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I use ebay for selective buying but flea markets and swap meets for browsing and self-forgotten rummaging.

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Sometimes I'm even tempted to buy parts for cars I don't own and I like it to burrow through despised boxes from local occasional vendors. I try to understand the function of unknown parts or in the best case to recall their origin. BTW, contrary to popular belief dealers often like it when you rummage through their bargain bins since customers attract customers.
To exchange experiences, listen to the old stories, to have a long close look at something you haven't seen for thirty years, to eat a bratwurst and breath air without choking tie, all that means flea market to me. Ebay is a faceless buying source.

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I have been a vendor at Auto swap Meets for years. The problem since Ebay has come out is that customers now base all their pricing & ease of shopping against the stuff you haul to the swap meet. I hear these phrases the most at my booth nowadays:

"I'd buy it, but than I'd have to haul it around all day. I'll buy it online, they can drop it off at my door."

"I can buy that on Ebay for less."

"I saw a nicer one on Ebay."

"You're asking too much. You can buy them online for $____."



I think alot of it is just people wanting to get you to come down on price, but a fair amount is probably true.

I find that big bulky items sell better now, because shipping those would cost alot. Fenders, Wheels, and body panels sell better than the smaller stuff. I still enjoy having a booth though. Seeing the people, talking with other hobbyists, and seeing the car community is still worth it to me even if I don't sell enough to pay for the booth/parking.

I must admit i do most of my shopping for Packard parts on ebay. I have had good luck with items being well described and the shipping has by been very good. Most sellers I have dealt with packaged the items very well. I must admit to have been burned on occasion by not reading the fine print of buying parts without researching and buying the wrong part. My fault in those cases.
I attend only one or two of the auto show/flea markets per year and sometimes none since both are about 10-12 hour drives away in Wisconsin. The Barrie Car Show and Flea Market is big as well and in Ontario where I live but still about 900 miles away. Packard parts are becoming very scarce at Iola and Jefferson so I mostly go to look at the cars, the car corral or browse the aisles for tools and to just mingle with other car enthusiasts and look over the tables with assortments of old parts looking for that elusive and increasingly rare Packard item.