Don Hoenig's Swap Meet Thompson Speedway, CT

[motopointcafe]

Anybody been to this as a vendor and sold stuff? How is it? The crowd? thanks for any input you can leave...

[B440]

I'm assuming that you'll be selling motorcycle stuff? I've been a vender there a bunch of times. That being said: the buyers are the cheapest fucks on planet earth. They'll spend $12 to get in, $10 on a sausage sandwich, and haggle you on headlight you're selling for $20, that originally cost you $90. All I can say, is don't give in to haggling. Of course, that's a double-edged sword if you're trying to buy something

Cost to vend is $75 for 2 days. You can spend an extra $25 if you want to camp there Friday night. Makes sense if you're selling big dollar auto racing parts, but for Joe Sixpack who's selling a few motorcycle parts and a snowblower, he'll want to partner up with one or more people to split the cost.

Hit the shitter early and never go back. They are the worst outhouses I've ever seen. They don't clean them at night. Remember that sausage sandwich we talked about? Better yet, bring your RV for your own personal latrine.

Ok, so those are the things that bother me the most, but there's some pros to this venue: Always a good time camping with friends, and I'm selling stuff too, which means I'm potentially getting paid (if turning a profit) to camp! Sometimes there's some really great oddball stuff that you just can't find on craigslist or ebay, especially small stuff, or bulky non-shippable items. You can byob, and byof, so you don't have to eat what they sell. Contained fires are allowed at night too.

[motopointcafe]

the stuff i have is all NEW and mainly sportbike, dirtbike, atv and little snowmobile parts/accessories from my shop that closed.... so ALL my stuff is for the Metric bikes....would that product fit this market of people that go there?

[B440]

Yes, definitely. And now that the track runs bikes, your stuff may be an even better fit than years before. There has always been metric parts/machines there every time I've been there buying or selling.

Another pro: two days to vend, so if one rains out, you got another. I see you're in NH, so your long drive will not be wasted on one day if it rains. And people come from all over New England for this particular event, but there is the Lake Compounce swap happening on the same Sunday, so you'll see a lot of empty vendor spots Sunday morning as they hit up both places.

I usually leave by noon on Sunday. After 1pm, most people are just there to practice their lowball technique. There's always next year, or ebay.

[motopointcafe]

so being a two day do people pack up Saturday end of the day or do they have security or anything?

[B440]

There's security. People stay and camp right in their spot. I usually sleep in my truck. First week of November can be really cold at night though.

Best to find a spot that gets a lot of sun. You're usually just sitting or standing and not moving around much. If the wind picks up, being in a shady spot can be miserable.