Swap meet rant

[Unobtanium-inc]

Many of you have heard this rant before but a few of you may not have so here goes. Everyone hates evilBAY and high parts prices but then fails to get off the couch when the time comes. What time is that? Swap meet time. There are a few good reasons for coming out to the swap, some are business related but some are just pure pleasure. Coming out and actually meeting guys you only email back and forth with, seeing the cars, touching a part before you buy it, that in and of itself can be invaluable.
There is also something we can all do to make the community better, get that box of parts out of the back of the garage from that car you had in the 70s and put them back into circulation, so your wife doesn't accidently throw them out one day. We all know thousands of these cars were scrapped over the years, but all you guys stripped them first, so there are more than enough parts to keep the remaining cars going, but they have to see the light of day first.
There are two great swaps coming up in September/October, one on each coast, so you don't have an excuse not to be at one of them.
Here on the east coast we have the Ski Roundtop swap, the 11th one! It is on 9/21. This is one of my favorite swaps for a couple of reasons, one because it's all air-cooled, so you don't have to dig through all the 944 stuff to find a 356 part, but also because it is a very laid back swap. I always find good deals at Roundtop, always!!! Go to www.vintagegermanswapmeet.com for more info
On the West Coast there is the San Francisco Sports Car Concours and Swap Meet at 191 Industrial Rd San Carlos, CA 94070 got to www.356car.org for more info. This is supposed to be a pretty good swap too.
As a bonus, if you stop by the Unobtanium booth at Roundtop you get a free gift bag filled with cool stuff, even Factory stuff, yes, Porsche Factory sponsored gift bags!!!!!

Seriously, you hate eBAY and jacked up parts prices, well, put your money where your mouth is, gas up your Porsche, grab that box of parts, get your wish list, and make it out to your local swap. If we all do this the whole community benefits, if we don't, well, bid to win on eBAY and better hope you don't get outbid by some guy in Europe doing a concours resto who has pockets deeper than the Grand Canyon.

[bob tilton]

Whaaat? There are no jacked up parts prices.

Crazy talk.

[Unobtanium-inc]

Seriously though, how about we get a whole row of longhoods out there. Nick brought his RHD RS a few years ago, that was cool.

[Richardnew]

The old style swap meet will continue to decline. That's just the way it is. We have fewer newspapers and thinner magazines now. Why should swap meets be immune from the digital age?

When it comes to prices people are paying what they believe the part is worth to them. If the price is too high no one will buy. It's called a market. It's dynamic. We saw this market in action last week in Monterey. You really think parts are going to get cheaper now that the cars are getting more expensive?

Richard Newton
Car Tech Stuff

[Frank Beck]

Arguably the best part of a swap meet is meeting people and talking shop.

Looking for a place near Harrisburg where I can stash my race rig between the SVRA Watkins Glen event and the Lewisberry swap meet. The closer to the airport the better. Need a BIG parking spot for 2 weeks.
ANY suggestions would be wonderful.

Thanks.

[davep]

Arguably the best part of a swap meet is meeting people and talking shop.

Absolutely true!

[kentf14]

Agreed. I love trolling the swaps and meeting up with old/new friends. My pet peeve would be the commercial parts resellers that are out doing the same thing only to repost their scores for massive markups... Occasionally taking said parts over to their swap table and plastering a new price tag on them.
I've resigned myself to the fact that "deals" are few and far between these days. I also wish I had a time machine to go back to the old Pamona swap to buy all the parts I walked right past 20+ years ago.

[Frank Beck]

Agreed. I love trolling the swaps and meeting up with old/new friends. My pet peeve would be the commercial parts resellers that are out doing the same thing only to repost their scores for massive markups... Occasionally taking said parts over to their swap table and plastering a new price tag on them.
I've resigned myself to the fact that "deals" are few and far between these days. I also wish I had a time machine to go back to the old Pamona swap to buy all the parts I walked right past 20+ years ago.

Ahhhh... Pamona 20+ years ago. Like being down wind from a ladies restroom; very mixed emotions.
When Buhain would peddle his wares from a rented Hertz truck and Kevin Buckler and his wife would unload an entire race trailer full of prized trinkets; then load much of it back up! Guys like me would sleep in a rental car and "greet" incoming swappers and even "help" them unload.

Then the VW guys changed all of that.

[Unobtanium-inc]

I have to disagree here on a couple of points.
1. The swaps are not dying, Hershey was the biggest yet last year and Roundtop was too, people are realizing that buying everything on-line is boring and that yes you can get deals at swap meets.

A friend likend eBAY to going to a cat house, there is no mystery, you pay and you get, but the swap, well, there is adventure, suspense, and you might not find anything, but you might....

Not to mention hanging out, showing your car, or seeing other people's to give you inspiration to go home and finish yours.

But the swap will only stay strong if guys like us get off our arses and show up and support. It can also be a way to get real parts into the hands of real dudes, by bringing whatever you have extra and swaping it, no shipping, no paypal, just cash and a smile, you would be surprised how fun it can be.

So yes, prices of parts like the cars will continue to climb but if you have cars and or parts, well, as you sell, you can pay the higher prices, that is part of the market too.

I hope to see a bunch of you at Roundtop, make sure you stop by the booth for a FREE gift bag full of cool stuff, even some of it from Stuttgart. Crazy, I know, and it's FREE!!!!!!!!!!

[Bill Simmeth]

1. The swaps are not dying, Hershey was the biggest yet last year and Roundtop was too, people are realizing that buying everything on-line is boring and that yes you can get deals at swap meets.

Hear, hear! After almost 17 years on eBay I haven't met anyone there that I had a good time visiting with. (Come to think of it, I haven't actually met anyone there.) Not the case with Hershey and RoundTop. As Mr Beck said, it's the people. The deals are icing on the cake. Speaking of Mr Beck, did I read correctly that he's planning on coming to RoundTop?

PS... Richard I think the analogy to newspapers and magazines doesn't quite hold. Both of those are individual pursuits and well suited to digital consumption. Swap meets are communal. It's like saying cocktail parties during the Holidays are becoming obsolete.