[Ziggster]

First time for me. So I'll give a bit of a summary of my experience. Drove down Tuesday from Ottawa, Canada (500 miles), and attended Wednesday starting at 7:00 until 4:00, and Thursday from about 7:30 until noon. I was kinda surprised at how difficult it was to get a general idea on the interweeb about what to do etc. Stuff like parking, food, facilities etc. I initially drove into the event looking for parking as I did not see any signage for parking across the event in the fields. The night before I read something about bringing boots because of the fields. Wednesday morning some old timers at McDonald's set me straight and said the swap meet was all on asphalt. I read something about getting there earlier, but when I arrived at 7:00 it was still somewhat dark, and most vendors still were not out. Showing up around 8:00 would have been better I think. I did bring a Craftsman 2-wheeled cart because of something I read, and I'm glad I did. I wore layered clothing which again I read, and it turned out to be a great suggestion as it started out cool and got progressively warmer. As it did, I just threw my extra clothes in the cart. The cart also made a handy place to sit and rest as there really aren't any seating areas. Of course, the cart made hauling anything you picked up easy. It was rather large and being so and helped ckear the way in front as people generally made way when seeing someone with their wagon or cart.
After the first day, I thought I had pretty much seen everything, with only the area to the front and left of the stadium being left. Boy, that was a mistake, that area was huge and with way more vendors than what was in the Orange area. The problem was that I needed to head back on Thursday at a reasonable time, but also after spending 8 hrs walking the day before, I was pretty much done. I would say you definitely need two full days, and likely a third if you want to take your time, or can't walk much.
There were a few specific things I was looking for, and did not find, but it didn't really surprise me as I'm looking for mostly prewar type stuff. I did pick up somethings, but I found prices high for the most part. For instance, I was looking for a large size headlight, of which there were plenty, with plenty being hundreds of dollars. In my first attempt to purchase one, a seller had it marked $25, and I offered $20. He said he wouldn't budge, and would rather wait. I was surprised, as I thought it would be common practice to haggle a bit. Later, I ended up finding one for $15. I was also looking for flathead related stuff, especially aftermarket intakes and heads. I found most of the stuff high priced for what it was. For example, I saw a set of used EdeL brock heads selling for $500. They were still covered in combustion soot and grease, and were not in the best shape cosmetically. What really surprises me is that these vendors put so much time, money, and effort to haul their stuff to these types events, only to haul 90% of it back home time and time again. Even vendors who are supposedly motivated, like widows of collectors, enthusiasts, etc, had high prices on stuff. It really is a bit bizarre if you ask me, but then I thought about it a bit. It really is not about making money, it is about getting together with people that share your interest about all things automotive. I'm glad I went, and plan on going again next year.