Are swap meets going down hill?

[pagrunt]

I've been thinking about this since I got the the Cantfield meet yesterday, it looked like there was bearly as many sellers as years past. It was similar scene at the Pittsburgh Parts-A-Rama. I got lucky to score a door, and an extra '86-'88 gauge cluster w/o tach. There was some interesting stuff but too many empty spaces (possible cause the weather?) I didn't find any major venders except Lutty's from Cheswick, Pa (just N.E. of Pittsburgh) and The Bumper Boys from California. Was hoping Pypes was going to be there with Cold Case to get a radiator but they were a no show (should of checked their schedule.) I've been going to swap meets for almost 30 years and remember seeing the full rows, stack of car parts, good bit of automotive related goodies, and the good size crowds. Now neither swap meter filled the fair grounds, wasn't much of a selection of parts, saw more non automotive venders selling flea market stuff, and small crowds (but parking was better.) Back in the day there was more events, now they are few and far around here. Maybe the internet might be part of the problem or signs of the lack of interest around this area. You still have the stupid deals ($3000 for '69 Camaro VIN and title that included the rusted remains of what was the car that sold), the stupid awesome deals (new $400 headers fro $75), but there is not enough events in my opinion. Am I just in the wrong area or too far out of the loop?

 

[sportriderOK]

Pretty sure swap meets are another casualty to the internet. It's too easy to post up your stuff for a national audience. The one good swap meet near me has been in decline for a couple of years now. There's still deals to be found, but not as many sellers as there used to be.

 

[Jeff L]

Same around my area. I think Craigslist and the Internet are the reason. I still see garage sales, but usually are due to someone moving. A Relative has monthly "tag sales" that her housing developement HOA puts on. Close to a hundred at the good weather times of the year put out tables in her area.

I use to go to swap meets, indoor and outdoor but stopped about 15 years ago when many vendors had gone to Ebay and what was left was junk or cheap "as seen on tv" type stuff I had no need for.

Car shows with swap meets seem to be the only time I find some good stuff. I was trying to remember where I went, I think it was in NY when I lived in CT, and the vendors were as far as the eye could see. I picked up a few manuals, brochures, and car books I could never find at the book store. I loved spending the day looking at all the vendor stuff more then the cars on some occasions!

What a great way to spend a nice Spring or Fall day walking around a swap meet. But alas, thanks to one click on my computer I can get everything from sitting on my couch! Where is the fun in that?

 

[online170]

Yes and no.

I haven't been to one in about 4 years for financial reasons, but I have noticed a few things which could explain the decline. The internet is obviously the biggest factor.
1) Age. Most vendor's average age is about 55. Meaning, the younger crowd hasn't picked this up.
2) Ripoffs. Too many guys think they can pull a fast one. $10 timing light that doesn't work for example. If you were a first time go-er, would you go back after that experience? Unfortunately this is becoming the norm, and the younger crowd isn't as careful and a bit naïve to avoid scams like this.
3) Too many rules. It seems that every year, there are about 10 "new rules" added to the seemingly endless list of rules. The vendor's rule's are probably 3 times the size of customer rules. Each year someone tries to pull a fast one on "the system" so the organizers have to add rules to prevent damage, keep up safety, and be allowed back the next year. But if you have to fill out a dictionary of forms just to have a sale where you might make a couple of hundred bucks, are you gonna bother? Back when everyone was in the spirit of things, you didn't need so many rules. But today everyone goes to find a steal, or make a fortune, and you cant have both of those every time. As a result, you are seeing a shift in vendors, and instead of some regular joe cleaning out his garage and firesaling everything, you have larger vendors coming in that can support the cost and hassle. Swap meets these days look more like a shopping mall than a garage sale.
4) The wrong kind of advertising. Around here, we have 2 kinds of swap meets. The public kind that are heavily advertised and usually tied to a county fair. And the SUPER SECRET kind where they are made to happen by organizers, but you don't really know about them unless you were specially invited. This is the same comparison as say a "show and shine" in your city, or the "PRI" show. The PRI show has less fluff, its industry specific and you get right to the meat and potatoes. Well the SUPER SECRET meets seem to have the better scores, and rarer stuff, where as the bigger more public meets seem to be a split between a regular flea market and a swap meet. But to keep up revenue, the secret meets are disappearing and too many people just out to enjoy the weather are showing up. As a result you get more "regular stuff" that you can buy anywhere, and less spaces for your regular joe that is trying to sell his all original garage kept Plymouth superbird with front end collision for $800 cuz hes too old to fix it.

BUT....

Just because they are in decline, doesn't mean they are on their way out. I think they just have to compete with the internet now. Swap meets still offer something the internet cant give you. I still find some kick *ss deals at them, that im glad aren't on the internet and I hope it stays that way.
1) CASH IN HAND. People are pretty convincing on the internet but flake easily these days. Nothing beats bartering when the seller can see/touch the cash, and the buyer can see/touch the item.
2) No hassle buy/sell for big items. Hoods, engines, body parts, wheels are all a gigantic hassle for the regular joe to ship. You gotta find packaging, you gotta get quotes, you gotta haul stuff around. Its not easy. At a meet, you bring what you bring, the seller takes it from you, and you get cash. No hassle, buy/sell whatever you want and carrying it away is the buyer's problem.
3) Unexpected deals. I have stopped to talk to random sellers at times because I recognized an item from a rare car or something similar, and ended up selling him something I had at home that I never considered selling. Made a few bucks that day. Hard to do that on the internet.

Theres ups and downs. I don't think change is always a downer. I still think they are mostly positive.

 

[ck80]

Back in the day, many sellers went to a swap meet to uload crap taking up space they didn't want, or make a few buck back from parting out either a project or partly used parts car. Buyers went to get things the junkyard didn't carry, but were at least going in with a mindset willing to pay near the market value for it, although still hoping to find a good deal along the way.

Today: most people going to the swap meet are cheap bastids who lowball to the point of being insulting, and most sellers say to themselves "I can get $75 online for these taillights, or $100 for this steering column. Why would I take $20? GTFO of here." Add the fees, the fact rules have gotten so restrictive that most meets don't even allow the old rim with a small camp fire or small steel barrel fire, or enjoying (responsibly) a couple beers while there with friends away from the wives/ladies... the culture is litreally being stomped out.

Now for other factors: got to mention home repair of cars is going away with the majority of crap disposable DDs being made these days, or the nature of hotrodding changes. 20 years ago a holley carb is a holley carb. Minor tweaks and it goes on ford, dodge, chevy, who cares. Today, you need a chip, and it had to be for your make and model, within 2 production years, blah blah blah. Stuff is waaay more specialized, less interchange, less potential audience buyers, less results or realistic offers for going, so why pay the time and money to sell?

 

[Ccas]

Pittsburgh Parts a Rama is a bad example for how Swap meets are doing in general. I think owners are definitely attending less swap meets and staying for a shorter period of time when they do attend This is due to most of the reasons mentioned above. However, some swap meets are still doing fine even though they might not be quite as big as in the past. I think what we are all going to start experiencing is a consolidation of sorts. If we are going to less swap meets, then we are going to carefully select the event we do attend. In general I think you are going to see the smaller swap meets continue to decline in favor of the bigger swap meets. The Pittsburgh event is a good example. There is multiple Carlisle events during the season just 3 hours away going one way and then there is Springfield OH swap meets about 3 hours in the other direction. The total pool of attendance for these types of shows is definitely down. The smaller shows won't be able to continue to be profitable. They will likely close down. I think the Pittsburgh event is one of them. The good news is that most of the car owners that still want to attend a show, will attend the next closest and bigger shows. That allows the hobby to still have a decent amount of options albeit with a little more traveling involved.

And btw, to the topic starter, Pypes and Cold Case will be at Pittsburgh this year if the event is still held.

 

[melloelky]

i used to go with my dad that was maybe 20 years ago,it was very different at least around here.does feel liek it's drying up.it seems like it's mostly junk now.i missed my window for g-body parts @swap meets lots of model A stuff though.
i agree with a lot of previous posts about age,kids doing other things,the internet.

 

[ItsnotaGN]

i used to go with my dad that was maybe 20 years ago,it was very different at least around here.does feel liek it's drying up.it seems like it's mostly junk now.i missed my window for g-body parts @swap meets lots of model A stuff though.
i agree with a lot of previous posts about age,kids doing other things,the internet.

I think you hit the nail on the head with most of the parts being junk. It's not like the old days where guys would scrounge through the classifieds and buy stuff to bring to swap meets and if you're looking for cash turnover you can list a part on Craigslist 24/7.

 

[grandamman]

Pittsburgh Parts a Rama is a bad example for how Swap meets are doing in general. I think owners are definitely attending less swap meets and staying for a shorter period of time when they do attend This is due to most of the reasons mentioned above. However, some swap meets are still doing fine even though they might not be quite as big as in the past. I think what we are all going to start experiencing is a consolidation of sorts. If we are going to less swap meets, then we are going to carefully select the event we do attend. In general I think you are going to see the smaller swap meets continue to decline in favor of the bigger swap meets. The Pittsburgh event is a good example. There is multiple Carlisle events during the season just 3 hours away going one way and then there is Springfield OH swap meets about 3 hours in the other direction. The total pool of attendance for these types of shows is definitely down. The smaller shows won't be able to continue to be profitable. They will likely close down. I think the Pittsburgh event is one of them. The good news is that most of the car owners that still want to attend a show, will attend the next closest and bigger shows. That allows the hobby to still have a decent amount of options albeit with a little more traveling involved.

And btw, to the topic starter, Pypes and Cold Case will be at Pittsburgh this year if the event is still held.

Welcome to THE G Body Forum Chris. Would love some Pypes, but I'm just not ready.
The thing about swap meets in knowing when and where they are. I always seem to miss the Wisconsin meet, but I hear it is really good.
Carlisle PA has some big events, Charlotte Spring and Fall events are huge and of course the Pontiac Nats, etc.

Look here, and add the one you know of.
https://www.hemmings.com/calendar/

 

[MrSony]

Only meet I went to last year was literally nothing but Chevy stuff. Walked out with a chrome th350 pan with drain plug, small sunpro tach, two toy general lees, 750 holly vac sec, 69 charger diecast, matchbox cars from the 70s,and a roll of ducttape i found on the ground.