While the event attracted a record 150 stand holders, with 2500 people through the gates, most admit that coming to a swap meet is as much about socialising as it is about making money.

For Warragamba-based swap meet veterans Rob (Freck) Pallister and his son Rob Pallister the Orange get-together has proved the perfect opportunity to catch up with some old friends.

Since Friday afternoon the pair had been “wheeling and dealing” with other stall holders and sitting around their fire pit huddled under a makeshift tent with their camp stretchers nearby.

“Yeah, she’s a rough old home, but she didn’t take long to build,” said Mr Pallister senior.

Along the way the men also hope to sell off some of their varied range of bric-a-brac including saddles and blacksmith’s tools.

Mr Pallister senior lists among his most valuable items an 1942 army field telephone, with a price tag of $80, and a “very rare” horse clipper which he’ll reluctantly sell for $400.

According to Mr Pallister senior, items at the top of swap meet buyers’ wish list are enamel signs and old axes; “axes are big things for collectors at the moment”.

Also from Warragamba, Sherril Kane admits that she doesn’t care if she doesn’t sell anything; a swap meet’s a chance have a break away the mundane routine of everyday life.

Mrs Kane’s stall includes a “collection of her granddaughter’s old stuff and lots of old books that I’ve finished reading”.

“The men seem interested in the car parts but I sell a lot of books. To be honest I usually buy more than I sell.

“In the end we usually end up making enough money to pay for our petrol to get us here and back,” she said.

Brian Foxell, who has travelled from Ipswich in Queensland, has managed to sell a lot of oil lamps and camp ovens during the day but he also admits to having bought more than he has sold; and he’s worried about finding room to cart home his old gates and an assortment of tools.

“That’s just what happens in this game,” said Mr Foxell.