken for the A.A.C.A. magazine.

[1937hd45]

Years ago I had a rule of some sort, if I took a part to Hershey for 3-4 years and back home again it got tossed in a low section of the side of the yard by the detached garage, and covered with dirt. Had that area just about level, then discovered eBay. Dug up all of it and slowly sold it all on the internet. 

Edited March 15, 2023 by 1937hd45 (see edit history)

[The 55er]

If you really don't want to bring anything home, $1 and $5 piles are the best ways to get rid of stuff at swap meets. Everybody loves the $1 pile. And best of all it's gone forever. 

[1937hd45]

1 minute ago, The 55er said:

If you really don't want to bring anything home, $1 and $5 piles are the best ways to get rid of stuff at swap meets. Everybody loves the $1 pile. And best of all it's gone forever. 

For pure entertainment back in the days of 55 gallon drum trash cans, near empty ones were the best, I'd dump a milk crate of parts in the one on the corner. Within minutes the Racoons would start pulling stuff out and inspect everything, nobody that bought stuff all week long spent that much time inspecting any item. One guy spent a good 15 minutes looking at some future treasure then put it back in the can and wandered off. 

[JACK M]

5 minutes ago, 1937hd45 said:

For pure entertainment back in the days of 55 gallon drum trash cans, near empty ones were the best, I'd dump a milk crate of parts in the one on the corner. Within minutes the Racoons would start pulling stuff out and inspect everything, nobody that bought stuff all week long spent that much time inspecting any item. One guy spent a good 15 minutes looking at some future treasure then put it back in the can and wandered off. 

That happens late on the last day.

The scrappers kinda take turns. The first guy cherry picks then the next guy goes for stuff and the third guy usually finds something. Kind of a pecking order I guess. First come gets the gold.

This happens right after they open the gate to leave. Those guys must be lined up out there.

Edited March 15, 2023 by JACK M (see edit history)

[The 55er]

20 minutes ago, 1937hd45 said:

For pure entertainment back in the days of 55 gallon drum trash cans, near empty ones were the best, I'd dump a milk crate of parts in the one on the corner. Within minutes the Racoons would start pulling stuff out and inspect everything, nobody that bought stuff all week long spent that much time inspecting any item. One guy spent a good 15 minutes looking at some future treasure then put it back in the can and wandered off. 

I'm guilty of this too. Before I start packing up I scout out all the blue trash barrels in the area. I set a box of stuff here, a box of stuff there. I'm hoping somebody likes something and can use it. Many folks stop to pick, somebody might take one item while another guy might carry the whole box away. It's fun to watch and I don't have to drag it back home, unload it and store it anymore. 

[1937hd45]

One year we showed up at Hershey, and I walked over to the trash barrel and there in the grass was a forged piece of a Locke lawnmower I'd dumped the year before. Sure, I brought it home and it is around here somewhere. 

[erichill]

I don't sell at Hershey, but just booked my AirBnB for this fall. And busy building up my cash fund. Will be looking for a new project. I sure hope no rain this year.

[pkhammer]

7 hours ago, Walt G said:

I can understand that and I do bring things to sell, but have always priced things based on what  1) I have in it $ wise 2) how long I have had it in my collection  3) why I decided to part with it in the first place 4) thinking the person interested in it - sees it in person, has it there to buy - not pay for postage - doesn't pay the tax ( I pick that up in the prince sort of)  and most of what I bring if not all is stuff I like, only once in all the decades brought stuff ( NOS clamp on hand turn signals in the original still sealed boxes from the 1920s) I bought to resell, everything else I have was in my own collection . SO bringing it home is not an issue, I still really like it. I stopped the "do bedda"  requests some years ago, just don't have the patience to hear " I'll give yaz $4.58 " for an item marked $50.00. Never had much patience for that.

  I build a little haggle room into prices because most people like to haggle and that's ok. 10% is typical and reasonable. 15% or 20% I might consider depending on how I feel about the item or how late is in in the week. Offers of 25% or more below ask is pretty much insulting because I bring parts to sell and I attempt to price things very reasonably. Usually it's other dealers wanting to buy so they can take the item to their space to re-sell it. People that NEED the item are happy to get it.

[1937hd45]

Some times taking a lowball offer is a fun thing to do. I was at a local Flea Market with a load of total crap. Had two cast iron pieces about 8x8 and said they were paper napkin holders for use at outdoor picnics. Had no idea what they really were from. Guy offered less than half of what I was asking. The look on his face was priceless when I said "Sure!". It gets better, he was a vendor across the isle from me and he put them out at twice what I was originally asking. Best part was he loaded them and took them home at the end of the day. One of my better town dump scrap metal pile finds. 

Edited March 15, 2023 by 1937hd45 (see edit history)

[greenie]

2 hours ago, pkhammer said:

  I build a little haggle room into prices because most people like to haggle and that's ok. 10% is typical and reasonable. 15% or 20% I might consider depending on how I feel about the item or how late is in in the week. Offers of 25% or more below ask is pretty much insulting because I bring parts to sell and I attempt to price things very reasonably. Usually it's other dealers wanting to buy so they can take the item to their space to re-sell it. People that NEED the item are happy to get it.

There is an unwritten etiquette at swap meets regarding making your offer so the seller is not offended. If the item is priced anywhere close to reasonable, I’ll consider offering 20% - less than the asking price. If the starting point is just too high, I walk away unless it’s truly special. On the other hand, if I am selling a part and someone offers with a greater than 20% price reduction- I just smile and thank them for their interest. There is absolutely nothing to be gained from fostering hard feelings- at an event where like-minded people gather for enjoyment.

 

Also, you will see vendors who have items priced at really low prices- like $5- just trying to clear out the clutter. It is poor etiquette to make a stupid offer- like “Will you take $4 for this?”

 

Its amazing what good manners gets you sometimes.

[dalef62]

6 minutes ago, greenie said:

There is an unwritten etiquette at swap meets regarding making your offer so the seller is not offended. If the item is priced anywhere close to reasonable, I’ll consider offering 20% - less than the asking price. If the starting point is just too high, I walk away unless it’s truly special. On the other hand, if I am selling a part and someone offers with a greater than 20% price reduction- I just smile and thank them for their interest. There is absolutely nothing to be gained from fostering hard feelings- at an event where like-minded people gather for enjoyment.

 

Also, you will see vendors who have items priced at really low prices- like $5- just trying to clear out the clutter. It is poor etiquette to make a stupid offer- like “Will you take $4 for this?”

 

Its amazing what good manners gets you sometimes.

I sell at Hershey and any offer someone gives is fair game with me!  I'm not offended or insulted.  It is part of the game and I enjoy it.  Same goes for when I go shopping for parts, I may offer 10-50 precent less for any item just to see how bad someone wants to see that item gone.

No harm in asking.  If you are offended you don't understand the flea market mentality.

[1937hd45]

It really depends on the part and the people, and how badly you need some funds. If I need more funds to buy something I really need that offer of half or less on something might be all I need to get a needed part and the offer is accepted and I move along, no regrets. 

[greenie]

Before we stop beating this dead horse, as a buyer I have an issue with someone who prices an item fairly high, and then refuses to consider an offer just a few $$ less. I figure part of the fun of a swap meet is the bargaining back and forth. So if you really need $50, ask $60. I’ll offer you $50 and we both end up happy. 

[yachtflame]

My pet peeve is on eBay, when a seller says make offer. I can’t count the times I make an item offer 5-10% lower than asking and get refused. I then try .50 cents lower and get refused. Then just for kicks, try .02 lower and get refused. If a seller won’t go .02 lower than listed price, why the heck did he put “make offer” on his listing? Some people shouldn’t be allowed near a computer!!

[1937hd45]

I find it frustrating when an eBay offer is less than the cost to mail the item. 

[John348]

17 hours ago, dalef62 said:

I sell at Hershey and any offer someone gives is fair game with me!  I'm not offended or insulted.  It is part of the game and I enjoy it.  Same goes for when I go shopping for parts, I may offer 10-50 precent less for any item just to see how bad someone wants to see that item gone.

No harm in asking.  If you are offended you don't understand the flea market mentality.

It all depends how the offer is delivered, There is a way to offer a lower price and insult the seller and if people don't understand that they don't understand the flea market mentality. Some people are just plain rude and presume I am there to make a living. 

[pkhammer]

8 hours ago, yachtflame said:

My pet peeve is on eBay, when a seller says make offer. I can’t count the times I make an item offer 5-10% lower than asking and get refused. I then try .50 cents lower and get refused. Then just for kicks, try .02 lower and get refused. If a seller won’t go .02 lower than listed price, why the heck did he put “make offer” on his listing? Some people shouldn’t be allowed near a computer!!

An offer 10% under any of of my ebay listing prices will result in a sale!!

[1937hd45]

3 hours ago, John348 said:

It all depends how the offer is delivered, There is a way to offer a lower price and insult the seller and if people don't understand that they don't understand the flea market mentality. Some people are just plain rude and presume I am there to make a living. 

Very true! A car guy I've known for 50 years mentioned that he had paid $100.00 for an item and it was still in his garage. I offered him twice what he had paid for it, and he accepted. 🙂