| In every community, there’s a “Swap Meet” where collectors from different communities ‘meet up’ and swap some of their collectibles or ‘trade’ their extras for something ‘new’ that they never had. But in the Philippine hobby community, that concept that is overused or mentioned in the by-line of the event doesn’t work.
But none the less, the gathering is from four various groups that have organized this meet-up to celebrate the hobby of die-cast collecting that rarely happens in one venue. Usually, it is hosted in a community center, but given that those do not exist in the Philippines, local groups like this set up a gathering in an automotive showroom. |
Last year, a local group of Matchbox cars enthusiasts had an anniversary gathering at a Toyota showroom. This “Christmas Swap Meet,” is being hosted at the Honda Cars in Manila Bay, which for those who don’t know how to get to the venue by commute will surely get lost unless you have to spend a Grab or Cab ride to get there.
The Carousel buses do not drop off passengers before the stoplight as they stop a few meters at the Walter Mart building before crossing the bridge. It does take a little bit of walking to get to the venue, but once you see the McDonald’s at the stop light take the sharp right and you will see the Honda Cars just across you will not miss it as there’s a pedestrian lane that will take you closer to the venue.
It does take a bit of time to commute to go to this event, but this is not a permanent annual location. It is chosen for this year. The last time these groups did a gathering was inside the second level of a major supermarket last month.
No Swapping, Just Selling
In some ways, those who are used to the concept of a “swap meet” not from the Philippines would understand that kind of concept. But once you have entered the venue all you can see are rows of tables having their wares on display with some having sticker prices already and others not that you need to approach the sellers for price inquiry for the ones you don’t see being sold on retail.
Of course, there are the occasional random toy that looks out of place for a die-cast car collection being sold there too to add some “off-topic” product similar to how a group discussion would be like this in the digital realm of a forum. But the perspective gives you an idea of how people trade their wares and most who just found out of the event usually get lost in all the rare items that are usually fo exclusively as an online product.
Gravity Racing, and What Not
Besides the majority of people trading and selling rare cars that are often being sold in retail, there are other activities at this event. They call it “Gravity Racing” a fancy term for just an inclined orange track with 6-8 lanes for cars to be manually put, and then lined up before setting them loose to see who goes down the fastest.
There’s no gravity in this race other than letting them loose once a lever has been activated to see who the fastest contestant that participated in this race will win. Some categories and competitors are not just limited to Hot Wheels cars but also include a category for Matchbox and other brands like Tomica. The idea of this race is to invite younger kids to get into racing while the adults and parents are busy checking the trade tables to add to their growing personal collection.
It is a Trading Event, Nothing more
It is an interesting type of local gathering for Die-cast Collecting in the Philippines, but there’s not much activity to see when you are hoping so much more. There are missed opportunities like adding a custom event where everyone can vote for the best car custom. But mostly, the lifeblood of this event is nothing more than selling and that is all there is in this event.
There have been familiar faces from the Matchbox Car community who participated in this event that were seen from last year. Besides the usual reason to be in this event, there are food sellers outside the trading area as the closest you can save up to buy food is just across the street at the nearby McDonald’s.
Overall, the atmosphere is great for the community, but for someone who is walk-in, there’s nothing more than wheeling and dealing. It is a different culture when it comes to the social gathering in this country.
But there despite the limited activity and more focus on the selling part, there are hidden gems to find in this event if you’re not limited to the “collector mentality” as you may find some sellers who are great for having a short chat and finding out that it is their first time selling in this event too,
There is still hope for that kind of conversation other than just buying and selling as for someone exposed to what an actual community outside this country this one takes time and patience to find those types of individuals. Hopefully, the next one will be more accessible to a wider crowd as this type of location is not for everyone.
But you will know who is interested and those looking for a community that would accept them into this hobby, until the next one that is.
No comments:
Post a Comment