Are swap meets going down hill?

[pagrunt]

I remember when Parts A Rama had 2 meets, Fathers Day weekend at the Butler Co. fair grounds (still there for now) & an October meet at the Lawrence Co. fair grounds (no more). Everything was packed with parts. But as I said in the orignal post there was barely anything there other than the increase of the flea market venders. But I did get my Pypes down pipes there this summer, should of ordered the Cold Case but didn't (lets see what the funds are like next year (I'll be looking for you guys-bring a rad with a good deal/member discount 😉.) I miss the Steel City Classics (Tri 5 club) meet the sprinf & fall at Allegheny Co.'s South Park, one that was held at the Butler Co. farm show grounds.

 

[ssn696]

EBay has been heading this direction, too. I search for Malibu parts and I get 547 posts for almost-HID headlights. 'NOS' wheel covers that are the same imported crappy ones you find in the parts store. Needle-in-a-haystack.

I've had really good luck on Craigslist, but you gotta move fast or be lucky and want something no one else wants. My CL surfing is like watching the kanji waterfalls on the original Matrix....

And of course, the Forum rocks.

I was musing the other day about when Hot Rod Power Tour came through Albuquerque in 2002 (?). Doesn't look like that will ever happen again.

 

[Qdub24]

I might be showing my age (youth?) here, but what's a swap meet? (just kidding)
I've only ever been to one near my hometown and there wasn't really much there.
When I was stationed at Fort Hood, there was a big one locally about once a month in Belton; my lack of fluency in Spanish severely hindered many of my buying prospects.
Honestly, eBay and Craigslist are just so much easier to use for people that work 60+ hours a week. The majority of the cars that I buy are sourced from eBay or Craiglist.
As a kid back in high school, I can remember perusing through the "Thrifty Nickel Classifieds" for good deals, but not having the cash to afford any of them anyway.

 

[fleming442]

Here's my problem with Carlisle: every year you see the same junk for more money. One would think that the price would go down if it didn't sell 6 months prior. Or, are they jacking the price due to increased entry fees and/or artificially inflated market value? Either way, I don't want it and don't need to go see it.

 

[lilbowtie]

For many years now - same with the Newspaper adds, reasons given.

 

[marcar1993]

I’ve been going to swap meets from my entire life, and yes they have changed, but that doesn’t mean they are dying.
Englishtown swap meet, spring and fall, I’ve been to for over 20 years, and for the last 5 or so I’ve been a vendor. As a kid, it was a lot more car parts and vintage bikes, auto related. Today it is more like a flea market with some car parts, but I can’t exactly blame the vendors.
It is tough to find good stuff anymore, no one wants to pay what stuff is worth, and many vendors want top dollar! The point of a swap meet is for someone to unload their stuff just a little under what it’s worth, and for someone to be happy to buy something for just under list price.
I have brought BOP parts several times, and nothing sells. I brought mopar stuff, some of it sells, when I bring assorted cheap junk, I make a killing! I used to bring a box or 2 of “stuff;” assorted filters and fittings, and odds and ends I didn’t know what to do with or what they fit. They always sold, many times on day one someone would make an offer on the lot and it’d go, while 403’s and olds big block heads for a decent price went without a single offer (lots of people enjoy telling me that they are olds parts!)
The reason people bring chevy stuff and crap from their house is because it sells oddly enough… And while the fall meet isn’t well attended, the spring meet has been sold out for venders the last 2 years in a row, and on Saturday you can’t see across the aisle from the foot traffic.
Sadly, I don’t bring my olds stuff anymore. It isn’t worth the effort for me to carry heads and engines, and transes to bring it all home. I bring stuff I can pick up with one hand, that’s it. And usually it’s the miscellaneous boxes that I make a priority because I know I won’t bring them back home.
Everything else goes online...