SJAA Swap Meet is ON!

[Rob Jaworski]

Hello SJAA Members and Friends,
After several years mainly due to the pandemic times, the San Jose Astronomical Association will host a swap meet at its basecamp Houge Park in San Jose.

It will take place from 9am to about noon on Sunday, 15 Sept 2024.

The formal of this swap will be very laissez faire. There won't be much/any overhead such as registration, tracking, etc. There will be a few tables set up in the hall along with some chairs, the doors will swing open and the local amateur astronomy can use this as an opportunity to clean out their astro closets, or pick up a few things that might catch their eye.

Again, doors open at 9am for sellers, buyers and browsers. Everyone will need to wrap up and be out by about noon since the SJAA has a couple of their programs going on at the site a little later in the day.

Hope to see you there!
Rob Jaworski

[Rob Jaworski]

As good ol' DDK recently relayed, That one TAC Astro-Classifieds thread with hundreds of posts on it is gone, pitched, deleted. Don't fret, though, because the SJAA swap meet is resurrected, alive and happening in just 11 days. No malefactors gathering information here.

At the swap, it won't be just a way for your old gear to find new forever homes, but it will be a fine social event, worthy of a mention in the society page. Don't expect folks to be grilling dogs and pouring cola for a buck twenty five (the City will make that happiness too complicated), but it will be a great way to reconnect with your fellow TACos and others. Be prepared for a bit of chaos, though... Carnac the Magnificent predicts a happy free-for-all.

Mark your calendars and plan to come on down the SJAA base camp Houge Park in San Jose's lovely Cambrian neighborhood. Details you need are below.

Rob

[Ted Hauter]

I work Sundays..

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[Mark Wagner]

How long of a history do you think the SJAA Swap has, Rob?  Who remembers the auctions?

[Rob Jaworski]

>  How long of a history do you think the SJAA Swap has, Rob?  Who remembers the auctions?

Good question, Mark. Quick look in the dusty archives suggests that the swap meet has been happening as early as 2010. Probably started way earlier.

Digging around those archives also surfaced this little gem, a history of the SJAA auctions, twenty years' worth (see attached screenshot). This screenshot is from some rando html file sitting around; I don't know where it came from.

While we're on the topic of histories, here's a note that the SJAA celebrates its 70th birthday this year. There's a whole article about it, with a lot of history, in the latest (Sept) edition of the Ephemeris which just hit the newsstands last week. See page 6. (Side note is this is the first edition published by the new production editor, so it's got a fresh look.)

https://www.sjaa.net/about/sjaa-newsletter-ephemeris/

Rob

[Jay Freeman]

I attended nearly all of those auctions, including the first one, and was auctioneer at many -- Kevin Medlock and I used to take turns as auctioneer on alternate years. The first bunch were lots of fun. A common description was "The one day in the year when all the astronomical junk in the south bay area changes garages," but notwithstanding, some very fine stuff occasionally showed up, often including high-end telescopes and eyepieces. Garage-shop vendors would come with unsold inventory, and occasionally we got donations from the likes of Orion or even Celestron.

A full auction took a long time, so the club started having a swap meet on the same day as the auction, preceding it, and only auctioning off the items that remained unsold. These were generally less popular, so many swappers left before the auction proper started, and many auctioned items did not get any bids -- thus things got less fun.

I remember a related event in the 1980s, when the Fremont Peak Observatory Association was just getting started. Celestron donated a huge amount of stuff to the group -- lots of prototype or remaindered telescopes -- and it was sold on a fixed-price basis at an outdoor sale. I myself got a mounted 102 mm f/10 Vixen achromatic doublet (not fluorite or ED) that was rebadged as Celestron, and later bought from someone else a Vixen 90 mm f/9 fluorite OTA that had originally been one of the donations.

-- Jay Reynolds Freeman
---------------------
Jay_Reynol...@mac.com
http://JayReynoldsFreeman.com (personal web site)
>

> <auction-histories.png>

[Ted Hauter]

Nice history Jay!

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[Mark Wagner]

Jay and Kevin were both quite good auctioneers and very entertaining.  Lots of fun.

I'll mention, for those not in the know, Kevin Medlock and wife Deni are the force and builder behind Fremont Peak Observatory.  I believe they were (as was Jay) SJAA members when the FPOA idea was hatched.

Nice to see you here Jay!

[Rajah]

Are these swap meet items better deals of used gear that you find on CN or Astromart? I have never been to one, so curious. Also, is it cash only?

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[Matt Tarlach]

Good question about the cash. I have a few items I hope to bring... Should I set up some kind of app on my phone to accept payment? What are more connected people using these days? I've had a Paypal account for years but have never used it on-the-spot.

It sounds like non-SJAA members are welcome to come sell? Is that correct?

FWIW the main thing I hope to bring is a very nice vintage 60mm refractor, in its original wooden boxes. I've thought to advertise it online, with photos, and tell interested parties to come see/buy it at the swap meet. Would that be ok?

I need to go through my shelves and drawers but will probably have a few other things too---eyepieces, cases, and maybe a Stellarvue M2c mount setup. I haven't decided about selling that one.

---

Matt

[mccart...@yahoo.com]

It's up to the individual seller what form the payment takes.  Cash is king but some might accept check, paypal, zelle...

I'm shopping for a Foucault tester...

Mark

[Joe Lin]

Any guidance on what kinds of things people will typically sell/buy at the swap meet?

Is it more on the order of small cheap things < $50 like adapters/small eyepieces or mid-range $100-$500 like auto-guiders/small refractors or top-end/expensive/large $1000+ like large dobs, SCTs, large mounts.

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[Rajah]

I have the same questions in mind, I have never been to these swap meets before.

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[Jonathan Lawton]

I've been to one of these, probably the last before the pandemic.  There was a range of items, probably most of it was smaller accessory type stuff, but there were definitely "mid-range" items, a GEM mount, an RC scope, an ASI camera that I remember off the top of my head.  I wasn't aware of any large dobs or other equipment generally in the $1000+ range, but I can't say for sure.  That said, I don't think it would have been out of place.  IMO, if you have something astronomy related you want to sell, bring it.  If you might be interested in buying something astronomy related, come by and take a look.  At least for the event I was at, SJAA provided the space, and buyers and sellers came and did their own thing.  It was like the GSSP swap meet from this year, except more people.

Jonathan

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[Camerabooks.com Support]

Hi folks, 

In my experience just bring what astro stuff you don't want anymore, you never know what someone might want, it's an elemental part of the fun of a swap meet. 

Think of the political value of mentioning to your partner you share a home with that "I'm getting rid of some of my astronomy stuff". 

"One person's junk, another person's treasure" absolutely applies. 

If you don't want to schlep your 24" Obsession take a photo of it and put a print of it along with your price on your table and be ready to talk about it. 

Cash works best though some will use PayPal, some will want to use Venmo, Zelle and other forms of payment. Note the recipient of payments via these services will pay a percentage, usually around 1.5-2%.

So again, cash works best. 

The most important suggestion I can make is have everything priced, preferably with a sticker/tape/whatever on the item itself or at least an easy to read list you can show. Do not be the person that has no idea what they want for an item! How long would you stay in a store that didn't have any prices on the merchandise and when you ask a clerk they say "I don't know"?

For research on pricing, look at the CloudyNights and Astromart classifieds but be aware the prices shown are ASKING prices, possibly not what the item actually sold for (possibly lower). Most will expect prices at a swap meet to be lower than those found online, figure no shipping hassle, no payment or listing percentage or cost of an ad, quick deal, etc, all worth something. 

Ebay can be helpful for pricing but be aware you are looking for the amount paid on COMPLETED listings, not asking prices. I can ask $1000 for a 25mm Plossl EP all day long, what matters is what someone has paid. Find the "Completed items" button in the Ebay "Advanced Search" and only pay attention to completed results over the last few months. 

Fun!

See you there!

Tom Duncan 

On Thu, Sep 5, 2024 at 4:10 PM Rajah <mcr...@gmail.com> wrote:

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[Jonathan Lawton]

On Thu, Sep 5, 2024 at 6:28 PM Camerabooks.com Support <sup...@camerabooks.com> wrote:

If you don't want to schlep your 24" Obsession take a photo of it and put a print of it along with your price on your table and be ready to talk about it. 

Alternatively, if anyone is looking to part with a 24", send me an email! :)

Jonathan

[dewc...@gmail.com]

I haven't been at a swap meet in years, 7 I think.   Due to vision issues and migraines from sudden light level changes,  I' have decided to sell off my telescopes, astrophotography equipment.  I just want it to go to a good home.    If I wanted to set up a table, should I bring one or will there be ones available for next Sunday?  

- Dewclaws (aka Rudy)   

[Rob Jaworski]

There will be tables set up, but just remember there are no reservations, registrations or organization to speak of. It may or may not be a good idea to assume availability. With that in mind, you might want to bring your own as a backup.

One may perceive some level of chaos, but everyone will be on their best behavior, coming prepared with pockets full of patience. It should be well attended and it will be good to be able to pair those voices in the dark with faces in the light.

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[Ted Hauter]

If anyone has a Coronado Cemax 12mm, top dollar to you.

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[Shane Raney]

I'll be showing up with a collection of scopes and stuff. Make your best offer.  I can go down to bare bones pricing.   I have to sell due to vision and health issues.  

• Celestron C8 with moonlight focuser.
• Lightbridge 10" Dob with custom rebuild from David Steel.  
• A pair of small misc scopes from Orion Telescope, mini-dob 3" (I think), a small MAC.   
• Orion 8" refractor with Moonlight autofocuser
• iOptron CEM60 Center-Balanced Equatorial Mount  
  
• Filter wheel, filters, other stuff like rings, auto guiders, etc.  
• Lenses and nice custom case. 

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--

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1. break nothing but silence
2. take nothing but pictures
3. leave nothing but footprints
----------------------------------------

[dewc...@gmail.com]

  I'll be showing up with a collection of scopes and stuff. Make your best offer.  I can go down to bare bones pricing.   I have to sell due to vision and health issues.  

• Celestron C8 with moonlight focuser.
• Lightbridge 10" Dob with custom rebuild from David Steel.  
• A pair of small misc scopes from Orion Telescope, mini-dob 3" (I think), a small MAC.   
• Orion 8" refractor with Moonlight autofocuser
• iOptron CEM60 Center-Balanced Equatorial Mount  
  
• Filter wheel, filters, other stuff like rings, auto guiders, etc.  
• Lenses and nice custom case. 

[Shane Raney]

I have no idea why that was posted twice under two different email addresses.  

[Shane Raney]

Correction, the 8" refractor is a 102mm APO.  I'll attache pictures if needed.  

[Jonathan Lawton]

Hi Shane,

I replied directly re: 10" dob, just checking you got it?

Jonathan 

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[Ted Hauter]

Ebay had my cemax for a deal!

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[Tan usa1]

CEM60.. Interesting, maybe I should trade my GEM45

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[Christopher Schantz]

Just wanted to thank everyone who had a hand in organizing this event and all the sellers.  I attended as a shopper only, and I had a great time chatting and found some very nice stuff.  

I'm not an SJAA member, but I think I will be joining soon if for no other reason to keep having opportunities to interact with some of the cool folks I met (in spite of the fact that someone at the swap meet must have been covertly slipping complementary boxes of cloudy weather into people's bags haha).

Rob, thanks so much for announcing this event here.  Your information was more current than even the SJAA website (which to my knowledge, still has no mention of this event - just a cancelation notice for 2020's swap meet)

Best

-Chris

[Rob Jaworski]

Thanks for the kind words, Chris (and others who reached out directly). The event was a total success. Lots of people we haven't seen in years, and updates about others we haven't heard from for even longer. The social aspect was probably more appreciated than anything. It was for me.

We intentionally didn't broadcast it more broadly because the thought was that this here first one (in a long time) should be targeted to the more 'serious' amateur astronomers rather than the general public.  That might change in the future, we'll see.

Though nothing is committed nor confirmed, the next one may be in the spring, say, March timeframe.

Rob

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