Hello!
I am hearing disturbing rumors, and I want to set the record straight, so there is no confusion.
Over a year ago, I received a call asking if my wife and I would step in and save the swap meet from shutting down. Since we knew what was at stake and did not want this swap meet to close, we agreed. I had to call in many favors so that we didn’t miss a single weekend. I honestly thought everyone would be thrilled, and over a year later, I am still hearing things that I will address only once.
We are here for the long haul. Twenty years +, and we are not going anywhere. Outside sellers have been spreading false information, as have some of our vendors! Mostly, we ignore it, but when I hear how some vendors want to form a group or a union, I draw the line.
My wife and I have spent a ton of money to rebrand the swap meet and keep it open, all while fighting to keep your booth fees low for over a year and do away with the auction. We have a lot of plans we still have not even begun to implement. We have been running 30-second commercials on Hulu TV for the past six months. We are working with the City to remove the street vendors that are financially hurting the swap meet by profiting from the swap meet but are unwilling to pay to be inside. It’s unethical and unacceptable.
We are not unfair. We also know we have a business to operate and offer a swap meet for you to sell at. When we raise the rates, it is because we have to meet our financial obligations, which are not up for debate or vote. If you choose not to sell with us, we respect that, and there are other swapmeets out there. We feel ours is worth what we charge and will never charge more than what we feel is fair.
Here are some facts:
- Six thousand shoppers attend every single weekend.
- We are consistently 90% sold out every weekend.
- We have an Instagram account that has gone from less than 200 to over 6000 followers in the past year.
- We pay for a videographer and photographer to shoot the swap meet and create a ton of media content to promote the swap meet.
- We did not come in and stir things up. We invited everyone to stay with us.
- We kept the same food trucks
- We lowered the rates.
- We didn’t charge admission for the first few months.
- We warned and then removed vendors who were toxic, broke the rules, or were abusive. Most were warned three times before banning them from returning.
- We are helping over 17,000 college students with the revenue generated by the swap meet.
I want to be very clear about this. We want you to sell with us. We want you to be happy here. We want you to feel as if we listen and respect you. I think we have done that and will continue into the months and years to come. But, if you feel differently, do not waste time with threats of starting a Union or a Group to fight us, as we will simply prohibit you from returning. Sell elsewhere. It’s that simple. We will be fine and will continue to grow as we have and do with our other markets throughout Los Angeles.
In closing, we want to express our gratitude to those who follow the rules, do not instigate or spread false information, and to those who see what we are working toward. Many new residents have moved into the area and have a lot of money to spend but do not know how cool our swap meet is. We are working to bring them in. It’s not that people are spending less it’s that things change. Everything changes. And if you do not change with the times, you may struggle. We want you to succeed and make more money than ever but sometime that requires vendors to adjust and adapt.
We are planning a community event where we invite all the residents in the area to come to experience the New LACC Swap. We will have more on that in the coming weeks. It’s an event I want to have a few times throughout the year.
Bottom line is that our rent is increasing to what it was when Newport was here, yet our reduced non-auction rates only generate about half of what Newport was making. And they bailed on you! We need to generate enough additional income to sustain the swap meet. We can work together and build, or we can part ways, but there is no middle ground. Those vendors who feel entitled or that they run the show can go start their own swap meet and learn first-hand what it takes and how expensive it is. And we wish them all the best. After 33 years of producing events in Los Angeles, we have nothing up our sleeves other than to keep LACC Swap open and build it up to be bigger than before. We are on track and hope you are coming along on our journey.
Thank you for your time.
Phillip
