RETAIL : New Indoor Swap Meet Houses 540 Merchants, Bargains

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas--and, sure enough, Orange County’s bargain hunters have a brand-new place to search for cut-rate goodies: the Orange County Indoor Swap Meet.

The collection of merchants, located at Warner Avenue and Harbor Boulevard in Santa Ana, is the latest to join the county’s growing number of indoor swap meets. Already, there are at least half a dozen in Orange County.

What makes the Orange County Indoor Swap Meet different is its sheer size. The 130,000-square-foot building houses stalls for 540 merchants--roughly double the size of its biggest competitors.

By contrast, the Indoor Swap Meet of Stanton, which opened one year ago, has 200 stalls. The Santa Ana Indoor Swap Meet, which opened about two years ago, houses 60 to 70 vendors at Harbor Boulevard and Fairview Street.

By offering a wide variety of merchandise in an indoor setting, owner Ron Hay hopes to attract more affluent shoppers from Newport Beach, Irvine and as far away as Fullerton and Anaheim. “People don’t have to deal with the rain and the wind. If they’re buying clothing, it’s more comfortable inside a building, where they’re not standing under the sun and dust.”

Like any swap meet, one of the big advantages is that most of the merchandise is off-price. Swap meets can usually offer lower prices because of the vendors’ low overhead, lack of customer service and no-return policies. According to Hay, the Orange County Indoor Swap Meet is offering higher quality items--sometimes with brand names--at bargain prices.

For the vendors, being in an indoor setting means not having to set up shop early in the morning, then pack everything up again at night. “You can leave merchandise in the store and not have to get up at 4 or 5 in the morning to set up. Plus, you can have a little bit nicer booth and make it more like your own personal store,” said Tim Williams, owner of Sharper Stuff, which sells high-tech toys.

Merchants pay for the privilege--it costs at least double to rent space at the Orange County Indoor Swap Meet than it would at most outdoor malls. A 10-foot-by-10-foot stall rents for $55 to $60 a day, for example, contrasted with stalls at small outdoor swap meets than can go for as little as $10 to $15 a day.

But retailers apparently believe it’s worth the pricey rent. The swap meet--which opened two weeks ago--is already filled and there’s a waiting list for space.

“It’s a great chance to be in a location with more than 500 vendors--and there are thousands of people going by each weekend,” said Alan Greenberg, co-owner of Buy-It-Rite, a general merchant.

The Orange County Indoor Swap Meet is open Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. until Dec. 9, when it will open weekdays through Dec. 24. Admission for customers over 12 is $1.