TPSMak

I have been thinking having a Monthly Automotive Swap Meet for some time and wanted to get an idea what people would think of this idea. The Swap Meet would be in the parking lot of my shop and any one who had any parts to sell would be welcome to sell it at the Swap Meet. The costs to have a booth would be $20. Please give me your feedback as I want to get as much feedback as possible.

Boomer111

I think it is a creative idea. I am not sure though of the volume you would have on a monthly basis. Again though if monthly people can count on it which is a plus. Could grow into a big deal.

Good luck with the idea.

bobmoore2

They have a HUGE automotive swap meet every six weeks in the LA area. Search for the Pomona Swap Meet for info on it. Several of the big vendors have multi-space booths there. It's unbelievable the first time you see it. I went to it several times when I was living in LA. So call me and I can tell you several things about it from a spectator/buyer point of view.

There is also a Long Beach automotive swap meet once a month, but it is much smaller and I never went to it.

I think it's a great idea, but it could grow into too big a project for you to handle. Give it a try and see how it goes...

TPSMak

I know in LA/ Socal area there are some big Swap Meets.. This Sunday there is the one in Irwindale. It could turn into something big but I want to take baby steps before we run.

LowNSlow01

I'd come

TPSMak

Who you be a exhibitor or buyer?

deltadude

Prior to moving back to this area, I lived in Orange County and would go to the Pomona Swap meet. There were also a lot of weekly gatherings for hot rodders. A monthly swap meet could catch on quickly. If for no other reason than for like minded car folks to hang out. Would you have enough space to allow for cars for sale along with swap meet goods? You could quickly run out of space unless you are looking to keep it confined to the area you have available.

TPSMak

I am going to move forward with this and see what happens. I think it could work out real well. I need to layout my parking lot and see how many booths I can fit and also see if I have any room for cars to be displayed. Your right... this could turn into something big and i could run out of space VERY fast.

LS7 C5

Swap meet would be great, I could finally clean out my garage :cool
I don't know about anyone else but on a Sunday would be best for me.

LowNSlow01

Buyer.

MR.Z06

I'd go as long as there was no sales tax. (right? swap meet no tax...)
I hate CA sales tax...

TPSMak

Sales tax would be collected by the seller if they wanted to... we are not the seller so I would assume most would not charge tax

doje

I think the concept is good. It would be a great thing for the local automotive community. However, I would not charge anyone for the booth... at least not for a long time...

You want the maximum number of sellers there in order to attract the maximum number of buyers. If there are only 8 sellers, there won't be many buyers. On the flip side, if buyers don't show up (due to a small selection of sellers) then sellers will also stop coming. Making it free will make it more successful. Once (if) it gets big and popular, then you have a justification to start charging a fee for sellers.

Additionally, when Joe shows up and buys a new set of heads for his Mustang, TPS can be right there with a quote to install them. This is where the true money opportunity is for TPS – not in the $20 fee.

Remember, when you have 100 sellers trying to sell their wares, there will be 1000 buyers looking for a deal. At that point, nobody will complain about the $20 fee.

Boomer111

Good thinking

tuxnharley

Any thoughts about how to handle the folks who may have only a few items to sell? It probably wouldn't be worth $20 to bring just a couple of items to sell.

C6DuffMan

I bet someone could do well as a consignment seller. For example, I have a handful of items I wouldn't mind selling, but I don't think it would be worth it for me to set a booth/table, etc and hang out all day. However, if I could drop something off and let a seller take say 10%, would be worth it to me.

I would definitely come to a meet once in a while as a shopper.

TPSMak

Dave,

I think your feedback makes alot of sense but I'm limited to the amount of booths I can have because of space constraints. I'm targeting about 50-60 booths and would like to get 20 business sellers to commit to the swap meet. In the last week I've placed several calls to various auto related businesses and have already gotten 5 commitments for coming out with a booth I've also gotten ALOT of interest from non-business sellers. I think we should have 50 sellers pretty easy. I also don't want to overwhelm myself for the 1st swap meet.... I want to make sure we do it right and everyone is happy with the results and attendance. I plan on doing ALOT of marketing in the next 2 months to let people know about the Swap Meet.

TPSMak

I was thinking about this and the best thing to do is probably partner up with someone to share a booth so the total is only $10 per person. I don't think that would be an issue... I'd like to get as many people as possible to come out and sell stuff so I don't want to exclude people if I don't have to.

I think you are right... I bet you you can hook up with some other CF member and strike a deal with him or her

Steve@RSD

Mike,
I might be interested. I wonder what size booth you are talking about? 10'X10' or larger?
OF course If I sold parts there you would benefit from installs....So maybe we should talk...


Steve

TPSMak

Standard booth spaces would be 10x10 or can be bigger if need be. Give me a call if you would like to talk about coming out