The Swap Meet

The swap meet is a place where some products are reborn and others go to die.

As a kid I ran wild at the swap meet in search of knock off GI Joe’s, Transformers and survival knives that looked liked Rambo’s with a large blade, compass, fishing line and waterproof matches that fit snug inside the tube like handle.  I was too young to buy a knife, but the more free spirited vendors let me wave it around a bit.  All the while pitchmen demonstrated their amazing vegetable slicers and dicers, miracle stain treatment solutions and simple yet affective body toning equipment where a person can squeeze, pull and sweat themselves thin.

As an adult I forgot about the swap meet and my childhood adventures, but began revisiting them while searching for old bottles to write about then place inside my conceptual art in a way that adds new meaning to the world.

There were two swap meets that I used to hit up.  A swap meet North of the city of San Diego and a swap meet South of the city.  In the North I found different bottles here and there; I never found any bottles at the Southern swap meet, I found something else.  I found that the consumers and vendors were different.

The products sold at the two swap meets are a reflection of the seller and consumer.  In the North you’re more likely to find vintage goods bought or traded from one place and brought to the swap meet by a regular vendor, where there is a market for nonfunctioning collectibles.

10 miles South things change, Spanish becomes the dominant language and there is an old Quonset hut at the entrance filled with different food vendors.  I always hit up the area where they sell fruit sliced with salt, lime and chili powder.  Young women smile behind the counter while preparing Mexican flavored fruit as old men enthusiastically explain why their fruit is the best inside the Quonset hut.  Items for sale at the Southern swap meet are more sporadic.  Venders sell used tools, clothes and whatever else was lying around that might bring in an extra dollar or two.

With all of their differences both swap meets revolve around a common principle, competitive capitalism.  Capitalism like all things has evolved, from competitive capitalism, to monopoly capitalism, to global capitalism, one system out muscling the next. (Ross & Trachte, 1990, p. 11)  Competitive capitalism is the earliest form of capitalism. It’s based on the principle that businesses thrive or die based on a demand for their products.

At the swap meet you can see the wheels of this early system turn and interact with it through bartering with vendors until a price is agreed upon.  The art of bartering is a funny little dance, it goes back and forth and at times has a pause, pleading and a move called, “The walk away,” before a price can be agreed upon.

Out of all the ways to make a dollar, to earn it through competitive capitalism has to be the hardest.  There is no stability, benefits or guarantees.  With all the hardships of making money with this system, there is always the availability of work for all who desire it; the swap meet does not discriminate against age, color or creed. Many of the vendors share a likeness to their products, stained with the patina of time and use.  They drive their products to market, setup, sell, pack up and drive away.

The swap meet is a place where some products are reborn and others go to die.