Nipomo Swap Meet & Fleamarket

As I walked around I felt a little uncomfortable, not knowing too much Spanish and I was definitely in the minority here. Kind of like at a family reunion and not part of the family. Most of the seller didn’t speak english and had the same junk 99 cents store sells, but cheaper. They did have great prices unusual fresh (ripe) produces. They had alot of mexican food vendors as well as fried pork rinds everywhere you looked. Got some fresh fruit in a cup for $ 6 to eat as I walked around the maze of isles and later a $ 5 burrito I could’ve bought anywhere else and not be curious of the meat inside to open it before eating.

Go on Sunday. Saturdays are super dead so don’t even bother.
Largest flea market I’ve been to but the items are pretty much what you see at other decent flea markets. Lots of food and vendors selling cheap, new clothing, toys, tools, etc. The one unique and kind of neat aspect is the people using mini-​storage units as ad-​hoc storefronts. That’s where you’ll find most of the used, antique, and garage sell type stuff.
Parking is $ 2 but it’s more worth it than the Santa Maira or SLO flea markets IMO.
Don’t go looking for «oil pan alley» thinking you’ll find a bunch of used car parts and the like. When I went I only saw one guy who had a garage full of classic cars, motorcycles, and parts, albeit he probably had the largest space in the whole flea market.

What happened to this place?! I remembered coming here a lot back then and this place would always be packed and lively. The last few times I came, the place was almost like a ghost town! There were very few vendors, very few food carts, and hardly any customers! It was deserted. I’ll probably be visiting the thrift stores and other discount stores from now on or go to the flea markets in Los Angeles.

Horrible, just awful. I had never been here before and was very disappointed paying the $ 2 to park here and see pretty much nothing. Went in the morning on a Saturday very few vendors and even fewer customers. Lots of the same .99 store quality junk way marked up. I think only 1 or maybe 2 food vendors were open. Plus the vendors weren’t very friendly… Save your time/​money and go somewhere else.

Wow went here on a Saturday and the place was practically deserted. Not sure if everyone arrives on Sunday but the swap meet was pathetic. None of the food carts were open and only about a third of the booths were open. Had to pay $ 2 for parking and barely got to see anything. Adding insult to injury, a fire truck and ambulance were in the middle of one of the rows performing CPR on some poor man. We won’t be returning.

i been to the San Jose flea market and it is better but one thing i loved here were the FRESH! churros they had!

Don’t know why people give this place bad ratings. It is what it is, and it’s definitely not a bad place, for what it’s trying to provide. This is the place to get good and rare fruit/​vegetables that you won’t find in some grocery stores, and that can be cheaper than farmer’s market. There is also a lot of snacks and food to choose from. I go once in a while just to walk around. I enter, grab some churros or chips with lemon and hot sauce, and walk around looking at stuff while eating. I never actually buy the items for sale because most of it is either junk or from a business (not like going to yard sales).
In contrast, at the swap meet in SLO, you have higher possibilities of finding good used items, but there’s hardly any food to choose from.

Abysmal, the owners of the swap meet are…*ahem* less than friendly…& the stuff for sale leaves much to be desired. Lame swap meet, save your money & go to the thrift store.

Every weekend after its over, the whole block is TRASHED! Is it so hard to throw your wrappers and diapers away in a trash can?

We stopped here for the heck of it; these kind of places are a lot more fun than snooty farmers’ markets and overpriced antique malls one finds in the more gentrified parts of the central coast.
Ok…this is what we found: lots of used tools in good condition at low prices (my friend picked up a special kind of saw,) garish paintings and grandma’s trinkets (no thanks,) fresh garbanzo beans and guazoncles (a kind of wild broccoli, good with eggs, and hard to find outside of Mexico,) knock-​off sunglasses (pass,) and some good, cheap, vintage jewelry that I had to look long and carefully for.
There’s lots to eat– I had a chile and cheese tamale– and I went home with several bags of spicy garbanzos and pistachios con chile y limon. There was a champurrado vendor, too, so it was corn — overload for me. I guess I’ll just have to kid myself that I walked off all the calories at the swap meet.
BTW– a reviewer mentioned feeling uncomfortable in a predominately Hispanic environment. Although it is easier to haggle if you speak Spanish, don’t worry too much. Nobody is trying to rip you off, and nobody is talking about you, unless you’re a really cute girl!

fair prices and tons of selection! definitely a little uncomfortable though if you are not of hispanic descent. overall, a fun experience though!

Can’t believe I’m the first to review this one. This place is the bomb! Awesome Mexican food, to start with. Cheap too! Lots of trinkets and stuff you really don’t need from south of the border, but you buy it anyways. Everything here is pretty cheap and not too terribly crowded. Parking can be a little bit of a hassle though. Other that that, have a great time!