A Little Swap Meet Action

The smaller of the two Harley-Davidson dealership in Tucson, Old Pueblo H-D, hosted a swap meet this morning in their parking lot. I've participated in a number of the swap meets at the larger dealership, Tucson H-D, over the years which are usually held in January when the weather at the start can be downright cold. Today there was no "cold" about it but I didn't particularly mind the heat and there was a nice breeze. I do think that the weather dampened enthusiasm both for vendors and customers, though, as the turnout was quite small. But the atmosphere was relaxed, convivia, and very enjoyable. And I wound up going home with $140 more in my pocket (and a bit more room in my closet) than I started with and met a few really nice folks in the process.

I didn't have a whole lot of stuff for sale today and mostly brought the items that didn't sell last January at THD which were already pretty much packed up and organized. Mr. Sandi and I drove to Old Pueblo in his truck and I set up around 8:45am. He hung out for about half an hour then rode home on his Street Glide which he'd had in the shop for a 30K service. That was a good plan as it meant that he didn't need to hang around all morning and I could relax and stay as long as I cared to and then I drove his truck home. And I did wind up selling a few items fairly late in the game (noon-ish). I've learned you just never know who will happen along and decide to buy something just when you think you're done for the day. I was glad I thought to bring my nice camping chair which even has a drink holder that I used for my coffee mug.


There were very few women vendors and hardly any vendors that had riding gear. Mostly it was parts, parts, and more parts. Parts-wise I sold the grips that I just recently took off my Street Glide and replaced with some more padded ones. Otherwise this time around I just sold clothes. The funniest deal on the day was a guy who bought two things for his girlfriend. I asked him what size she was and he just said "tiny". Anyway, he like an armored riding hoodie from Speed & Strength and a casual tan denim Harley jacket. First he look the hoodie over carefully then asked for the price. I told him I had that priced at $30. Then after carefully examining the denim jacket he asked how much for that one. I told him that one was $15. He thought about it for a little bit then said, "Ok, I'll give you $50 for both". It was an offer I couldn't refuse.






There was one food truck called "Mafia Kitchen" that was selling drinks like iced coffee, Italian sodas, and lemonade in addition to a few types of pastries. Mr. Sandi and I had stopped at Dunkin' Donuts on the way over so I bought a coffee from Mafia Kitchen and had it with my Dunkin' iced cinnamon roll--a stand-in for what I really wanted which was an apple fritter. Sadly they were sold out of those. I see swap meets as sort of like road trips in terms of food. Whatever you eat at a swap meet--and on a road trip--doesn't really count and doesn't contain calories.


Riders came and riders went all morning. But this bike was parked in the lot all morning. It was definitely the center of attention through the day. I asked the owner what year it was--1946. I don't think that's a stock paint job, though.







Overall it was a modestly productive day that put $140 in my pocket that I didn't have yesterday. But the best I've done at a swap meet is $850, but I had LOTS of stuff for sale at that one and the turnout was far better than today's. I'd say I worked less hard this time around, though. My packing and unpacking time was minimal so the day felt pretty "bang for the buck". I would have loved to sell the custom seat I had on my Low Rider S and tons of folks were very interested in it. But it only fits a small subset of bikes so there will have to be a pretty perfect match for me to sell that someplace like a swap meet. I'll probably suck it up and give Craigslist a try.

Edit: @Iron, any thoughts on the '46 Harley based on what you can see in the photos?

 

Yes, @Wessa, enough for a few beers...and perhaps a bottle of some nice Irish Whiskey, too. I don't know the origins of the term "swap meet" though I can hazard a guess. But now I'm curious and shall do a bit of research. A "boot sale", eh? I'm guessing that the word "boot" in that phrase is referring to the trunk of a car and a "boot sale" would be selling items out of the boot?

 

Thanks for that, @Iron! Quick question, what would the stock paint colors have been back around those years??

 

Thanks for that interesting info on the bikes of that era, @Iron. And I'll be on the looking for that chop and ask if he'd be willing to part with it. It certainly won't be hard to recognize the bike if I see it out and about!