High-Tech Swap Meet Gets Personal

First came the personal computer. A short time later came the first personal computer swap meet.

They’re not really swap meets in the traditional sense. Nobody will trade a computer and a printer for two cows and a bale of hay, but people who attend them say that if you know what you’re looking for, there are some real bargains to be found.

“A person can probably save 10% here over a regular store,” said John Carter, who was manning a booth at the monthly Devonshire Downs computer swap meet in Northridge. He said many dealers show up for “referrals and to spread the word about their products.”

Inside the giant barn-like swap meet building near Balboa Boulevard and Devonshire Street are row after long row of merchants--averaging 120 per meet--hawking everything from blank diskettes, games and computer boards to screens, peripherals and entire computer setups.

According to Michael Marinelli, account executive for the Northridge show, 2,500 to 3,000 people will buy a $5 admission ticket for the swap meet.

“I’m toying with the idea of buying a modem,” Marvin Walters of Agoura said as he browsed the long aisles. “The ability to work out of my home and send information to the office intrigues me, so I came to look around and see if there’s anything here I can’t live without.”

One of the booths Walters stopped at was AJ Computer Supplies, which had tables crammed with modems, mouses, extended memory cards and keyboards.

AJ’s Pat Robinson said: “People just want to see what’s available and what’s new in the market. There’s definitely a little give and take here, and we have fun haggling a little bit over prices.”

“Anyone who rents a booth here has to have a business license,” Marinelli said. “We want to make sure if someone comes here to buy something, it turns out to be a safe investment.”