What is the best/worst you've done when selling at a swap meet?

[gunbunny]

I'm semi retired, but I teach school on one (school) year contracts. Because I am semi retired, I can't collect unemployment during the summer months as per my contracts. (I am service connected retired from the US Army and I took Obama's early retirement from the Post Office)
I sell locks, lock sets, and correct, hard to find keys at Carlisle and Mopar Nats.
I do well enough that it covers my costs, and it usually covers what I make from my teaching salary for the three months I'm down.
I enjoy doing it, it's fun to talk to people, it's cool to be able to help people and guys usually are impressed with my cutter set up.
Carlisle is the best. I can do more in one day at Carlisle than I day all weekend at Nats.
The downside, I never get to see anything at Carlisle unless it drives past me. I'm always waaayyyy to busy to break away to look for stuff.
I do go to the swap meet at Hershey PA. in the fall. That's the ultimate swap meet if you never been. You'll have to sort thru a bunch of stuff, but I have found that can I make money off something from every table.

 

[cosgig]

Walking around the Nats swap meet a few years ago and I see a 67 Barracuda hood leaning against the fence in someone’s spot. Super clean hood, and the inserts were perfect. I ask him how much and he says he’s been asking $200 all day but everyone just wants him to take the inserts out, give them a super good deal, and leave him with just the hood. He tells me $125 and get it out of his spot, he’s done with this ****. I get out my money and take the hood and all. Took it back to my truck and was followed by at least 3 guys trying to buy the inserts from me. I removed the inserts, put them in my truck for safe keeping, and put the hood in the bed. Still have the inserts in Nellas car, and I gave the hood to my buddy for his Formula S car that was in a fender bender. Best $125 I’ve spent in a long time. Yes, the inserts are still perfect, they even have the light argent paint still on them and looking good! And not a pit on them.

 

['69FuryConvertible]

I used to do the local swapmeets until my sources of parts dried up.

Best I ever did was Moparfest in 2018.

Best score was two truck loads of parts for $200, and amongst it was a '69 426 street hemi block and a '75 440 short block.....and no, I'm not BSing, it's still mind boggling and a story I'll be telling my grandkids

 

[harrisonm]

Well, in that case


I was looking for a daily one day, and I had my heart set on a 99-03 cougar

One showed up at a local lot, and I was on it like a hawk

The guy said he couldn't sell it to me untill his mechanic had gone through it, but once it hit the lot, he probably wanted 8 grand for it


So I show up a week later with 8 grand, and he was not happy
Turns out when the mechanic went through it he found it needed a new clutch (which meant dropping the drive train and lifting the body up before you can even get the transmission off the engine)

But he was a man of his word and sold it to me for the aforementioned 8k

I drove that car for a year or so before I totalled it (about a week after I spend 300 dollars on replacing the sunroof)

After my deduction the insurance wrote me a check for $9500

I quickly swapped out the sunroof and sold that for $750

Made out well on that car

Nice. You gotta love stories like that. I was thinking that a clutch would not be a big problem, but lifting the body? That sounds like a big hassle.

 

[harrisonm]

Walking around the Nats swap meet a few years ago and I see a 67 Barracuda hood leaning against the fence in someone’s spot. Super clean hood, and the inserts were perfect. I ask him how much and he says he’s been asking $200 all day but everyone just wants him to take the inserts out, give them a super good deal, and leave him with just the hood. He tells me $125 and get it out of his spot, he’s done with this ****. I get out my money and take the hood and all. Took it back to my truck and was followed by at least 3 guys trying to buy the inserts from me. I removed the inserts, put them in my truck for safe keeping, and put the hood in the bed. Still have the inserts in Nellas car, and I gave the hood to my buddy for his Formula S car that was in a fender bender. Best $125 I’ve spent in a long time. Yes, the inserts are still perfect, they even have the light argent paint still on them and looking good! And not a pit on them.

Nice. What are a pair of those inserts worth in that kind of condition?

 

[cosgig]

Nice. What are a pair of those inserts worth in that kind of condition?

Probably $500 plus.

Unfortunately the hood will probably never be used. The S car it’s slated for has been dormant since 1971, because of the aforementioned fender bender. 17k miles on it! 383 4 speed car.

 

[barbee6043]

I have a Mopar bud in Al. He had a bud that owned an old boneyard and he would let my friend go out and take off bolts, screws, the little things for free. My bud would drive to Carlisle and sell these "trinkets" for $1 ea. He had many many little plastic boxes with 3 x 3 holds for each and all labeled. By the end of the day, he had a 5 gal. bucket full of $1 bills but probably not $300 total! for the 3 days! but he loved the trip and selling that stuff. Jimmy Smith. Alabama.

 

[YY1]

Fall Fling 2016

This pic was near end of day. Sold a ton of stuff real early. I had stuff packed on these tarps ! See how they are empty.

There was light rain in the days before. And it was a light spectator turnout.

View attachment 1716267170

View attachment 1716267172

That's funny. Two of the best Don Garlits meets I had were both in a light rain.
I was wearing my "Henry Blake" hat to keep dry, and I had people backed up 3 and 4 deep waiting to buy stuff.

 

[diymirage]

Nice. You gotta love stories like that. I was thinking that a clutch would not be a big problem, but lifting the body? That sounds like a big hassle.

It wasn't what we'd remember from the 70s, when cougars were landyaghts, this thing looked more like a European sports car

But they managed to stuff a V6 and a 5 speed manual in there and they installed them much the same way ma mopar installed the drive train in our A bodies

But once it's in, there no wiggle room

 

[autoxcuda]

That's funny. Two of the best Don Garlits meets I had were both in a light rain.
I was wearing my "Henry Blake" hat to keep dry, and I had people backed up 3 and 4 deep waiting to buy stuff.

If other sellers do not come because of rain, that reduces your competition of sellers.

 

[PROSTOCKTOM]

A friend and I went to Ford Carlisle 10-years ago and sold $18,000 worth of stuff between us. That was the best haul we ever had at a swap meet.

I sold a BBF Trick Titanium bellhousing, a Boss 429 block, some intakes. It added up fast and we were a lot lighter on the trip home. Any Carlisle event is awesome.

Tom

 

[barbee6043]

I drove all the way from Mo. to Carlisle twice, back in the 90s. The first time it was hot like now, no body was buying anything. All they did was walk around with a sweat rag and complain about the heat. It was HOT! This was maybe 93 or 4 or 5? Took me 3 days to sell a 70 perfect shaker hood for $600.
The second time, I took my perfect 71 340 Cuda survivor (but with a perfect repaint) that needed nothing. Triple back 4 speed car. Priced to sell in the swap area over by my buds parts. No one even nibbled. This was about 1996-7 and priced at $9000. Then a storm blew thru one nite, and put a bad scratch on trunk lid.
Carlisle is a great show but I have not had luck there!

 

[MMissile]

I hadn't sold at a swap-meet in decades, and decided to do a couple last year.

I went to a local mopar show in Jan, with a minivan full of stuff and sold 2.5K in one day. That was pretty good.
Went to a local outdoor mopar show in the spring, and sold 6K of stuff out of my minivan, in about 5-6 hours. Splendid.
I went to the nats last year. First day [setup] I sold 11K in parts. Friday and Saturday....2K. Dealers were buying....
I went to the new Norwalk/mopar show/race....hardly covered the nut for the weekend. That was poorly advertised.

I'm not physically able to lug stuff around now, and am sitting-out this year for selling at swap-meets. Maybe after another back surgery.