Size, Selection, Support and Price
Swap Size - This is not your normal school PTA or ski patrol supported small swap. We have been in business for 35+ years at Newport and 5 years before that at Tyee Middle School. In 2022, we grossed over $750,000. We hope to sell well over $850,000 again this year. We will have nearly 10,000 inventory items neatly arranged in over 17,000 square feet of space.
SIZE of our advertising budget - Don't be fooled by the expensive full page ads of the commercial sales/swaps. They also have large facility and staffing costs. They will need to recover these costs somehow. We spend way less on advertising, very little on facilities and staff. The shops do pay employees to help you find gear. This adds up to big savings for you.
EQUIPMENT - We have hundreds of snowboards (400+, 100 feet of racks) and skis (1000+, 480 feet of racks), over 1000 pair of ski boots, over 1000 pairs of poles, 500+ helmets, 1000+ gloves. We have many accessories such as thermal underwear, socks, gloves, hats, goggles, bindings, ski, sb and gear bags, car racks, and more. Most items are arranged by gender/age and size. One stop shopping. We have a lot of children's gear each year.
ACCESS - We try to make this a quick and pleasant experience by providing free parking ($8-15 at commercial swaps), free entry ($12-20 at commercial swaps), lots of space to shop, and with lots of help and quick service.
CUSTOMER HELP - We have experienced technicians from 7 Washington snowsport shops as well as professional instructors to assist your purchases. We have as many as 120 volunteers working at all times helping with all aspects of the swap, such as security, inventory management, problem solving, cashiers, etcetera. We are serious about making this your best ski or snowboard purchasing experience. In case of a Problem of any kind, see the Problem/Help desk at the Main Gym (skis/snowboards), northeast entry door.
ONE STOP FAMILY SHOPPING - We outfit entire families. You can buy used gear (40% of our inventory), nicer and nicer each year as the kids grow older or new gear (60%). For high school ages, there is Intermediate to Advanced equipment. There is also current year, new, high performance gear for serious kids and adults. You will not find the huge variety of gear types and brands that we have anywhere else.
PRICE
DEALS - You are unlikely find better deals anywhere.
Most swaps, big or small are generally over before the Newport Swap. We are one of the latest and also are the biggest swap in the Seattle area. By this time of the year, the ski and snowboard shops no longer have the incredible pre-season prices because people will be more willing to pay retail prices as the snow is falling in the mountains and the ski areas are opening.
New gear has 40-75% discounts from high season retail and used gear discounted 50-90% of the original purchase price. For individuals and families -- Consign last years gear that is outgrown or outperformed, we'll sell it for you and you buy new (or new for you) gear. Many families do this year after year.
Great used snowboards, for instance, with bindings for $100-$200 dollars and sometimes less. The 1st day Early Birds will find a number of great skis and snowboards from $60-100 (or less). Still nice looking skis in great condition will start at about $40. We also carry high performance new and used gear which sold (or would have) at full retail last year for $450-$1150 or more but will probably sell at the swap for $150 to $550. You will also find brand new previous year's gear discounted 50-70% of retail cost.
Thank you for checking out the swap. Don't miss this one. It is the biggest sale/swap in the Seattle area. You won't be disappointed unless maybe you get there just before closing on the 2nd day but even then we should have lots of inventory for your selection.