Kimberly Kobey Pretto, who runs Kobey’s Swap Meet, says ‘garage sales are more appealing to everyone now because people are looking for bargains.’ | Photo by Stephen Whalen

Sharon Ramsey used to sell collectibles, including rock star memorabilia, on eBay, but when she saw revenue declining in the fall she decided to try her hand at Kobey’s Swap Meet in Point Loma.

Ramsey, an Escondido resident who makes her living as a ghost writer, said her workload has softened in the current economy, so she heads to Kobey’s on Sports Arena Boulevard once or twice a month to supplement her income.
The collectibles are nearly gone.

But she’s turned her attention to what she calls “curbside alerts” — used goods that people list under the “free stuff” category on Craigslist, a popular Web site that runs classified ads free of charge.

Often their homes have been foreclosed, they’ve already held a moving sale and the window to pick up the leftover items is short.

“A lot of people are out trying to make a few extra dollars,” Ramsey said. “It’s better than sitting around the kitchen table and worrying.”

According to Kimberly Kobey Pretto, president of the family-run business that has operated the swap meet since it got its start at the Midway Drive-in Theatre in 1976, Ramsey has plenty of company.

In 1980, after the drive-in was torn down, the operation was moved to the parking lot of the San Diego Sports Arena.

When times are good, vendors selling new and handcrafted items outnumber garage sale merchants. The split changes during downturns, however, and is now about 50-50, Pretto said.

Of benefit to the sellers, the change has brought more shoppers out.

Garage Sales More Appealing

“I think garage sales are more appealing to everyone now because people are looking for bargains,” said Pretto, the daughter of the late Monte Kobey, who founded the Kobey Corp.

In 2006, attendance stood at 824,000, then dropped slightly to 798,000 in 2007, but picked back up to 801,000 last year.

Between January and mid-March, attendance totaled 180,000, up by 40,000 from the same period last year.