Tales from the Swap Meet: Cufflink jackpot hit but only after blood, sweat, and HAGGLING!

Part of my usual Sunday routine is to wake up relatively early, wake the daughter, and dress for the Vegas Swap Meet. The daughter always accompanies, as she is a rather serious collector of vintage My Little Pony toys, specifically those that pre-date 1990 (also known as G1). Unlike many swap meets that I have attended in other states, the Vegas swap meet is not really an early riser meet (in Orange County, CA, getting there after 8AM is like arriving to a department store at 10 minutes to closing). In Vegas, however, getting there before 8 is pretty pointless, as most vendors haven't even arrived yet.

We usually get there around 9AM, and many are still setting up. We usually stay for 2 hours (give or take) and walk the used goods vendors up and down to scour for anything we want (but most certainly don't need).

I have been going to swap meets since a very young age, the exact year of which I have no idea. My father was a big fan of them, as was my mother, and some of my earliest memories was walking the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet in Honolulu, Hawaii (where I spent most of my Summers and holidays as a small child). And I wanted to share the enjoyment I get from the hunt and the haggling with my own children and teach them the art of the haggle (AKA negotiation).

Honestly, my favorite part of the entire swap meet experience is not really the acquisition of the vintage pieces or the hoarder mindset of massive accumulation breeds utopia. It is the haggling. I LOVE the haggling.

Let's face it, when collectors venture to a swap meet, they do not NEED anything there. They are not going there to pick up groceries, fix their household plumbing, or educate their child on Algebra, they are going there to shop and find some treasures. Those treasures come at a cost, and many people go there and having been born and raised in a traditional American brick and mortar retail environment, they inquire as to the price of something and choose to buy it or not. The reality is that by doing so, they are denying themselves the very opportunity that they are presumably giving their most vital time and effort to achieve. Paying the price that is quoted is Swap Meet Felony #1. Don't be that guy.

I have NEVER, in my life of attending swap meets, paid the initial asking price for ANY collectible of any kind at a swap meet. Now, to be clear, I do not always buy the item I am interested in either. You have to be prepared, mentally, to walk away. Period.

I have walked away from a non-haggeling vendor plenty of times. Sometimes, the vendor chases me down the aisle, item in hand, offering me the item for the price I offered. In at least a few times, they even offered less.

Today was different. Today, I actually voluntarily paid MORE for a bundle of items than the price that the seller offered. Yes, you read that right. He offered me a bag of cufflinks for $5. It had about 8 pairs of matched links, mainly from the 1960's and 1970's. I told him I would pay him $7, and he actually denied the offer, but then relented and accepted it.

Yes, of course there is a backstory. I have been going to this swap meet for a couple years now. I have gotten to know certain vendors and always try to introduce myself to the new ones (obviously excluding the single weekend, fly-by-nighters). This particular vendor had been promising me that he had been accumulating cufflinks for quite a while, but he had stopped bringing them to the meet as no one was buying them. I can see why. The swap meet is not really a cufflink crowd. It is more the car mechanic and landscaper demographic that is much more interested in tools and kitchen equipment versus cufflinks. However, I am the exception to the rule, and after getting to know this guy, we finally were able to rendezvous when he brought his bag of links and I brought my wad of rubber-banded, small denomination bills (in Vegas parlance, this is known as a "stripper roll"). He offered the bag for $5 and I raised the price on the condition that he would continue to seek out cufflinks for me in his travels, of which he heartily agreed. He said that the main reason he gives me such good deals is that I am very nice and fair in my dealings. I appreciate the compliment, and it is certainly another one of my Swap Meet tips: kill them with kindness.

After I procured those, I crossed the aisle and went head to head with a vendor that I had never worked with before. He had 23 pairs of vintage links, mainly all Swank and Hickock. He attempted to quote $10-$15/pair. He was young and obviously testing me. I evaluated the situation and decided I had to go for the full court press. This was not going to be a smile and a handshake deal. This one was going to require work.

I had to think on my feet and take the offensive. I immediately started talking, and talking fast. Dropping every cufflink collector detail that I could muster from the founding of Swank, the number of Swank cufflinks produced during the heyday, the street versus online value, the historical differentiation in trade prices, the current market, the holiday influence, etc. I literally filibustered him with information and told him that at BEST, he should thank his lucky stars if I were willing to pay $3/set.

He huffed a little, but once I pulled out the stripper roll, he knew I was serious. He threw out a number. $180 for the entire lot (I made it clear upon first engagement that I would only discuss his cufflink display as selling as one unit, not as individual pieces).

I countered at $50, and reiterated that it was a gift, and even offered my iPhone, with eBay app on the screen, to show him going rates. He came back at $80. I said $60, and he came back at $70. I noticed a couple tie bars, and we shook hands at $73.

At $73, this was the most I have ever spent on a cufflink lot, whether it be live or online. However, at less than $3/set, I was happy with the purchase.

What is the morale of the story? Don't ever pay the asking price at a swap meet for collectibles. Walk away if that is the only option. And if you decide to walk away, don't look back. The crap will still be there next week, though it may be a slightly different color or be from a different year. Doesn't matter. Just don't pay asking price. Period.

Thanks for reading everyone! My daughter is learning the art of the haggle in her own right. I was proud to see her going back and forth with a woman today over a G1 MLP. Daughter got it for $1.50. Asking was $4. Brings a tear to my eye. :')