Waseon

[LJH]

Time didnt permit me to say more on my last post, so here is my take on the
buyers at the swapmeet, thursdays and fridays buyers, know what they want
and are ready to buy, saturdays buyers are more frugal, they tend to try to
beat you down more on prices. I try to price my items close, maybe thats where
I go wrong, I just think that the experienced buyers and collectors are there
on thurs and friday, Saturdays have never been a good selling day, Unless you
sell it cheap when you are packing up. If, I had to stay all day on saturday,
I would not vend at all thanks

[Barry Brown]

When I used to vend the rain was not so much of a bother as I had a big trailer and awning which attracted people looking for shelter . Many in this captive audience made purchases. The trailer had lights inside so I also made many late evening sales when most other vendors had closed up . I only vended at one Minnesota meet and it rained very hard so we were all moved into a nearby building where I sold tons of stuff. Maybe some of those hundreds of thousands of dollars the club had? has? should have gone to the purchase of large marquee tents for vendors or the rental of buildings. What abnout splitting the meets up , some as sales only like a Walneck's type swap and some as show/judging only as there always seems to be this never ending discussion and conflict about the two divergent aspects of our gatherings.

[Paps]

OOPS duplicated

[Paps]

Once when we vended at Oley. Most of our stuff was unopened packaged nos stuff. While I was away, leaving the Ole Lady to hold down the fort, a dude drops by and eyes out a gasket set. He asked her if that particuliar set had the copper head gaskets in it as well. She did not know. She told him it was more of a gamble for him if he bought them because she wasn't and should not, going to open the unmolested packaging. In a moment of destracted attention by other prospective customers, that @%**## pulled out a blade and cut the package open !!!! That might sound a bit fair to many of you but ????? There were people at the meet who wanted unopened packaging only ! He had no right to damage the packaging ! The Ole Lady couldn't do a friggin thing about it, as he quickly strolled away. I was peeved when I returned to learn this ! No Bull !!!! If he had pulled this while I was there, crippled or not !!!!, I would have put an nos trans sprocket through his teeth ! Point ??? We had parts books there. The Ole Lady offered to look it up for him when she was temporarily interupted by other potential customers. And yes....the other potential customers should have been respectful enough to wait their turns. He still had no right to open the package. As was noted, I have seen many people look parts over and then carelessly drop, toss, bang around, and shove, the parts, putting added damages to the pieces. Don't treat my parts this way ! I don't want your money ! Beat your own crap up ! Not Mine !! Sorry folks....I'm getting angry just thinking about some of those idiots. Their disrepect for peoples property will do that. All I expect from a potential customer is, pick the item up with respect, look it over, decide if you can use it, ask the price if not already marked, and try to deal, if you think the price is to high. If you the customer decide you will pass on it, put the item back where you found it and do that respectfully.
I shop for parts also. All I expect from a vendor is, respect, friendlyness, and honesty. Paps

[rickgeo]

Well ,, It was another wet weekend for northern Ohio,after having 5 ++ inches of rain in the month of june & 3 and 1/2 inches so far this month. All falling on the weekends!

Had a similar weather pattern in 2006,seemed like every time we planned a ride we got drenched! And now the same this year. No wonder everyones grouchy!

By the way ,, whos the horses rear-end that came up with this "carbon footprint" crap ??

[portagepan]

There have been a lot of good viewpoints on this post so far. My main questions/concerns. Are the meets for the members to have fun, swap, buy and sell parts, and stories? Can meets this big even do that? I hope everyone on this post realizes the same thing I do. My opinion is just one one hundreth of one % of the members ideas. And yes, I did do a little volunteer work at the meet, so I was there and saw what goes on, and all the hard work everyone does. One thing I don't quite understand, though, is a vendor who travels to different meets, who's main purpose is to sell parts, and make money, complaining about conditions, or time, or work. I worked my whole life, too. Isn't that what work is? Are your parts so valuable that the whole membership shoul bow to your demands? And who is driving this bus, anyway? I would like to hear from the directors on this. The rest of us have our own views, and this post is pretty well hashed out. Like I said before. If the vendors are not staying at least til' Sat. afternoon, with their parts on display, then put hat fact on the flyer. As far as the assholes who mishandle parts, that has nothing to do with this. Let's not ramble hereWe all havethings we don't like at meets. I just feel this is important for ALL the membership, and especially the newer memberswho are just trying to get started in this sport/hobby/ history. Mike

[Chris Haynes]

Perhaps the meets should be two day meets starting on Saturday. That way people who work on Friday will have an equal chance of finding parts on Saturday.

[Paps]

The workings of the meets are setup just fine. Everyone has the opportunity to purchase a vendors spot. You don't have to be a bonifide dealer to purchase a vendors spot. That spot will get you in on Thursday. You do have to be an AMCA member though. As far as vendors pulling up stakes soon in many attendies views, many of those vendors travel very long miles to be there. Weekday work schedules play a large part in determing how long a lot of those vendors stay. Many other vendors sponcer events at the meets as well. Since a large majority of the vendors have a long trip ahead of them home, they have to pack up by noon on Saturday. Visitors to the meets still have a chance to shop for parts before noon Saturday. They also have a chance to request the Friday off from their employers close to a year in advance, if they want to have an opportunity to see all the vendors selection of parts. Main events are scheduled after the morning hours. This gives everyone a fair chance to look around the vendor spots. I think the organizers of the meets do a splendid job of scheduling all of the goings on at the meets. After all, they have been doing it for decades. Until we run the show, we won't have a real clue as to how the shoe fits, being an organizer. I tip my hat to those indivuals. They provide something for everyone, vendors with parts, racing, machine judging, games, and various entertainment. I admit it is difficult to fit it all in into ones attendance, but I sure as heck try to. When I vend, I don't get to do much of anything else. When I attend as a visitor, I don't get to vend. IMO... the organizers got all the right gears in place. The machine runs well but there are glitches, as in anything else. As for my rant on the A hole....I could tell many a story like that one. I could also tell many a story on A hole vendors. All in all, the vast majority of buyers and sellers are great. After one attends the meets for a spell, one gets to know how the parts buying and selling operates. One learns when to arrive and what one should come as, vendor or visitor. As I said, any AMCA member can come in on a Thursday, if they purchase a vendors spot. I don't view it unfair for a vendor to deal with another vendor, prior to the gates opening for vistors. Most of the parts they buy or swap, end up on tables to sell them anyway. Paps

[tmul1]

vendors

I Vend And Also Raise A Family And Have A Job That I Have To Work On Some Sundays Before I Vended I Made Sure I Was There To Buy The Parts I Needed On Thursday I Dont Make Enough Money At These Meets To Pay For The Cost Of Going So Why Should I Stay Any Longer Then I Want Too

[Chris Haynes]

[QUOTE=Paps;68420]The workings of the meets are setup just fine. Everyone has the opportunity to purchase a vendors spot. You don't have to be a bonifide dealer to purchase a vendors spot. That spot will get you in on Thursday. You do have to be an AMCA member though. As far as vendors pulling up stakes soon in many attendies views, many of those vendors travel very long miles to be there. Weekday work schedules play a large part in determing how long a lot of those vendors stay. Many other vendors sponcer events at the meets as well. Since a large majority of the vendors have a long trip ahead of them home, they have to pack up by noon on Saturday.

For the working man who can't be there before Saturday morning there is no way to cover a large meet before noon. That only gives them four hours. At Davenport or Wauseon you can't make a dent in it in four hours.
This year the Dixon meet rearranged things a bit. They moved the banquet to Friday night and SOLD OUT. This was the biggest, and I must give credit due, and the best banquet I had ever been to.
Judging was moved to Saturday afternoon with the awards ceremony planned for immediately after the judging. But as fate would have it as soon as bikes were judged the owners packed 'em up and hit the road.

[Lonnie]

Beating a dead horse, but...

There are many fine vendors, such as Bnsons and Paps and others, who a pleasure to deal with - parts clean, well displayed and willing to deal. In reality, most vendors are also but after a long hot (or rainy) weekend the patience wears a bit thin.

If you see a part that you need and the price is reasonable, buy it then. Odds are if you go looking for one at a cheaper price, even at a big meet like D'port, you'll lose out. Vendors, if you have a price on a part don't jack the price around. I saw a nice part once, got price but thought it was a bit steep, tried to deal but coudn't so I passed. I treat all vendor's parts like glass so I gently set down. A friend saw me a bit later, described the piece at a price of $100 cheaper (he did not need it) so I went back, asked the price and got one that was $200 more expensive than the first one! I told the vendor so and his comment was "You should have bought it then". Needless to say, when I see that vendor I just walk on by!

I agree with the statement that if you want to get the best shot at the parts, be there early - schedule a vacation day or two. I live 18 hours from D'port and I schedule the entire week. If you wait until the second day (Sat.) the best parts, condition and price, will be long gone - please accept that fact.

The re-arranged schedule at the Dixon meet sounds like a good deal. Personally, I like the Jefferson, PA schedule - Friday and Saturday. I've alway thought a schedule like that would work with the banquet being consolidated with the presentation of the judging "awards". Get home Saturday night and still have Sunday with the better half.

[Paps]

Sounds like the Dixon meet scheduling worked out well Chris. Meet size is a factor. Davenport is impossible to cover thoroughly regarless of how it could be scheduled. Some vendors have so many parts, a person could spend a few hours at just one vendor. Luck plays a large roll in that case. At Dav, I scan vendors items as I pass by their spots or I won't see as much as I could have. Scanning is risky though. You miss a lot also. Paps

[servicardenise]

Thanks for recognizing all the hard work from everyone on this site. Roger, it is always a pleasure to see you and your wife. Congrats on Winners Circle! Denise

[portagepan]

I hope I don't offend anyone, and this is just my thought. But I see an underlying theme in some of the posts here that the meet is all about ME. What I want. When I want. Make as much as I can, and then split. If there are people who consider our meets as a business, then maybe they need to have their own organization. I guess we all have a choice on this, and I have to respect what others want, whether I like it or not. But at the same time don't think I won't throw it back in your face if I see some self centered club killing crap on here. Thankfully, this is a free forum for all members to express themselves, and I am glad to see your input, even if I don't agree with it. That is the only way to learn. The club might be riding high right now, but that is no guarantee for the future. I have decided this is my last post on this thread, so don't shoot me. I just had some thoughts that I felt needed to be put out there. And to the vendors who think that only jackasses look for parts on Sat. oh well. I was there Fri. and Sat. and still had a pocketful of cash, that I fully planned on spending to both get parts and to continue to make the meets a reasonably successful event for the vendors so they will come back next year. And I will tell you one other thing. I quit the HOG chapter I belonged to a couple of years ago, because I got tired of volunteering at events that were just moneymakers for the dealers. So to expect people to volunteer to work these club events, and then get slapped in the face by vendors who are long gone before they get a chance to look for parts for themselves,well.............. I don't volunteer to make money for somebody, I just do it because I love what we are doing, and I'm crazy. You'd have to be blind to not see that there are people involved in the club that stuff is very profitable for them. I am OK with that I guess, as long as the meets are run for the members FIRST. Mike
Mike

[Ohio-Rider]

Mike… You have made many valid points of discussion. Sadly, profiteering will always go hand in hand with any successful venture. The AMCA is a successful organization. And there will always be those who will take advantage of those who do something out of love instead of profit.

I’ve only got a few years into this antique cycle thing we love so much but I can tell you one thing for sure from my observations. Unless you are a vendor at any swap meet, be it local or national, you will only find the parts that none of the vendors need. I believe most vendors have made their money and found the parts they need even before the gates open to the rest of us. Sure we may find an occasional part that got over looked by one of the vendors before the gates opened but almost never any of the good stuff.

I’m not bashing on vendors. They put in a lot more time and expense than I do looking for those hard to find parts so I’d never begrudge them the rewards from their efforts. When I see a vendor leaving early at swap meets I know the reason. I think we all know the reason why. -Steve