Was she in shorts, high heels, and carrying a little dog?
Or were they selling '59 Caddy parts with a jazzed up blow up doll as their swap "partner".
swap meets are fun?
- Thread starter BUBBAS IGNITION
- Start date
Or were they selling '59 Caddy parts with a jazzed up blow up doll as their swap "partner".
It does burn me up when you see some guy work someone over on the price of a part, give a real good 'ol sob story. Usually has to do with losing their spouse or some other ailment that has them one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel.
The seller buys into it and gives it to the guy at their low offer price. They run back to their spot like a giddy school girl only to mark it up 3X what they just paid for it.
To me that is just a scumbag move anyway you shake it.
The seller buys into it and gives it to the guy at their low offer price. They run back to their spot like a giddy school girl only to mark it up 3X what they just paid for it.
To me that is just a scumbag move anyway you shake it.
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ken ct
BANNED
I got that same ole sob story a few yrs ago from a well known poster on here,he had me feeling so sorry for him,i sold it to him for about 1/2 of what i normally get.Then i find out later hes rolling in $$ and has numerous restored cars. He will NEVER buy from me again. End of true story. ken ct.
ken1939
Senior Member
What I find is if I own it, its not worth anything.....
If someone else owns it, its VAAAAALLLUABLLE beyond belief.
I have to admit, I do find generally honest folks at most meets. Those that I have purchased from and are good people and good on price get my business again. Well unless they die and that presents a problem
I did run into a guy at the Back to 50's Weekend at St Paul I was talking to about his 32 for sale. A guy walks up and asks do you have a visor for a certain year Chevy Truck. He said he did, and he had two. Described them and quoted a price as he did not have them with him. They buyer quipped, well just bring them with you to the next swap meet in the fall. I cant take time to drive out to your place and pick them up.
Ok let see, St Paul to where this guy lives is mabey 2 hours in drive time. I came from Pittsburgh to talk to him, and this guy gripes about the drive.
They walk amoung us...
If someone else owns it, its VAAAAALLLUABLLE beyond belief.
I have to admit, I do find generally honest folks at most meets. Those that I have purchased from and are good people and good on price get my business again. Well unless they die and that presents a problem
I did run into a guy at the Back to 50's Weekend at St Paul I was talking to about his 32 for sale. A guy walks up and asks do you have a visor for a certain year Chevy Truck. He said he did, and he had two. Described them and quoted a price as he did not have them with him. They buyer quipped, well just bring them with you to the next swap meet in the fall. I cant take time to drive out to your place and pick them up.
Ok let see, St Paul to where this guy lives is mabey 2 hours in drive time. I came from Pittsburgh to talk to him, and this guy gripes about the drive.
They walk amoung us...
Clem Clement
Well-known member
What does it fit?
Whatta you got... That's what it fits.
One time years ago I had a neighbor what was a mess in all aspects. Guess who gained some rusty iron in his pile to haul home free?
In a local market I was selling something and a bud said "Don't sell that I may need it some day." It's gone.
I love dealing with people
Whatta you got... That's what it fits.
One time years ago I had a neighbor what was a mess in all aspects. Guess who gained some rusty iron in his pile to haul home free?
In a local market I was selling something and a bud said "Don't sell that I may need it some day." It's gone.
I love dealing with people
What I find is if I own it, its not worth anything.....
If someone else owns it, its VAAAAALLLUABLLE beyond belief.
I have to admit, I do find generally honest folks at most meets. Those that I have purchased from and are good people and good on price get my business again. Well unless they die and that presents a problem
I did run into a guy at the Back to 50's Weekend at St Paul I was talking to about his 32 for sale. A guy walks up and asks do you have a visor for a certain year Chevy Truck. He said he did, and he had two. Described them and quoted a price as he did not have them with him. They buyer quipped, well just bring them with you to the next swap meet in the fall. I cant take time to drive out to your place and pick them up.
Ok let see, St Paul to where this guy lives is mabey 2 hours in drive time. I came from Pittsburgh to talk to him, and this guy gripes about the drive.
They walk amoung us...
Yep, I agree. I have also met and meet up with some great folks every year at Hershey.
I guess there is 10% of the bad apples in every crowd.
jim1932
Well-known member
" LOL, It was actually an angry German Shepard. "Was she in shorts, high heels, and carrying a little dog?
I don't buy anything from anyone in shorts and high heels carrying a German shepard.....LOL
ford38v8
Well-known member
The gripes can come from the swapmeet sponsors too. At our annual swapmeet, we've had to clean up after some pretty inconsiderate vendors. I mean, Shovel~Out~The~Garage vendors. These guys pile their oil leaking parts out of the trailer, dump their charcoal grille ashes, toss their pop bottles and nacho trays, leave boxes of wet moldy old Hemmings Motor News, and we have to be their mommies and wipe their bottoms. ...I hasten to point out here, we haven't had these experiences lately, as our vendors are almost exclusively Ford Flathead vendors now. The VW kids and the mid eighties vendors must have finally discovered the midnight landfill.
Racers swap meets are the worst. Price your stuff a 7 to 10 cents on the dollar and it might sell.
My son and I sold auto lit for several years. Some guys were great.....They'd inquire about manuals for a certain car or cars, politely ask for a discount, pay up, say thanks. Then there were the others......
A guy and his wife came around looking at my inventory. I asked if I could help them. He said no. They kept looking. Several minutes later I asked them again if I could help them. He said no. She said we're looking for a shop manual for a 67 T-bird (this was before all the !#$%^!!!! reprints were available). I walk over and pull the manual and hand to him, and tell him it's tagged at $40 but I'd do $35. I might as well have told him $300. He went off on a rant about my crazy pricing. I politely took the book back and suggested he go buy one at Wal Mart. He had a puzzled look then said Wal Mart doesn't have shop manuals. I smiled and said I know....and walked away to wait on the next customer.
They came around later and he offered me $20. I declined.
They came around again and asked if I was ready to sell the manual. I said yes, I'm ready to sell it. The price is $35. He grumbled and walked away. His wife tried to get him to come back and buy it.
They came around a few more times....same old thing......
They came around while I was loading up and he said he was ready to buy. I dug out the crate, pulled the manual. He said how about $30? I had tried to be polite until he said that. I said at this point I wouldn't sell you that manual for $50...get out of my booth. He left. His wife returned a few minutes later. She asked if I'd sell the manual to her for $35. By now it's on the truck. I told her her old man was an *******, and that was a difficult manual to find and well worth the $40 price and $35 was a bargain. She said I know, and apologized for her husband. I sold her the manual for $35.
Then there was the guy that came around in the closing minutes of the swap meet asking if I had any manuals for a 78 Monte Carlo. I said sure, and pulled out the service and overhaul manuals. He asked if I had anything else. Ok, I pull out text and illustration parts book. He asked if I had anything else. Hmm, ok, I pull out a sales brochure. Anything else? I dig out a color and trim album. Anything else? I get the owners manual. He had looked at length at all this stuff. I'm thinking I'm going to hit a home run on this sale. Anything else? Sure I say as I pull out service bulletins. He looks at that for awhile, then says anything else? Yeah, I have one more thing and show him a cardboard showroom poster. So I've got all this stuff spread out on the table and the guy is asking individual prices. I give him the individual prices and offer to discount on multiple items. About that time there was an announcement on the P.A. thanking everyone for attending the swap meet. The guy asked if the show was ending and I tell him yes. He says oh crap and takes off on the run.
The next year at the same show the same guy shows up in the closing moments of the show asking for 78 Monte Carlo manuals. I pull out the service and overhaul manuals. He says anything else? As I'm pulling the owners manual I realize who it is. I look over at my son and he's smiling and shaking his head. I'm thinking, ok, this guy only goes to this show. He'll buy something this year. I pull the dealer album, and whatever else I had for his car. Surely he'll buy something. Then the announcement on the P.A. thanking everyone for attending the show. He asks if the show was ending. I say yes. He says oh crap and takes off running. It was an exact freaking replay of the year before! My son thought it was funnier than I did.
I was selling at a petroliana swap meet. A guy walks up and says I'll give ya $50 for that sign (pointing to a tool sign I had tagged at $70). I hate dealing with the "I'll give ya" guys. I tell him I'd go $60. He proceeds to tell me what a POS the sign is and there's no way it's worth that kind of money. My attention quickly turned to the next customer who God bless him says if he doesn't want it I'll take that sign for $70. I said you know I just offered it to that guy for $50. He said yeah, I heard. I said for you, I'll do $50. It was worth the $20 to see the looks on their faces.
My son and I sold auto lit for several years. Some guys were great.....They'd inquire about manuals for a certain car or cars, politely ask for a discount, pay up, say thanks. Then there were the others......
A guy and his wife came around looking at my inventory. I asked if I could help them. He said no. They kept looking. Several minutes later I asked them again if I could help them. He said no. She said we're looking for a shop manual for a 67 T-bird (this was before all the !#$%^!!!! reprints were available). I walk over and pull the manual and hand to him, and tell him it's tagged at $40 but I'd do $35. I might as well have told him $300. He went off on a rant about my crazy pricing. I politely took the book back and suggested he go buy one at Wal Mart. He had a puzzled look then said Wal Mart doesn't have shop manuals. I smiled and said I know....and walked away to wait on the next customer.
They came around later and he offered me $20. I declined.
They came around again and asked if I was ready to sell the manual. I said yes, I'm ready to sell it. The price is $35. He grumbled and walked away. His wife tried to get him to come back and buy it.
They came around a few more times....same old thing......
They came around while I was loading up and he said he was ready to buy. I dug out the crate, pulled the manual. He said how about $30? I had tried to be polite until he said that. I said at this point I wouldn't sell you that manual for $50...get out of my booth. He left. His wife returned a few minutes later. She asked if I'd sell the manual to her for $35. By now it's on the truck. I told her her old man was an *******, and that was a difficult manual to find and well worth the $40 price and $35 was a bargain. She said I know, and apologized for her husband. I sold her the manual for $35.
Then there was the guy that came around in the closing minutes of the swap meet asking if I had any manuals for a 78 Monte Carlo. I said sure, and pulled out the service and overhaul manuals. He asked if I had anything else. Ok, I pull out text and illustration parts book. He asked if I had anything else. Hmm, ok, I pull out a sales brochure. Anything else? I dig out a color and trim album. Anything else? I get the owners manual. He had looked at length at all this stuff. I'm thinking I'm going to hit a home run on this sale. Anything else? Sure I say as I pull out service bulletins. He looks at that for awhile, then says anything else? Yeah, I have one more thing and show him a cardboard showroom poster. So I've got all this stuff spread out on the table and the guy is asking individual prices. I give him the individual prices and offer to discount on multiple items. About that time there was an announcement on the P.A. thanking everyone for attending the swap meet. The guy asked if the show was ending and I tell him yes. He says oh crap and takes off on the run.
The next year at the same show the same guy shows up in the closing moments of the show asking for 78 Monte Carlo manuals. I pull out the service and overhaul manuals. He says anything else? As I'm pulling the owners manual I realize who it is. I look over at my son and he's smiling and shaking his head. I'm thinking, ok, this guy only goes to this show. He'll buy something this year. I pull the dealer album, and whatever else I had for his car. Surely he'll buy something. Then the announcement on the P.A. thanking everyone for attending the show. He asks if the show was ending. I say yes. He says oh crap and takes off running. It was an exact freaking replay of the year before! My son thought it was funnier than I did.
I was selling at a petroliana swap meet. A guy walks up and says I'll give ya $50 for that sign (pointing to a tool sign I had tagged at $70). I hate dealing with the "I'll give ya" guys. I tell him I'd go $60. He proceeds to tell me what a POS the sign is and there's no way it's worth that kind of money. My attention quickly turned to the next customer who God bless him says if he doesn't want it I'll take that sign for $70. I said you know I just offered it to that guy for $50. He said yeah, I heard. I said for you, I'll do $50. It was worth the $20 to see the looks on their faces.
Hoop
Well-known member
So, what do we have?
Drive 2,000+ miles, spend $1,000+ on basic expenses, and find that what most guys are selling (if they showed up at all) is the stuff they didn't sell on eBay.
This is not a criticism of vendors, but looking for special pieces for flatheads at swap meets is getting to be a waste of time and money. BIG thanks to the guys who actually take these parts to the swap meets, but many vendors sell their hot items on the internet (... big thanks to them, too, I guess.)
Why not? The nostalgia of an old fashioned swap meet does not justify a hernia.
Then you have "American Pickers" who teach everyone that you should go out and low-ball any seller so you (being much brighter) can turn around and sell it for a profit. Sad thing is that they are such incredible light-weights. ("I looked in the barn and I was LIKE WOW. It was LIKE TOTALLY AWESOME ... Dude.")
Just once I'd like to hear them say, "How much do you want for the whole damned barn?"
Drive 2,000+ miles, spend $1,000+ on basic expenses, and find that what most guys are selling (if they showed up at all) is the stuff they didn't sell on eBay.
This is not a criticism of vendors, but looking for special pieces for flatheads at swap meets is getting to be a waste of time and money. BIG thanks to the guys who actually take these parts to the swap meets, but many vendors sell their hot items on the internet (... big thanks to them, too, I guess.)
Why not? The nostalgia of an old fashioned swap meet does not justify a hernia.
Then you have "American Pickers" who teach everyone that you should go out and low-ball any seller so you (being much brighter) can turn around and sell it for a profit. Sad thing is that they are such incredible light-weights. ("I looked in the barn and I was LIKE WOW. It was LIKE TOTALLY AWESOME ... Dude.")
Just once I'd like to hear them say, "How much do you want for the whole damned barn?"
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John Kennedy
Senior Member
Some years I dont even go to swaps. This year I am, since I'm selling a Nash Metro and a boxed Model A frame, etc...
I'm kinda not looking forward to it.....
I'm kinda not looking forward to it.....