Carlisle swap meet

[camarotoolman]

All kinds of stuff for garage guys. Probably 8 lift companies on display, 4 or 5 garage builders with demo buildings, new or used tool sellers everywhere, all kinds of supplies, 1000s of old cars. Check out a big swap meet in your area. Hersey is this week, near Harrisburg, Pa.

 

[BJ42LX]

I was there Thursday and Friday. I picked up a couple trinkets - nothing too big or exciting.

The thing that amazed me most - as a first time attendee - was all the JUNK some dealers brought:

- 20 gal garbage can full of broken pool ques
- a cheap brass chandelier from the '80's - with a broken arm
- a box of used electrical connectors from "American" cars - dirty as hell

This stuff gets humped from one show to the next - I don't know how they make any money.

One woman all she had was VHS video tapes. GARBAGE!

 

[tcianci]

I was there Thursday and Friday. I picked up a couple trinkets - nothing too big or exciting.

The thing that amazed me most - as a first time attendee - was all the JUNK some dealers brought:

- 20 gal garbage can full of broken pool ques
- a cheap brass chandelier from the '80's - with a broken arm
- a box of used electrical connectors from "American" cars - dirty as hell

This stuff gets humped from one show to the next - I don't know how they make any money.

One woman all she had was VHS video tapes. GARBAGE!

Ya gotta take the good with the bad. I have been attending the spring Carlisle and the Fall Hershey swaps for almost 15 years. I too wonder how anyone makes any money dragging the junk from show to show. I'm sure I've seen the same stuff from year to year, But occasionally you get a real gem... something you've been looking long and hard for.

I try to hedge my bets on what I may or may not find there by ordering stuff I need from vendors and saving the shipping by picking up stuff at the show. Otherwise, it's not even worth the hotel costs if you come home empty handed.

Normally, We would be leaving Tuesday morning to drive down to Harrisburg and go to the Hershey show. But this week, my BIL who normally does the driving is tending to his dad (my FIL). The guy is 80 and still plumbing but his ticker is acting up so its off for more tests for him this coming week. This will be the first Hershey show he has missed since we started attending.

 

[boostedgt]

i would love to be one of the oddballs hauling stuff like vhs tapes to swap meets lol

 

[BJ42LX]

I have been attending the spring Carlisle and the Fall Hershey swaps for almost 15 years.

tcianci,

What are your thoughts on the differences between Hershey and Carlisle Spring/Fall? From the Hershey website it looks like they have more older cars, where Carlisle was heavily biased toward '60's and '70's American cars.

Which one is bigger?

 

[Chris05gto]

I would say that the Spring show is the bigger of the two, but the Corvette show is the biggest!

 

[tcianci]

You got it right. The Carlisle show is slanted more towards muscle cars and such and Hershey is more for antiques but there's plenty of overlap to make nearly anyone happy at either show. Hershey, according to the books, is the biggest show of its kind on Earth and it draws thousands and thousands of people and from the accents and languages I have heard there, there is a fair amount of folks from Europe, Australia and south America there too

 

[metalhead212121]

Ive wanted to go to Carlisle for a long long time. Ive been going to Englishtown for a handful of years now and everyone says Englishtown has been going down hill for god only knows how long. As the years have gone by at Englishtown Ive always brought home a ton of **** each year.

Things Ive bought at Englishtown:
Snap on Triple bank tool box (brand new in plastic)
2 Sawzalls- first one crapped out after a couple years of use (for $25 I think I got my moneys worth)
a ton of different NAME BRAND tools
misc odds and ends

Ive wanted to go to Carlisle because Ive heard they don't have as much "trash" for sale like Englishtown does. Now Im starting to wonder if thats true or not. This past weekend at Englishtown in my opinion really was a let down despite the fact that I spent a good couple hundred bucks there. For the last couple years there have always been at least 4 guys there selling QUALITY NAME BRAND tools. This time around I think there was 2.

For someone like me that would have a 2 hour car ride (one way) to Carlisle is it worth it in your guys opinions? I mainly go just to wheel and deal on tools and misc ****. I never have time for the car show end. An old co-worker of mine would get a hotel for the weekend and spend 3 days there. But at the same time he had money to burn and treated it as a mini vacation.

Dan

 

[Bender78]

I'm leaving Wednesday for Hershey. My first time going to that meet; I've been going to Carlisle for the Corvette meet for a few years now.

Tcianci or anyone familiar with Hershey - I'm wondering about the parking there. What with the floods they had, how's the parking situation going to be?

 

[Mr_fixit]

I went to English yown & Carlisle shows. I like going to them both. I think there's more junk at Carlisle, the Englishtown people seem to want to sell their stuff more than the Carlisle people. And I bought a VHS tape from one guy at Carlisle.

I used to go to Hershey, but found that I prefer Englishtown . Hershey has much more antique stuff for old cars that many peopel never heard of... And less tools.

 

[MoToys]

Sold at englishtown this year. I had a corner of good tools and a matco cart, most sold. I think the weather really crapped things up this year.

Carlisle is nice, I'd like to do Hershey but haven't done so yet.

 

[Greatbear]

I've been going to Carlisle for over 30 years now (damn, I'm getting old!). Didn't make it to the Fall show because I had the house in pieces for some reno and cleaning.There is both good and bad to be found among the miles of vendors. The "junk" sellers have always been there in one form or another. Among the rusty stuff and cheapass tools there are good sellers with name brand tools and parts, you just have to be prepared to hike for a while to find them. Once you find something you like, make a note of it, for many of the regular vendors get the same spots for each spring/fall show over the years. Get a directory and jot down where you find the good guys selling, and make note of their names. Next time around, you have a better chance of honing in on the prime sellers early and getting the good deals rather than zigzagging the entire grounds.

 

[Matt M PA]

As a Mopar guy, I never had much luck at Englishtown and stopped going years ago.

I've only missed one Chrysler show at Carlisle since inception...but haven't done the Spring or Fall meets for years either.

Hershey. I always seem to find something at Hershey be it car related or garage related. I'm hoping to go one day this week,

It's hard to comment on the parking situation from the flooding, but I would think it's okay by now.

 

[Farmallgray]

One big difference between Carlisle and Hershey is that Hershey has a judged antique car show along with the swap meet while Carlisle is just a swap meet. There are still plenty of cool cars to see at Carlisle (they are usually for sale) though.

Haven't been to Hershey for at least 10-15 yrs. I have been to fall Carlisle for about 4 yrs in a row. It is only about 1-1/2 hour drive for me. There is a lot of unrelated junk for sure. I saw in the program they are limiting how much unrelated items new vendors are allowed to sell.

I know for a fact I saw at the same vendor the same overpriced tractor tire ash tray at least three years in a row now!

 

[Matt M PA]

While the Hershey meet does have the AACA Fall Meet...which is huge...it's only on Saturday and not on ground adjoining the swap. The last few years it was on the golf course.

I last took a car to Hershey when my 72 Plymouth got it's 1st Junior, and it really spoiled me on that show. At the time, it took something like 45 minutes to get onto the field and parked. And, parking for show cars were very, very tight. I understand that the sheer volume of cars, and that location both caused my complaints. (The car is now an AACA Grand National Senior.)

I know that Carlisle is more musclecar era related, but I did very well at Hershey finding things for my 69-72 Plymouths.

One other Hershey note. It's free. You have to pay to park, but there's no admission fee.

In my opinion, the sad truth is that all the swap meets are slowly going away. I guess it could be partly the economy...but I also think it has something to do with eBay and other internet services.

 

[metalhead212121]

In my opinion, the sad truth is that all the swap meets are slowly going away. I guess it could be partly the economy...but I also think it has something to do with eBay and other internet services.

I gotta agree with that... I dont know what swap meets were like "back in the day." Im guessing that "back in the day" since the internet wasnt around people made it a point to hit up swap meets because it was your one of a couple shots to snag a deal on something for the year. I noticed this year at Englishtown that a handful of faithful quality vendors didnt show. As the years go by it will be interesting to see what kinda stuff turns out at swap meets.

I think I'll be able to snag deals at swap meets till the day I die. Every year I make a list of things to keep an eye out for. Id say 90% of what I have listed I DON'T find. But at the same time I still find good stuff to bring home.

MoToys- can you tell about where you were located? Don't even bother to give me your spot location. That wouldnt help me. The best thing you could do is tell me if you were by the track or the entrance or by a popular vendor. Just wondering if I spoke to you...

Dan

 

[ratdoggy]

tcianci,

What are your thoughts on the differences between Hershey and Carlisle Spring/Fall? From the Hershey website it looks like they have more older cars, where Carlisle was heavily biased toward '60's and '70's American cars.

Which one is bigger?

Hershey is basically Pre-war and Carlisle is Post-war. They are both big,can't see it in 1 day.

 

[MoToys]

MoToys- can you tell about where you were located? Don't even bother to give me your spot location. That wouldnt help me. The best thing you could do is tell me if you were by the track or the entrance or by a popular vendor. Just wondering if I spoke to you...

Dan

I was up on the front down a ways from the entrance (1st row facing the dirt parking area.). Across from me was a few guys selling atv's and atv parts.
It we spoke, hope I was nice. Lots of undesirables walking around that place.

 

[metalhead212121]

I was up on the front down a ways from the entrance (1st row facing the dirt parking area.). Across from me was a few guys selling atv's and atv parts.
It we spoke, hope I was nice. Lots of undesirables walking around that place.

When you say dirt parking area are you talking about where everybody parks on the grass? If so.. then we might have crossed paths. As far as undesirables... that doesn't phase me. In my mind dealing with "undesirables" is a love hate thing. Part of me feels watching some of these people is WORTH the $10 cover. Other part is screams GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME! I asked one guy about a sawzall he had for sale. Physically it was in rough shape. We spoke about the price for MAYBE a minute and in the end I just thought it was best to pass on it. He chewed me out saying I was wasting his time bla bla bla... Too many guys out there think they're Bill Gates. If you're coming down to Englishtown in the spring of 2012 let me know. I'll stop by.

Dan

 

[MoToys]

When you say dirt parking area are you talking about where everybody parks on the grass? If so.. then we might have crossed paths. As far as undesirables... that doesn't phase me. In my mind dealing with "undesirables" is a love hate thing. Part of me feels watching some of these people is WORTH the $10 cover. Other part is screams GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME! I asked one guy about a sawzall he had for sale. Physically it was in rough shape. We spoke about the price for MAYBE a minute and in the end I just thought it was best to pass on it. He chewed me out saying I was wasting his time bla bla bla... Too many guys out there think they're Bill Gates. If you're coming down to Englishtown in the spring of 2012 let me know. I'll stop by.

Dan

I feel the same way about the people there. And yes, the front were people park on the grass. (You might remember seeing a locksmith van parked on my spot.
I'll definitely be at spring, don't know if I'll be selling again.

 

[rwhite692]

When I lived in NY, I used to go to the Fall show almost every year.

Roll in on Thursday AM, do the show Thurs/Friday, and maybe stay for the early part of Saturday morning, before leaving.

Saturday and Sunday are just way too crowded, and by then, all the really choice stuff has been nabbed.

 

[metalhead212121]

Saturday and Sunday are just way too crowded, and by then, all the really choice stuff has been nabbed.

Ive heard soooo many different ideas on what day is the best to go. Some guys say go the first day so you get to be one of the first to get a deal on something. Others say go towards the end because thats when guys are itching to sell stuff so they dont have to lug it home... My opinion...Who the hell knows when the best time to go is...

The only things I can say are somewhat factual is get there before 10 AM. At Englishtown it seems by 3 or 4 PM are calling it a day and are packing it in for the night. Sundays for the swap meet seems like a beat day. It seems like by the time Sunday comes around the guys just say screw it Im done and wanna go home. The ******** vets of swap meets will claim your spot in a heartbeat as soon as you leave so they can get more "traffic." I can remember being there on a Sunday around noon and guys were packing up and going home. They didnt wanna stick it out to the bitter end.

I dont know what happens are Carlisle but I was at Englishtown one year on the last day of the swap meet and I saw a new level of trailor trash. I cut a deal with a guy for a "better" price on something I wanted in exchange for helping him load up his trailer. I always say everything is negotiable in any way shape or form when it comes to price. I was loading a vette exhaust system on a trailer and a guy with maybe 3 teeth in his whole mouth came and wanted to talk about the exhaust system. He had a beer in one hand and $50 bucks in the other. He wanted the exhaust system for $50. Probably wanted it for scrap metal. The guy who owned the trailer told him to get lost. On top of that I saw guys rolling around in pickup trucks picking up other peoples **** that others just gave up and left at Englishtown. One of these guys tried to walk of with my backpack full of tools! I started screaming get the F AWAY FROM MY ****! I pray to god I never have to stick it out to the bitter end at a swap meet again.....

Dan