[unruhjonny]

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.

[burd]

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

[jamesq]

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

[Goatracer1]

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.

[unruhjonny]

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?

[BOB VIDAN]

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.

[unruhjonny]

/\ thanks for your input Bob

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

[694.1]

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!

[Lemans64]

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.

[unruhjonny]

here, let me share this:



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.

[Held for Ransom]

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).

[BOB VIDAN]

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.

[unruhjonny]

@ 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)

[bdk1976]

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.

[Trulyvintage]

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

[ID67goat]

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

[RocktimusPryme]

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.

[poncho-mike]

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.

[unruhjonny]

wow - that sucks!

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

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.