relevance of swap meets
 

I did a quick search before creating this thread, and didn't see any recent discussion of this nature.

I just got back from my almost-annual PNW trek - which 90% of the time this trip includes me attending the Portland Expo Center swap meet.

I have been attending the PDX swap meet for roughly twenty years;
This year was the third time that I took in the swap meet at the race track;
Last year my cousin suggested that the track meet was "this was the place for deals" - and that the track meet was getting larger at the expense of the expo meet.

I was at the track meet for Thursday morning;
I felt once again, that the track meet wasn't worth attending.
Don't get me wrong - there was some neat stuff, but not enough to justify the parking & entry fee;
Then the golf carts, bicycles, and pets became a real nuisance at times...

On Friday I was at the Expo meet;
I forgot that last year(?) the parking was opened on the expo grounds, and did my regular parking in the field, and long march to the expo grounds - so I can't complain about my own screw up...

Regarding the expo meet;
It used to be that the sheer size of the meet at the expo center made the visit worth while, even if you left empty (or nearly empty) handed.
With 3/4 (or more) of the outdoor space now used for vehicle parking, and still many booth spaces empty indoors, it is a shadow if it's former self.

It also seemed that at one time, the parking was reasonable and the gate fee wasn't too bad;
Now parking has exceeded the gate/entry fee, and with the expo meet seeming to continue to shrink, I am thinking this might have been my last PDX swap meet for the foreseeable future.
I am grateful that kids twelve and under are still free, but overall I was a little disappointed...
If the parking was $5 instead of $15, I would probably not be so soured on these meets; surely the hosts are raking in the money @ $15 to park, and $13 per head to enter - but to me, I am getting fed up.

I have spoken to a guy who regularly attends the Orange county meets, and he said they aren't what they used to be, but I can see from his posts on yenko.net that he is still finding plenty of good stuff.

I would love to hear any opinions from attendees, or vendors of either of the Portland meets, or any other large meets.

I didn't buy any of the four items pictured, but they all seemed like interesting items - first two from the track meet, second two from the expo meet.

You can’t find anything if yiu don’t go.

I started a thread regarding this about the Pate TX swap meet sometime back.

I agree with most of your statements and I REALLY hate dodging scooters. I think the scooter rental places make the most money at the meet.

For me, swap meets are good for large or heavy parts that can't be shipped, but the smaller items are easier to order off the internet.

That being said, I still enjoy going!

James Q

I had a space at a popular New England swap meet for over 30 years before the owner of the property died. The people that took over jacked up the price of everything to rip off levels and it died. Toward the end it was getting harder and harder to find anything good though. At the end I was mostly going just to see people I didn't see any place else.

These replies made me look into something else - the cost changes to attend:

2025 rates:
Parking: $15
entry: $13

2024 rates (google):
parking: $13 (google)
entry: $10 (google)

2023 rates (have poster):
Parking: $13 (google)
entry: $10 (poster)

2019 rates (have poster):
parking: $13 (google)
entry: $7 (poster)

2007 rates (have poster):
parking: ?? (I was sure it was $5 at some point)
entry: $7 (poster)

This just seems to me, to be too expensive to attend.

It seems to me, that they are jacking up parking and entry fees to offset fewer booth spaces being sold.

Are the other larger meets extorting in similar fashion?

The Portland swap meet at the Expo is missing only one thing........................................a Priest to say the last rites on it. Absolute waste of time other then a good chance to see who's still alive and survived winter.

/\ thanks for your input Bob ;)

I still found more good stuff at the expo meet vs the race track meet.

It would be awesome to do Hershey some year but the demographics are changing. I've been walking swaps for 40 years now and you never know what someone drags outa the garage but things are on the downswing.
Not many young people if you look around.
.We are blessed to live a modest drive from Iola and they have eliminated hundred of swap spaces the last 5 years.
But it still beats working!

Haven't been since pre covid days. was getting a little thin at expo center then. Unless you want to buy dollar store stuff, LOL.
Race track was where we got most of our deals, BUT you had to dig, look for shiny stuff. And take boots cuz your gonna get wet.
Put on a lot of miles going round and around. My buddy just told them t gate he had bad knee so they would send him closer to gate
for parking. Not sure why some vendors go, they spend days loading absolute junk that any sane person would deposit at scrap bin
unload it at swap meet then do it all over again. Must be some money in it, but a crap load of work for little pay out.

here, let me share this:

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...1&d=1744153251

see all that 'event parking' on the right side of the map?

That used to ALL be vendor stalls.

These are my estimates by memory:
Hall A was probably about 50% booked;
Hall B was mostly vehicle stalls;
Hall C was probably about 60% booked;
Hall D was probably about 90% booked;
Hall E was probably about 90% booked;
The "5000" area was about 60% booked;
The "6000" are was probably about 80% booked

Also, the area below Hall E used to be vendor stalls, then over time they became areas for participants to store larger items before loading in their car (they were watched areas that used a ticket to ensure no one was scooping parts).

When I expressed my displeasure at paying for extortion rate parking, I was told that vendor stalls were 100% booked up.

You can blame the cost of insurance for the parking (goes to one entity, includes taxes) and the event (taxes are probably hidden in there too).

Inside Hall E where I used to have booths, they shut the concession stands down and are selling swap spaces to coffee cart people and other food vendors. Last year when I had a booth, I had a sign that was not car related and was jumped on by a committee person because of that. Asked him if he wanted to go outside so I could show him a vendor selling rocks and asked him how they were car related? He walked away. Rock vendor was there again this year.

@ Bob - I probably bought parts off of you
Did you have a white trailer?

The introvert in me typically doesn't engage in small talk...

I look forward to the few Pontiac vendors there - and almost ALWAYS buy from at least two of them every year...
(rarely do I really need the parts either)

I have attended both the expo and PIR meets for close to 20 years now (including this past Thursday (PIR) and Friday (expo)).

I am shocked the expo meet still bothers with outside vendor spaces. There has to be enough room now to accommodate the few remaining vendors indoors - would also allow for more parking spaces on pavement for attendees. It is clearly in a death spiral and has been circling the drain for a while now - getting substantially smaller and more irrelevant every year.

The PIR meet has substantially more vendors and seems much more active, but even so it still seems to be a shadow of its former self as far as finding stuff I want to buy.

Both are much less crowded than they used to be. I usually roll in around 7:30 each day as I like to be there early, but also don't want to walk past 100 tarped over tables and have to come back around. Each year my parking spot is closer and closer to the entrance as attendance dwindles (I parked at PIR both days but will definitely park on site at expo next year). Seems like not that long ago there were many buses packed with 40-60 year olds with varying degrees of BO going between packed parking lots at PIR and Portland Meadows all day, with massive lines waiting for the next one. Now most of those guys are either gone, out of the hobby, or out window shopping from their electric scooters. I'll be one of those guys someday if these things are still around, but can't imagine buying much of anything at that point either.

I'm no vintage purist, but seeing more than a few 80's imports in stock condition for sale at the expo definitely kills the vibe for me.

Seems as though there were plenty of good deals to be had in years past. I used to come home with my extended cab pickup jam packed with parts bought at decent/fair prices, as well as some in the bed, and it took me half the afternoon to unload. This year I brought a big wad of cash and all I found worth buying was a set of steel rims I didn't really need and a set of clutch pedals and only a marginally smaller wad of cash. I did leave a few things there that I was moderately interested in, as the asking price was more than I could buy a nicer example off of ebay - even if I beat them up on the original price, it still didn't make sense and not worth the hassle - or lugging it around when the ebay piece would be shipped to my doorstep.

I have considered setting up a booth to sell of some of my excess, but can't see how it would even be worth my time and energy at this point. I'd probably skip the expo next year - if not the entire thing-but my son is nearing driving age now and it is still something we both look forward to on the calendar each spring. Unfortunately we didn't find any of the specifc parts we wanted/needed for the old '71 GMC we are working on for him, but maybe next year.

The entry fees and parking seem steep now, but that seems mostly due to the falling value of the USD than price gouging by the event hosts IMO - I'm sure the city of portland and/or other related 'entities' are taking a decent cut of the proceeds as well.

I call BS on the claim all expo vendor stalls are 'booked up'. I saw an ad on craigslist last week that said indoor spaces still available at the expo center - looked to be from the organizers, not second hand stall sales (there were a few of those listed on CL as well). I figure at least some of the empty spots are from people who may want passes that get them in on Wednesday and early on subsequent days, but NFW that is the case for the dozens (if not 100+ or more) empty spaces both inside and out.

If you want to see what denial looks like, go to a site like the HAMB and make or comment on a similar thread about swap meets or car culture dying. The apologists there come up with some amazing excuses and a few fleeting anecdotal examples that fly in the face of reality. The level of delusion in some of those threads is truly amazing - it's almost as entertaining as it is sad.

Almost 800 vendors this year in March
Nothing but positive reviews from
both sides of the aisle.
19th year in a row - promoted and
managed by a recently retired fireman
who is a native of the town and owns
a custom auto upholstery shop:

@ https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...d.php?t=878831


Jim

Went last year and will never go back. Just a lot of overpriced junk in my opinion…..

I like swap meets so I go, but it does get tiresome when you seem to see the same vendors over and over. Or when every other booth is just selling reproduction wall signs or political hats/shirts.

I will say I have seen a direct correlation between a swap meet being brand specific and being better. Even if they aren’t huge. The swap at the Pontiac Nationals is always good. And I went to a big ford only meet in Ohio last year that was excellent, very little booths that just had the aforementioned cheap junk.

The handicap carts by people who only really seemed to be handicapped by laziness drive me nuts.

I went to spring Charlotte Autofair every year since 1977 or 1978. When they started the fall show, I went to it also. I had a number of spaces in my name that various people would get from me.

In 2020, it was cancelled due to Covid. I had already sent in $1200 for my spaces before the cancellation. The show operators first said they would hold the spring show in the fall, that got cancelled. Then they said they would use our money for the spring show next year. That was cancelled. They finally said they were keeping the money because they weren't responsible if the show was cancelled for reasons beyond their control. They did offer a discount on the next show. I said "no thanks".

I have not been back since then, either as a vendor or as a participant. I think a lot of people who lost their money were very angry. I don't know if they sucked it up and have been back, but I will never go again.

wow - that sucks!

Same as Mike said about Charlotte.
I didn't lose any money - but I know a LOT of people who did.
Most all have boycotted since.
It is dying

Denton Farm Park outside of Asheboro got smart about the Charlotte situation and merged a new auto swap meet into their Spring Antique Pickers event a few years back in the Spring.
I keep missing the date - or just totally forget.
But the word I am getting is it doubles and triples in auto vendors each year.
It was March 27-29 , and I missed it again.

It's a very large place but will likely exceed it's capacity if it hasn't already.

Their annual threshers reunion display/swap and antique motorcycle display/swap events , I have been to in the past.
All their events draw big crowds.

Denton Farm Park has shower houses.
And camping spots with power/water , and primative camping spots.
When the leaves are on the trees , most all those are shaded.

They have a Tweetsie Railroad type train that encircles most of the place.
It's a great venue and I hope they put the Hornets Nest out of business in Charlotte
Greedy MoFo's
But they would need to conduct an Auto Only event.

About 15-20 minutes southwest of Asheboro down Hwy 49 towards Charlotte.

I love the PDX swap meet. It's the top social event of my year! Plus I get to find parts and tools.

This year's haul was 1-1/2 Pontiac Qjets for 10 bucks! A 1982 Trans Am steering wheel, 5 cans of carb cleaner, 3 top end gasket sets for my 401 with a timing chain thrown in to boot, an SK tubing wrench set, a barely used Cornwall die grinder, a driver quality set of 64 GTO taillights with the gas door for $10, and a pair of the good casting LT1 heads with an intake for $225.

The crazy days of the muscle car boom are over. There are almost no $500 cars out in fields and barns waiting to be parted out. Now those cars are $5000 or more dollars and after 50 plus years there are very few nice parts left on them.

Swap meets are going back to the days of car enthusiasts looking for salvageable parts for their restoration. The folks who are in it to make easy money are going to have to find something else to do.

Don't listen to Vidan he's still cranky about the 1/2 Qjet! 🙂

this needs explanation!
(please)

The only swap meet I go to on a regular basis is the Daytona Turkey Run every November. It's not particularly good for Pontiacs, but it is where I found a NOS Delco-Remy white-dot HEI Ignition Module for $25 that I installed over a year ago and is working perfectly vs. aftermarket (yes, even modern ACDelco) offerings that were malfunctioning after six months on average.

I think there is one Pontiac tent at Daytona Turkey Run Swap meet, and it never really has anything interesting or good. Seen a couple cylinder head sets and common carbs, but that's it. It's a gold mine for Chebby boys, though.

Sometimes our biggest weakness is that we are into a niche BOP engine family where it's harder to find parts for, but that makes the hunt all the more exhilarating. I just wish there were more big Pontiac events in Florida where I'd have better chances of running into parts.

InHere's the half Pontiac Qjet. Pontiac top, unknown chevy/Buick center with stripped inlet threads, and unknown base plate. Basically a parts carb.

VCho455 , why do I have to negotiate all the "deals" YOU get?

Bob your better at negotiations than I am.

interesting - and good catch
I would have seen the sideways fuel inlet, and moved on...

Airhorn: is that a 1967 or 1968 Pontiac casting?
fuel bowl: chevrolet
throttle body: buick

I found another "frakenstein" Quadrajet there (but honestly, very few haven't been through a rebuilder by now);
After getting home, I opened it up to investigate and found that it had:
a 1967 airhorn and fuel bowl;
a 1968 throttlebody.

Like yours, mine had the tag missing - but as far as I was able to deduce, it was likely a 7027272;
Mine had obviously been through a rebuilder, with the fuel filter inlet threads heli-coiled, and the float pivot repaired.
That fuel inlet heli-coil alone justified the purchase.

I have since swapped a 1967 throttlebody, and added other incidental missing pieces.

I love swap meets being a reseller to bad there are only 2 good ones here in CO. I do the same thing I do at the junkyard at swap meets. I look for parts that I think other people will pay for on ebay or marketplace. This year I found square body tach gauge cluster, pontiac vac gauge, square body hubcaps, trans am taillights, some more metrinch tools, a couple alpine stereos and a few misc emblems. After I sell these parts I have cash in my pocket to buy the things I need for my projects. Not to mention I am saving parts from the crusher and helping others in finding the parts they need. Swap meets are a resellers treasure chest I am surprised more people do not do this

I enjoy swap meets. I have been going to them nearly my whole life. I don't set up to sell much. I do occasionally, though. I make several a year and almost always come home with something.

Some of the items I have bought at swap meets in the past couple of years:

Original 1969 GTO Judge Spoiler: $75
18 Spline Hemi 4 speed complete with 440 bellhousing and pistol grip shifter: $800
1968 #16 heads: $250
1969 #62 heads: $200
1965 bare tripower intake: $100

A few items that I barely missed as they sold before I could buy:

1970 YZ 400 complete with carb and exhaust manifolds: $750
1969 WH 4 bolt Ram Air IV block: $680

There are deals to be had at swap meets and you can't find them unless you go look.

One year at Norwalk, AN Aum SD frame was on the skid for 75 k.
I dug out 75$ and passed it to the guy. Lmao.

I'm revisiting this thread today because I am considering my early year plans;
There is a late February swap meet in Lethbridge (about a two hour drive south of me), and then this meet in April.

Because I am re-reading this, I wanted to reply to a couple posts:

Amen.

(a belated) Thank you for your take on this.

I doubt it has anything to do with the value of the dollar;
It probably has to do with projected attendance numbers, and the organizers wanting to remain profitable.
The irony is that they would likely boost attendance numbers if they lowered gate and parking fees - on the merit's of people going back, or word getting out of it being cheaper to attend.

I agree one-hundred-percent.
I was being bold faced lied to.
I said my bit there after estimates of the observed open booth spaces to juxtipose against observations.

1 and a half months, first swap of 2026.

If you don’t go, you won’t find anything.

I haven't been to a swap meet in a couple years. Most everything around here has been picked over. The last few I attended around here (central California) were filled with junk and went home empty handed. Nothing worse that going to a swap meet and buying junk you don't need just to be buying something.

I feel that way abut Norwalk, last couple times, I found nothing, I always find stuff here in the D.

I miss swap meets. But honestly, I haven't bought a single thing from one in 18 years because every time I go everything is either garbage you can get from Alibaba or "not for sale"

I think the environment and car culture has shifted, you can buy parts from collectors and dealers online at any time of the day without having to wait for a swap meet. And whether your swap meet is any good depends on the culture of the folks who attend - if it's just a bunch of locals who want to enjoy each others company and make some bucks, that's one thing. If it's all grumpy guys who just want to make a buck, the "give me your money and stop bugging me!" guys, and dudes who go to salvage yards on weekends to break the tail light lenses and steal the bulbs via their pockets to resell, that's just not any fun.

I do enjoy going for the people watching. Watching young kids run around and old fogies on scooters who refuse to let anyone pass by them argue with each other makes for good entertainment! At least out here in NorCal there's a huge crowd to justify my $50 entrance, parking, and snacks fees.

Poncho- Mike
He posts the meet kept his and others $1200 for an event that never happened in a years time frame of them making up excuses why they couldn't refund him asap. Really sad, you might wanna find the other vendors and team up to give them hell in any way deemed fit.

/\ small correction;
the $1200 was his money;
He said that others had similar experiences.

Yes, the $1200 was my money. I used to get six spaces, others would go and get their spaces through me. I did this for years because it was the only way to keep friends together. Most of the time I only used two spaces. Other vendors I know asked Autofair for their money back citing personal difficulties, and were refunded. I let mine roll because I could afford it. In the end, the Hornets Nest said there was a clause in the agreement that if the event was cancelled for reasons beyond their control, they would not refund the money. I said I'd never go back, and I've held to that. I also won't attend their event at North Wilkesboro.

I plan on downsizing starting in summer 2026, so I might have to rethink my position. It will be tough to accept going back after getting screwed.

Unruhjonny, you might've read my post too quickly...

"He posts the meet kept his and others $1200"

1200, must be a plush swap.
First swap is coming in a few weeks here. Cant wait.

Six spaces, $200 per 10x 0 or 10x50 space.

I was out the entire $1200.

nope I read it fully, I will highlight where your error was;

The cited amount was only his portion

Precisely.

Swap meets can be fun but they can also be a pricey endevour;
If the organizer is projecting lower attendance, they need to figure out where to raise costs to remain profitable;
Even really small swap meets (like the Lethbridge one I cited earlier) was $80 per spot - so it isn't unimaginable that a swap meet might charge $200/per stall.

At that much, how do you make anything?

I don't disagree...
I guess it all depends on how much traffic the meet brings, and how much stuff that you bring aligns with where the local market is...

The booth I made in February was fun, but not entirely profitable - when you include other costs associated with being in attendance.

I have been listing a lot of things on ebay lately. Trying to clear out my sheds as I will be retiring and moving in a couple years. The stuff that doesn't sell or isn't worth listing and shipping I will take to the swap meet and unload dirt cheap. To me it isn't worth listing and shipping something on ebay for less than $25.

I would be curious to see what the average stall makes, excluding the big company stalls.

I think it really comes down to reading the local (or that precise meet's) market.

It used to be (or at least I observed) that tools generated activity at a booth;
so I went to the meet thinking that some tools might encourage more browsing - that small table (on the left in the photos) was set aside for small tools and sockets.

Right after setting up, I was told be a couple vendor's that the prior year's meet, tools didn't sell (I believe the quote was "they couldn't be given away").

As it happened the guy who set up beside me (to the left in those pictures) was only tools;
He had a lot of old & really neat stuff, but I saw him pack a lot of it up...

His deals were so good I nearly bought a whole bunch because of the perceived value... but I held off because I didn't want to be going home with more than I had arrived.

All this is to say that I believe that a swap meet is much like a second hand or antique store - small stuff (or sometimes easy to carry stuff) is more likely to sell than larger or heavier items;
The guys from 'American Pickers' would often say that "we (they) have no problems selling smalls".

I have actually noticed that in genera (or at least in my market) parts like what you would find at a swap meet do not sell like they did ten years ago - I think this is factoring in;
The reproduction market is such that some people are simply opting out of buying older parts.

So, to reply to the quoted post;
Profit (or even margin) all depends on the booth, and how in-tune with the market that booth's owner is.

That's my :2cents:

At best, I hoped to break even or maybe make a little money at swap meets. If you attend a show as a vendor, you meet many people who might have an interesting driver or project car they're considering selling either now or in the near future. When you help a person find parts they need for their car, they often offer leads on other cars.

I found the following cars through swap meet contacts: Red 1973 SD455 auto, 1972 Lemans Sport Convertible 455HO 4-spd, two different 1972 Lemans Sport convertibles w/endura, 1973 Trans Am 455 4-spd, 1970 Trans Am automatic column shift, 1974 SD455 Formula, 1970 Grand Prix 455, etc. That's a lot of neat stuff that came my way due to setting up as a vendor. Lifelong friendships are made through contacts at swap meets.

Ah I see, you wanna be clear they ONLY kept Poncho Mike's money after the pandemic and other vendors who paid early like he did either got their money back or did the next event and all things were square other than Poncho Mike.

Ethical Premise based on proof....
While we don't really know for sure about the other Pandemic vendors, the action they took against Poncho Mike is so unethical they clearly could do it to others and most likely did. But to be fair, let's make sure we give the car show board members the benefit of the doubt. LOL