Swap Meets & Boot Sales - Overview

Includes swap meets, boot sales, flea markets, trash & treasure.

Wikipedia describes a swap meet as a gathering at which enthusiasts or collectors trade or exchange items of common interest. They are often associated with automobile and cars.

Sellers offer merchandise for sale or exchange, and. Prospective sellers are charged a fee for space rental or prospective buyers are charged an admission fee.

Why call it a swap meet?
These markets started out as informal gatherings of collectors looking to clean out their garages or "swap" parts with other collectors who may have something they needed or wanted more. The natural place for such gatherings to occur was at car shows and many of the early markets were associated with major car shows.

Boot sales on the other hand are events where sellers supposedly work out of the boot of there car.

Terminology
In the United States, an outdoor swap meet is the equivalent of a flea market. However, an indoor swap meet is the equivalent of a bazaar, a permanent, indoor shopping center open during normal retail hours, with fixed booths or storefronts for the vendors.

In Britain, swap meets, flea markets and auto jumbles is a gathering of folks wanting to buy and sell cars, parts, collectibles and related materials is a place that serious collectors will go. Even with the rise of the Internet, flea markets remain a major source of commerce for all collectors.

Common
Generally, these events are held outdoors, and become markets if held indoors.

Australia
The self confessed king of swap meets is Graham Rose. Graham Rose has experience as an apprentice panel beater, wrecking yard, retail speed shop, speedway and a national identity in drag racing.

Automotive Swap Meets at Footscray, Cranbourne, Colac, Pakenham Dandenong, Werribee, Geelong and Ballan.

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