Sunset Swap Meet

I’m a fan for both personal and business. I have been there for personal, lots of great things to choose from and the food vendors that come are great! For business side of it (Fly Buy Phone Fix), we enjoy the ease of getting a spot and the fact that you can either call ahead to reserve or just go and take the first come first serve spots. Lots of great people and it’s enjoyable no matter which you are going for, personal or business.

This is a true swap meet and it goes full spectrum. It ranges from yard sale sellers to more commercialized venders. I love picking through the stuff, getting some food, and just having a leisurely good time. The parking isn’t perfect, but whatever, I thoroughly enjoy it and prefer it to more commercialized venues.

I would rate this swap meet 3.5 to 4 stars (I am very critical of everything) but find a couple reviews to be unfair. If you are looking for the San Jose «everything is new and like an outlet center» type of swap meet, or indoor shops that call themselves a swap meet, this is not the right place. If you love garage sales and thrift shops, you will love it here. I sell here somewhat regularly and have seen things go up and down. It is different almost every time. Yes, there are regular dealers that grab their same space every week, but there is so much variety in the other spaces that you can find some real bargains.
I have been to a huge variety of swap meets and flea markets local and outside our area, and find this one to be run like just about all other basic swap meets. Yes, they charge for buyers, but so do Nipomo and Santa Maria. It is not uncommon to charge entry. If you need parking inside, get there early. Gates open about 6 am (or earlier) and you can be sure of getting a parking space if you go early. If you are selling, get there well before 8 am to get a space on busy days. Get there early just to be sure.
Check it out and there will probably be lots of stuff you will like. Don’t look for all new vendors. One of the nice things is that there are «junk» and home yard sale sellers there for lots of variety. You will also find antiques, fruits and vegetables, music, and clothing at some new merchandise dealers. Don’t sell it short, it is a fun place to shop when I am not selling, and I have found things I am looking for almost all the time.

You know I like swap meets, just not this one. This place is a circus, and charging you anything to get in is a crime. What are they charging you for, it sure isn’t the parking because there is none. You can park in the small narrow dirt lot along the front of the area and bottom out your car in the huge holes, or park half a mile down the street. If your into buying junk go to garage sales instead and save some sanity.

Gather up all the things that won’t sell at a yard sale and that’s what you’ve got here at the Swap Meet. For a $ 1 admission you can take a stroll through the near empty parking lot and pick through cheap junk, used shoes and other unidentifiable items.

Even 10 years ago, this was a place to take all those treasures you cleaned out of your garage and sell them to nice local people who would find treasures in your trash.
Fast forward to today. The Sunset Swap Meet is nothing less than Little Tijuana right here in SLO.
Forget using the bathrooms, you’d be better off finding a tree and it would be cleaner. The last time I went, there was nothing but cheap plastic junk from Mexico and China, being sold by and to, people with huge rolls of cash who didn’t speak a word of English.
What happened to the Great American Swap Meet? It must have died an unnatural death while we were raising kids and working. So sad.