Source

Quartzsite gearing up for swap meets

Visitors, vendors appear ready to go to market

by David Rookhuyzen - Nov. 30, 2010 12:00 AM

Cronkite News Service

QUARTZSITE - Every winter, vendors descend on this remote patch of desert in western Arizona. Right behind is a flock of RVs, filled with retirees looking for a warm winter and good deals.

For the past few years, the selling and buying has been a little subdued because of the down economy. But Mayor Ed Foster said this year, with the Great Recession officially over, the town is seeing a reversal.

"All the early indicators are that we are ahead this season," Foster said.

Roughly 400,000 winter visitors come to camp around Quartzite, and around a million will pass through to shop at its dozen swap meets, Foster said. By February, RVs will cover the desert for 10 miles in every direction, filled with customers for what's billed as the world's largest swap meet.

So far this fall, street traffic, vendor and visitor permits, and event attendance have been high - all positive signs for the winter to come, Foster said.

First-time vendor Jean Allen said she's optimistic that snowbirds will flock here in large numbers this year, buying her art, decorative boxes and homemade hula hoops.

"It makes me nervous; I have no idea what to expect with the economy," Allen said. "But we were going to come anyway."

Before making the trip, Allen said she was advised that having a variety of products and the right pricing are key to good business at the swap meets.

Larry Muhlhauser, a vendor who has come to sell his wares every winter for a decade, said he expects a good season, but mainly from knowing what to provide cash-strapped customers rather than a rebounding economy.

Muhlhauser once sold gold but dropped it and gravitated toward lower-dollar items such as key chains and earrings because that's where the market shifted.

"We have to reinvent ourselves as vendors and try to meet what they can afford," he said.

Since the majority of his customers are retired vacationers, Muhlhauser said expensive and big-ticket items no longer sell. In past years, he said, vendors tried to sell imported stained glass and jukeboxes but had little success with people living out of their RVs.

Muhlhauser said vendors will be fine even if this year's crowd isn't as large as hoped.

"It's kind of a hit and miss, a dance," he said. "You know, if you miss it this year, you look forward to next year."

Source

Rock, gem show brings chaotic fun to Quartzsite

by Ron Dungan - Jan. 1, 2011 12:00 AM

The Arizona Republic

Each winter, snowbirds, rock hounds, sightseers and bargain hunters descend on Quartzsite for the busy season of gem, mineral and craft shows. The season lasts from November through March, and the biggest shows are in January and February.

The Tyson Wells Rock and Gem Show will get under way Friday and continue through Jan. 16. It will offer everything from rocks to socks.

Well before the show begins, the population of Quartzsite, along Interstate 10 in western Arizona, swells as snowbirds arrive, park their RVs and enjoy the sunshine.

"I think the normal population of Quartzsite is about 3,500 people," said Kym Scott, who organizes the Tyson Wells show. "I've heard the Sheriff's Department estimate that a million people come through here in the winter. Sometimes I kind of think that's a little high, but then you look out in the desert and there are a lot of trailers out there."

The show features a wide variety of items from around the world: onyx from Pakistan, malachite from Africa, agate from Brazil, amber from Colombia and fossils from Morocco.

Other items for sale include pet supplies, firearms, DVDs, CDs, beads, baskets, T-shirts, purses, tools, gloves, crafts and pottery.

"It's complete chaos after the first of the year," said Tony Carnevale of the Quartzsite Business Chamber of Commerce. "It's a big boost to the economy. It's not just the rock show anymore.

"It's almost like eBay - everything's out there."

The show started in the '60s, with people tailgating and trading rocks. Snowbirds started to visit Quartzsite during the winter, and the event grew from there, Scott said.

The recession hasn't much reduced the number of people coming out, Scott said, though sales lagged for a time.

"It hurt a little bit," she said. "We have to do 90 percent of our business in a five-week period."

Nearby Palm Canyon, in the Kofa Mountains, is famous for being the only place in Arizona where native palms grow.

Another attraction is the Hi Jolly Monument, a small pyramid marking the grave of camel driver Hadji Ali, who participated in the military's effort to use camels as pack animals during the 1850s.

Reach the reporter at 602-444-4847 or ron.dungan@arizonarepublic.com.