Are Swap Meets Dying...?

[onboost]

So, too much time on my hands at work today.. (rare) and thought I'd pose the question.

Given the fact that so many used parts are now traded on ebay, Pelican, and other sites across the internet, do you think that swap meets are headed the way of the dinosaur?

I can remember many swaps over the years here in the East and elsewhere that have disappeared..

There used to be:

- The PCA Potomac Region swap, which was the oldest running swap meet in the country held in the fall.

- There was the annual PCA Zone 1 swap in NY.. think the car show portion of that one is still around..

-The Princeton swap which was held early just in the spring before Hershey, and in the fall, just before Potomac's

- There was a Brumo's swap in Fla

- Stoddard swap in Ohio which is still active but not nearly the turnout as before

- Then of course there was the Mechanicsburg swap, which then morphed into Ski-Roundtop, and finally evolved into the Largest all Porsche swap in the country..Hershey!!

I believe attendance for this one has been down the last couple of years as well... but it's always a fun time! Kudos to Steve Baum and his Crew!

West Coast?:

- Remember early days swap at Vasek's in Hermosa
- I remember and visited Pomona..
- Of course there is/was Dunkel Bros
- Ventura German Auto festival
- I think Emory used to have a swap when he was in Cal

If I've missed any please add..

These were fun times with good food, interesting talk with new and old friends, great finds and great prices sometimes, plenty of beer and a good cigar!


Paul

[sezme]

Absolutely.

At one time it was the ONLY way to reach other car-guys, but now the internet has made the world a smaller place. Between chat lists and eBay - parts are sold and swaped faster and easier than at 5:30am on Saturday in a parking lot.

FWIW, I really miss the old flashlight thing and getting to actually look at the person you are about to buy a part from. I've met some of my closest buds at those cold, dark swapmeets. I actually have created vacations to attend the LA Lit Meet, Dunkle Bros, as well as the Mechanicsburg - Ski-Roundtop - Hershey boogie. Essen is next!

Stu

[Cornpanzer]

The Internet has surely impacted them, but a swap is still the place to take larger items that dont ship well.

I am a long-time swap meet hound...always trying to be the first guy in the doors. I went to my first Hershey swap last year and absolutly cleaned up! I had the station wagon filled to the ceiling by 10 am. I will be back!

Still lots of people who dont use the internet. Of course, that being said, most of those parts I bought ended up being sold here and Ebay

[john walker's workshop]

i sponsor a yearly PCA swap which has been going strong for many years. enough to fill a large parking lot. the old car swaps do seem lighter on the goodies than they used to be. lots of mustang and camaro stuff still.

[kycarguy 935]

I miss going to them. I hope they will never end. Buying on the internet has made it more convenient and makes finding your rare parts much easier.

On the West Coast Tweeks had theirs every April and was always nice. I found many good parts at that one.

Tweeks at the main location in Indy also in the midwest.

[TRE Cup]

Agreed
We can all reminisce about some great meets with meeting terrific people. But time marches on and the internet has hurt these types of events a lot.

To be successful (for the time being) they have to be in conjunction with other activities . Toy/Lit show with a swap the next day (happening for 09 ) , Ventura Auto Fest are two examples.

But you can't mix too much; look at the Pomona events. They started out with a few a year and gave us tons of people in a specific porsche section. Then it blossomed into a money machine with 6-8 meets a year - come one, come all. The real porsche guys have left this one in the dust as vw guys started sharing the area and fewer buyers were coming out.

No offense meant to vw guys in general, but a fair amount of these guys are so cal gang members

[the]

I used to love going out to Pomona, in the 80s. For a Porsche junky, it was pure heaven!

As TRE said, Pomona for Porsche started dying well before the Internet became big, it was taken over by the VW guys.

Certainly the Internet has hurt swapmeets, but I think they'll always be around. There is a social aspect to it that will keep them going in limited forms.

[Mark Morrissey]

I sure hope they don't die. I love swaps. Nothing like seeing the stuff in person and holding them in your hand. Meeting new people that are as passionate as you are and shaking their hand. The internet is great but it will never be able to replace those things.
Nice thread.
Mark

[cgarr]

I think it is this internet thing cutting into all the trading? Quicker cash on ebay?

[RoninLB]

I spent a few days at Parts Obsolete's Campout in Oregun.

anywhere from 100-200 356, 356 Outlaw, and 911 people hanging together for a few days. Swap meet is on Sundays'. I guess it was a good meet because some guy ran back to my camp area thrilled that he only spent $250 for some rare distributor cap.

I arrived on a Fri morning and stayed till tuesday.


Campout 2008, June 27 - 29
http://www.partsobsolete.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=29

[porsche930dude]

definatly. people still go to them because lots of people dont own computers or want to bother with selling somthing and shipping it . But i know alot of vendors still use ebay also. Possibly for the high dollar items. and sell whatever they cant sell online or big items at the meet. plus its usually easier if you have alot of stuff. And then theres the fun weekend outing aspect of it.

[efhughes3]

Zim's used to have two/year in DFW, but they cut back to 1.

FWIW, a company called Motorsports Ltd here in Oceanside, CA is having one on 1/11/09 @ their shop: 1555 S. Coast Hwy, Oceanside, CA...760-214-1825. I believe it's his first, hoping to get something going in the San Diego area.

[mede8er]

AFAIK the last big swap meet we've had in Florida was 4-5 years ago when Brumos moved.....

[gregg911]

Pomona was a great swapmeet years ago. I used to take a wagon and fill it up with all kinds of stuff missing or broken from my SC when when bought it. In the last 4-5 years the number of Porsche guys has declined a bunch.

I agree with someone else here that stated that there is something to be said for being able to see and touch the part before it's purchased.

[teenerted1]

Originally Posted by john walker's workshop

i sponsor a yearly PCA swap which has been going strong for many years. enough to fill a large parking lot. the old car swaps do seem lighter on the goodies than they used to be. lots of mustang and camaro stuff still.

JW's swaps are a must do every summer. pick up good stuff every year and made more than i spent this year.

Emory still has his as part of the campout.

[Oh Haha]

I love swap meets as well. The Porsche dealer in Farmington Hills, here in Michigan has held one for the past couple of years through the PCA. it's where I met a couple of the Pelicans I consider friends. Bill, Mike, stand up and take a bow.)

i just wish we had more in our state or even close to Michigan.

I remember my brother and I taking the 911 to Indiana for a Porshce only swap meet on a Saturday. (It's a good 3 to 4 hour drive.) We got there and was told that it had been moved to Sunday due to a scheduling conflict at the arena. DOH!!!!


We went back down Sunday. Bought a couple of small things I needed but talked to some Porsche guys and got to see some nice cars.

[NY65912]

I have been going to various swap meets since 1973.

It's all about the hunt for that ellusive part! Heck, I remember Hershey AAAA meets when there was just two fields and Carlisle when it was a small meet of a few muscle cars.

Man, it was about the hunt and the game of haggeling and bargining, walking away and the counter offer.

I bought all the parts I needed to restore both my 356 and 912 at the Hershey, Mechanicsburg (now Ski Roundtop),Princeton and Orangeburg swap meets. These were must do, hell or high water. Those of you older guys may have heard about the Hershey AAAA meets held in three feet of mud! Man, it ALWAYS rained! And still does.

Now, it's Pelican, eBay and Rennlist. Sad though, no direct contact, you know, the stand off and the handshake afterward.

[zotman72]

Our PCA region annual swapmeet is still going strong. The Rocky Mountain Region PCA swap meets used to be hosted by CarQuip in Boulder. It was a big Sunday morning social event with great breakfast burritos and all the local Porsche gearheads wandering around trying to find a great deals. Carquip's inventory was often refreshed by what did not sell by our members. This year we will be over at DART AUTO in March.

[ruf-porsche]

Originally Posted by kycarguy 935

I miss going to them. I hope they will never end. Buying on the internet has made it more convenient and makes finding your rare parts much easier.

On the West Coast Tweeks had theirs every April and was always nice. I found many good parts at that one.

Tweeks at the main location in Indy also in the midwest.

MID America who brought out TWEEKS and move the operation to Effingham IL (where the hell is Effinbgham IL? Don't ask) stop doing the Porsche swap meet. They limited swap spaces to vendors selling use parts, no vendors can sell new parts becuase that will compete with their operations. I stop going to the Tweeksfest just before they decided not to hold it any more.

[kycarguy 935]

I remember going to TRE's open house/swap meet in the late 80's and Dave showing me some trick engine and it had a sign on it that said Ruf Schmuff or something of that nature.