Kobey’s Swap Meet

I was hoping to see some really cool stuff and empty whatever I had in my wallet. But it was just… meh. Parking was free and we were able to find parking super fast. If you checked in on Unilocal admission is $ 1. You get what you paid for so I guess that was fine. So we start walking around and Im like, «ok looks alright so far…» Vendors with Hats, sunglasses, purses, artwork, army surplus, household items, cheap toys, and some old things you’d see in a garage sale. So not really good quality. As you walk further into the Swap Meet you see the same kind of vendors selling the same things. You feel like you’re walking circles. There were some vendors I thought, «where did they steal those from?» And Swap Meets aren’t complete without vendors who sell those counterfits. I don’t think I’ll be back, you’ll just add more junk in the trunk.

I was actually looking forward to coming here. More than half of the swap meet is people selling their junk. It just felt like a really large garage sale. The stalls that were actually selling stuff was pretty good. I bought a curling wand for 20 bucks. Roughly about the same as buying one at Target. My sister in law got some lip stains that look like they have amazing staying power. I’m excited to hear back how those worked out for her.
Not sure if I would come back though. I like that it costs 2 bucks to get in but if you check in on Unilocal then it’s only one dollar. Parking is free which is nice. If you like going to garage sales then this is the place for you!

If you want a swap meet that is still grungy and offers treasure troves of junk, produce, plants and interesting friendly characters… come here! Our family visits San Diego frequently, and this is simply a fun morning at just $ 2 a person. The bathrooms are to be avoided and parking can be sketchy… but worth the adventure.

Hey its not an artisan vendor market, it’s mostly junk and «stuff». I like to fish and I go to see «my guys». Two in particular that are there all the time. Arturo in Stall D7 or 9 (look on the ground for the row letters. And Kevin — find him by the red shark flag up on a tall pole. Arturo sells mostly used fishing gear along with coins, bills and knives. Keven is mostly new stuff that are copies of the big name brands like Shimano. He has lots of flatfall type lures and terminal tackle along with the occasional used reel or rod. Both are good guys with reasonable prices.
If you’re nice most sellers will negotiate price. Bring a hat and water because there is a lot of walking involved.

Kobey’s swap meet is one of the best places to go to in San Diego when you want to just look around for some good bargains.
The entrance fee is $ 2, but if you look inside of a free magazine called «The Reader» outside of some liquor stores around San Diego, there is a coupon that gets you a dollar off so the entrance fee.
Also, if you check into Kobey’s swap meet on here you can also get $ 1 off the entrance fee. That’s a pretty sweet deal to me!
Whenever I go, I love buying some good looking sunglasses (2 for $ 10). The prices are different at different booths, but they’re all pretty much around the same price range.
The mini cinnamon donut bites are sooo good! You have to buy them. They’re located in the middle of the swap meet, along with the delicious lemonade!
Today I bought 2 pairs of sunglasses, a nice wallet, a small workout fanny pack, a visor for when I go hiking, a $ 5 slightly used good condition tripod, and some yummy Mexican candies. It sounds like a lot, but it really wasn’t all that pricey! The most expensive thing would have had to be the nice wallet because it looks like it’s straight from an actual store. I probably spent about less than $ 40 all together, which isn’t all that bad because of the amount of stuff I bought.
Another small tip would be to bring a bunch of cash! More than three-​fourths of the booths only accept cash, some vendors have the square to use a credit/​debit card, but rarely do any of them use that.
Also, it does get pretty hot walking around on the black parking lot, so be prepared for the heat!
One man’s trash might just be another man’s treasure.

We come here as a family every time we can, Saturday or Sunday. What I like shout coming here is that you never know what curiosity and amazing items you will find. We collect precious gems, Mayan and Aztec décor. My husband looks for anything from hunting, fishing, or anything he might not even be looking for lol. My kids look for parts for traxxas, games and books. You can come here and walk. dazing off.chilling. .
I love that it doesn’t get packed. to the point that you are overwhelmed by walking in crowded hallways…
Ohhh lemme tell you about the plants!!! You can find unique plants. small to large and soooooooo many to choose from… the hard thing is making your mind up.
Let’s see what we find next time we go… I will update the posting with pictures of some of the items I have found here!!!
Don’t miss out on kobeys!!!

Pretty confused about the high ratings for this place… It’s mostly just junk people are selling or cheap lead-​laden products from China. I’m used to Orange County swapmeet so maybe I’ve been spoiled but yeah wouldn’t come back unless I’m looking for junk.

I love Swap Meets! Kobey’s is one of my favorites because it’s so huge. Not only that it has such a wide variety of venders both new and vintage. I’ve bought so many things from sports equipment, phone accessories, and bikes to really good fruit and mexican candy.
Its also fairly clean and they have ample parking. If I were you though, I’d park by the Chick Filet because parking closer to the entrance can get pretty crazy between the pedestrian traffic and cars.
Will definitely go back again! Especially for the tangerines and oranges!

I found a 20 foot table of awesome household items! Any item was $ 5.Blankets, irons, blenders, electric kettles, toasters, thermos travel mugs, heaters, curtains, tons of kitchen gadgets and more. It’s like Bed, Bath and Beyond, only waaaaay cheaper! I love this booth!!!

It wasn’t that big, only thing i bought was a pair of socks lol. I did want to buy a used Super Nintendo but didn’t get the chance to.
I’ll prob come back next time I’m down here.

This is a pretty fun swap meet to hit up if you get inspired to go antiquing, want to buy a little robotic yapping dog, or anything else random. There’s actually quite a good variety of goods being sold. Admission is $ 2 (or $ 1 with the Unilocal check in offer) and being that it’s about half of the Sports Arena parking lot, it’s a fairly large place and will probably take you a good 2 – 3 hours to actually through and check out every booth.
If you get hungry, there’s a couple snack booths with kettle corn and lemonade. I made the mistake of drinking way too much lemonade and had to take a trip to the on-​site porta-​potties to play an exciting game of porta-​potty roulette. Choose wisely, because you never know what you’re going to find in there.

Theres no better way to spend a sunny Saturday than a visit to the flea market. Two dollars gains you entrance to hours of fun. With steel drums playing in the background I bought an antique tray, several healthy cactus plants, and a cheesy wind spinner for my backyard. When I thought I was done I ran into a lady selling bakelite bracelets. I do love the clinking sound of beautiful bracelets on my arm so I bought three as they were a good price. Score! You can find almost anything you’re looking for here and some things you wish you hadn’t seen (dirty foam hair rollers and a very used bra) but even then it keeps you talkin’! Love this place!

Buying other people’s trash for way less than what they paid.
Who could not love a flea market?
Food stands and port-potty’s also make for a better shopping experience.

NOT BAD!
Heard about this place from my friend a while back and I have been wanting to pay the swap meet a visit. I’ve been to the Aloha Swap Meet in Hawaii and also to the San Jose Flea Market and I was hoping it would be something like those two markets. Kobey’s is super small compared to other swap meets or flea markets but it’s not a bad idea to come pay it a visit. There’s not that many vendors so it won’t even take that long.
ADMISSION:
FRIDAY $ 1
SATURDAY & SUNDAY: $ 2
*CHECK IN ON Unilocal AND GET $ 1 OFF
HOURS: 7am-​3pm
PARKING:
Park across the street near Target to save on parking even though they do not recommended this ha ha! YOU GOTTA DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO!
The swap meet has a number of vendors who sell art, used items, clothing, etc.
There is this one stall that sells random items that people have abandoned in their storage units. Everything on the blue tarp is 25 cents a piece! WHAT A STEAL! Yeah, it’s weird going through dead people’s junk but hey, you never know what treasure you might find!
I was able to dig up two Boyz II Men CDs and the Juno DVD all for 75 cents total! WHAT A STEAL WHAT A DEAL!
You’ll also find vendors who sell throwback items such as beanie babies, toys from back in the day, nintendo and other video games. Definitely worth the visit!

So you really have to look and commit to at least three hours if you are looking for treasures. My friend and I went a few months ago looking for vintage items. What you will find here is everything from brand new items, to complete junk, to some antique and vintage items. If you are looking for sunglasses this is your place. If you are looking for old tools this is your place. You can even find various plants. I even thing that I didn’t find was water. There is. Chick fil a on the other side of the parking lot but you’d have to leave and come back in. We had a good time digging through bins and boxes. The price is pretty low too. Used to he you could find a coupon in the paper to discount it a little more.

We came early to get a parking close by. With Unilocal check in $ 1 off on Saturday and Sunday. I will definitely be coming back to use that. They have a plethora of random junk; from surfboards, suitcases, star wars toys and random yard sale items. I didn’t see any numbers in the rows so I may have passed through same aisle twice lol! I ended up just buying pink Japanese umbrella for those sunny days in San Diego. I am sure if we stayed longer I could easily buy more junk. I especially like the ones that sell yard items because you never know what you can find.
We came early for the donuts. We got the ones with cinnamon, but you can also get powdered donut. They were small enough to just pop in your mouth. I didn’t get a chance to try the freshly squeezed lemonade, have to try it next time! My parents ended up buying some Xmas gifts like Beatles puzzles & star wars toys

I liked it overall and would give it another star, but I also felt there were some missing elements.
There are generally two type of vendors here… one’s who focus on a very specific theme — brand new knives, mobile phone bling, sunglasses, etc. The other group offers a collective garage sale, full of misc. used stuff. Both types are great, depending on your needs.
However as a fan of swap meets around the country, I felt it was lacking in vendors offering highly curated/​unique/​arts stuff. For example, there was one guy selling kinda unique/​kinda distressed furniture that he’s seemingly reclaimed, repainted in a shabby chic way, but every other vendor of furniture was offering stuff that seemed to be found in back alleys.
It is what it is, and I’ll definitely be back when I need some cheap sunglasses or a machete. But I won’t find the guy who makes really cool metal and tile patio furniture. He’s at a swap meet in Phoenix.

Finally got a chance to come here while visiting San Diego fro Comic Con. I love trolling at swap meets and looking for some stuff I really don’t need but want to buy. This place is big! It can take over an hour to really go through everything. I usually am looking for vintage games, this place has a lot to offer, but most of the sellers know what they have.
Keep in mind if you come here and its sunny out to wear some sunblock. This place in the summer can you cook you up good. I’m a little bummed that the «beer gardens» is not open. I mean what swap meet is not complete without an ice cold brew while you dig through random items. CHEERS!

Such a cheap fun way to spend the day with your family! We had a homeschool day where my kids got to learn all about money and running out of it!
I have to admit I was even impressed with the cleanliness of the Port-o-potty’s! what can I say we were there a while!
We did not really have an agenda but we managed to fill the car up anyways!

I always enjoy stopping by this swap meet. You can usually find the regular fair of vendors selling sunglasses, cell phone accessories, games, clothing of various sorts. Food items and household goods.
I typically enjoy seeing the vendors that are selling odds and ends random stuff. Since you never know what kind of treasure that you will find. Even if you do not find something to buy, I usually find memories of my past because I see an item that reminds me of something from my past or my ancient past.
Pricing is typically pretty fair. If you check in on Unilocal,you also get $ 1 off the entry fee. Not a bad deal for the entertainment value that I get out of coming here.
Parking can sometimes get funky where they have certain entrances blocked off due to an event at Valley Center. And in general, I think that the parking lot is set up in a not so friendly manner.