So this weekend’s adventure was the swap meet. For those unfamiliar with this (uniquely Californian, I think) custom, it is a weekly event that combines the features of a garage sale and a large trade show with a big dose of mitumba thrown in. The one we go to is several acres large with many hundred vendors and is held at a local college campus. Some sell people used stuff; others sell new stuff. The deals are amazing. There are also things like farmer’s market stands and cooked food vendors. It’s an extremely multicultural affair. I’ve attended often as a buyer but never as a seller.
We reserved our space several weeks ago and were supposed to arrive at 6am or so to set up. (There is a big process for getting in and situated.) We rented a truck on Friday and used it Friday afternoon to also a deliver a donation of 20 heavy cartons of books to a warehouse in LA. After that and loading the truck for the swap meet, we were very tired by Friday night.
Our wares to sell included a fair amount of stuff from the office, as well as miscellaneous stuff from the house including stuff that wouldn’t move well (IKEA furniture), stuff we will no longer need (wet suit, fins, boogie board, etc.), and stuff that we have too much of (keyboards, access points, etc.).
Brad had warned me that the first hour or so before the event even opens to outsiders is when you sell a lot of stuff, because career vendors buy stuff they think they can resell. One thing I didn’t know is that having a UHaul truck as we did marks you as a “occasional vendor” and therefore one with potenially good stuff. I wasn’t prepared to get mobbed by people at 6:30am though…before I had even thought through what prices I wanted to get (and before I’d even finished my first cup of coffee).
In the first hour, we probably sold $100 worth of stuff, which was easily enough to cover our space rental, so I was happy.
The rest of the day went well, though it was a very hot day. We lathered on suntan lotion every hour or so. The wind was blowing hard and gusty. (Yes, parts of CA are burning again.) The wind wasn’t good for a swap meet with lots of loose stuff, large sun umbrellas, and metal framed sun shades. Once it gusted so hard that it started to blow over two six foot high 85 pound or so bookcases we were selling. Brad dove to save anyone potentially in the way and crushed his hand in the process. It doesn’t seem to be broken, but it’s swollen and bruised. Luckily no one (else) was hurt.
Some things that sold surprised me (Brilliant Beginnings baby kits, a big box of binders). There were a few things that I really wanted to have “good homes,” and I was able to place them all with people who will really use and appreciate them. We sold a desk for the office to a really nice guy with kids. We even delivered it for him to his apartment in Little Saigon.
Overall, we made over $300. I enjoyed the bartering and was even pretty good at it thanks to my experience in Africa. I think I only left $10 on the table on a chair that I turned down $15 for and later sold for $5. (The whole thing pretty much wraps up by 1:30, and I didn’t really know that.)
On the way home, hot and sweaty, we stopped to gas up the rental truck, and Brad was approached by a German guy biking down the coast. He had a stove he was trying to buy gasoline for and the gas station wouldn’t sell it to him. Miffed by picky U.S. customs, he asked Brad if he could pump some for him and said he’d of course pay for it. We’d had such a good day that Brad obliged and wouldn’t take any money. We hope we left one nice impression of Americans for this guy.
There will be many more installments in the travails of moving for us over the next couple months, but at least we’re off to a start now.