Maui Swap Meet

Had a great day at the Swap. Weather was awesome, loved the local businesses that offer very personalized, unique gifts. There are lots of fresh fruit, veggies and flowers too. Go early… sun can be brutal so wear sunscreen. Shop local!

#33 Found this place on Unilocal while looking for things to do in the area. They are only open on weekends so I knew I had to stop by during my visit.
Entrance fee is $ 0.50 per person. Everything was super inexpensive. I was happy that I came here to do my souvenir shopping because throughout the entire trip, I kept comparing the cost of the souvenirs at other shops and I had paid way less. There was a dollar area that was like 20 bracelets/​items for $ 18. The most expensive thing I bought was a crossbody bag for $ 25 but it was well worth it. I filled it up with so many things and it never got heavy. It was like the Neverfull of hawaiian bags.
I tried samosas for the first time here and they were pretty good. The coconuts from the man with the truck is a MUST. If you bring it back to him, he’ll cut it open for you so that you can eat the pulp. I also tried a maple bacon donut here and it was the best I’ve ever had.

This is a wonderful spot to pass time & take in the Hawaiian culture, food, arts & crafts.
Great economical place to purchase fresh, green, sweet produce. A variety of foods to snack on while walking about. Be sure to get the shaved ice, kava drink & fresh coconut. Aloha

I love swap meets, I found things here that I wasn’t able to find at the big stores in Maui for souvenirs. I was able to purchase kids their Hawaiian outfits, my Hawaiian outfit, a couple of Hawaiian shirts, aprons, flower clips, bracelets, soaps, towels, necklaces, etc. The swap meet isn’t huge so you can walk around once to see and then go back and purchase if you wanted to. Around the front I bought some Hawaiian bottle openers and found them cheaper at Walmart. So you gotta know pricing amounts or you will overpay at some booths. We got to the swap meet early around 7:30 am and it was already getting crowded. So come early and enjoy the many various booths. I really enjoyed it!

Review for Michelle Miller, owner of the «Islands & Co Inc, Maui Estate Jewelry» booth at the Maui Swap Meet. Be warned: Fraudulent business!
Michelle Miller sold me, under verbal contract, a «rare vintage pink natural maui coral necklace» for $ 200; I had it appraised that same day and was told it was valued at $ 5. The necklace was made of plastic and hence the value was given based on the clasp which was stamped 14k (although I was told, even the clasp was not real gold.)
I took the necklace to 4 different reputable Jewelers and here’s why they say I was scammed by Michelle Miller:
1) Real coral should have dense weight — what I bought is light plastic. One jeweler had me feel the weight of a real strand of pearls (which should feel lighter than coral) and a strand of jade beads to prove my «coral» is too light and hence fake.
2) Notice how the strands are attached to the clasp — One jeweler sadly said the wire she used was bought at Walmart.
3) View the knotting — mine is pink thread sealed by wax as if she bought it in bulk in China. True vintage pieces would be white thread hand knotted with the ends left as string.
4) Listen to how the beads rattle in your hand — mine sounds like plastic. Real coral sounds like stones hitting each other.
5) Consider the price tag: a real strand of vintage pink coral would never sell for the low price of $ 200. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
I take responsibility for acting foolishly and making an impulse purchase. Here are red flags I saw but didn’t pay attention to:
A) Dead giveaway: I asked for my piece to be put on hold. When I came back and paid for it, there was another one exactly like it in the display case. If it were truly a vintage piece on the island, it would be a one of a kind piece. Michelle obviously sells mass produced items.
B) When I asked Michelle what year my piece was from she paused and said the 70s – her daughter looked up wide eyed with a look of shock, as if surprised. Michelle was clearly caught in a lie.
C) I asked where and from whom she got her «vintage» pieces from; Michelle never answered the question and twisted the conversation around. (If you check eBay you will see the exact same plastic jewelry she pawns off as «vintage».)
D) I asked Michelle how to tell if the coral is natural versus been dyed. Again she avoided the question and just said «come to me, I’ll make you whatever you want.»
E) Michelle handed me a magnifying glass and said «go stand in the sun” – the mirror was cracked and filthy. A reputable jeweler would have decent tools.
F) Michelle had a section of «dollar items» — why would «estate jewelry» be sold next to dollar junk? She had terribly beat up pearl broaches she was passing off as «high quality vintage pieces» asking for $ 200, so it was obvious she was inflating her prices. Huge red flag I ignored.
G) Michelle offered no tax if I paid cash. My gut said to pay by credit card so I could dispute the payment if I found it was fake. It was my mistake to pay cash.
*****In Summary*****
I was naïve and trusting and acted foolishly; I write this review in hopes that it saves others from purchasing fake estate jewelry from Michelle Miller at the Maui Swap Meet or her home in Pukalani, and from the hassle of meeting with multiple Jewelers thereafter. (Btw, I tried to sell this to a pawn shop and the guy wouldn’t even take it.) The bottom line is that Michelle Miller is responsible for selling fake and questionable jewelry – which is not only unethical but illegal.

My first time at this location. There’s so much good stuff… you want everything.
My favorite is Jeff’s Jams and Jellies.
They offer samples and I’m pretty sure you will walk away with something :)
Overall, I like this swap meet very much compared to other swap meets.

Summary:
I am a HUGE fan for this place. You can get most of everything you need. We came here twice during our stay.
NOTE = only on the weekend. $.50 per adult entry (won’t bring your bank)
Highlights —
1) There is a bread lady that sells her homebake goods. Passion Fruit bread, mac nut bread. (Very popular with the locals)
2) Jams — The homemade jam/​butter (Jeff’s Jam?) is a nice take home item. Just make sure you SHIP the jam. They are consider liquid. We really like the Guava butter. They will explain to you what are the differences
3) Lots of arts/​craft/​shirts
4) There is a man that sell fresh coconut and bananas. $ 5 for a fresh coconut and they will peel the meat for you. His 75 years old father picks them. Support them!

Typical swap meet. Rinky-​dink jewelry stuff, Hawaiin dresses & shirts, and food & drink vendors. It’s definitely something to do to kill time, and the 50 cent entry free won’t kill you! But if you’re into crafts, I’m sure you can find something you like. I ended up leaving with just a $ 5 bag of kettle popcorn and some shaved ice.

Some junk, some cool stuff, some really nice artists.
Very hot the days we went, less expensive to enter than other swap meets/​flea markets we found on the island (only 50 cents pp)

I like our little swap meet. It has it all. I particularly like the vendors with the home crafted products such as that fabulous lilikoi butter or the macaroons, inventive iced teas etc. We go regularly for the produce. It is fresher and significantly cheaper than the grocery store. Get there on the early side for the best selection.
We will bring our out of state visitors for souvenirs here. Nice selection and I feel like the money goes to real people vs. Target/​Walgreens.
It is hot, wear a hat.

Dude. I should’ve come to this place earlier than those shops by where we’re staying because they ripped me off and here, it was WAY cheaper.
First off, bring cash. I think they only take cash. Secondly, have $ 0.50 with you. It’s $ 0.50 cents per person. Parking is free but it’s way back right next to the swap meet.
I found this neat place where everything was a $ 1.00 and they were good quality goods! I’m into bright and braided bracelets because I’m weird and I collect them, and they had them 6 for $ 5.00!!! The other place charged me $ 37 for like 8 or 9 which is a rip off.
They sell everything. From produce, to clothes, to sunglasses/​other accessories, to food and decoration pieces for your house. I highly recommend going to the swap meet before shopping elsewhere because you can’t beat these prices. Also, try to talk them down – some might budge – others might not but hey, at least you asked right?

Swap Meets in Hawaii are a whole lot of fun. It’s a great way to meet the local community.
Sure there are vendors selling items made in distant lands, but in the mix of pop-​up tents you will find some wonderful locally made treasures. Take your time and talkstory with the vendors. Their stories will inspire you. Here are just a few we had the pleasure of meeting. #MauiSwapMeet

I love the Maui swap meet! Whenever I need fruit or a thank you gift or something fun to send back to the mainland. I make plans to shop on a Saturday morning. The swap meet in Kahului is located in the grassy area behind UHMC. There is a lot of parking available close by. It’s open from 7am to 1pm on Saturdays.
I always get excited as I’m walking up and seeing all those white vendor tents. The cost to get in is fifty cents and the sweet lady will named Alice will give you a nice smile and probably call you «honey.» Once inside, the choices are abundant. Food? Jewelry? Clothing? Home décor? The swap meet has you covered. The prices range but lots of things are affordable.
There are quite a few food vendors so come hungry and eat local. One tip I like to share is: always bring a backpack so you can throw your goods inside. And, bring cash as most vendors appreciate it.
Come with a friend or go alone and make new ones. Either way, have fun and score some solid finds at the local meet!

A must visit if in Kahului on a Saturday morning. Come ready to stock up on fresh fruits and veggies. Hut for the local farm booths. Love the Guava Cake stand, salted macaroons from Maui Macaroons and the donut place with bacon and maple donuts ($ 3 each). Affordable souvenirs everyplace you look. SKIP the discounted adventure booth unless you want a hard sell from a rude timeshare dude.

If you want to experience some great local shops, creative minds and people this is the place. There is plenty of the mass production goods as well but look around and you will find great local handmade jewelry, food, and woodcarvings. I highly recommend the woodcarving artist Pila, he has great products and is reasonably priced. Pila was extremely friendly and accommodating to our custom names request.
We had some great local food and overall had a great day. Being from Ohio it was a great experience.
Shop the local artists they deserve our support!

This place has to be hands down the BEST place to get little nick nacks for family and friends for CHEAP!
Parking– it’s free! Get here early to get premium parking. otherwise, it’s just a bit of a walk down
Located in the actually campus parking lot… follow the signs.
TIP: take a picture of the location of where you parked.
Entrance: a whopping $ 0.50! :-) there are 2 lines. the lady in the booth collecting was super cute and friendly!
Don’t forget to get a stamp on your hand for Re– Entry
Shopping: Mostly local crafts. but there are great souvenir booths around. keep an eye out for the booth with 2 Asian Ladies. they have a booth with 4 to 5 tables full of souvenirs selling for 12 for $ 10
Also look for the 808 booth. local artists designed shirts, and hats!
SHOPPING TIP: Walk all around the area first and look at prices. On your second walk around you’ll realize where the bargain booths are!
Bring a nice light BIG shopping bag, and a cold bottle of water… It’ll be super hot!

I rate the swap meet 5 stars because they have some good local vendors and they don’t have their own Unilocal.
Jeffs Jams & Jellies… locally made jams, jelies, and butter. Even good on meats and fried rice…
Oh Goodies… local baked goods, vegan and different goodies. The price is awsome.

The best place to shop for local goods and for souvenirs if you’re visiting. You can easily spend a good half-​day here especially if you’ve never been here before. There’s a good selection of things to appease both genders and the young and old.
A «must» to check out!

Took the advice of other Unilocalers and went early this morning. No issue finding parking and you can’t complain about the price ($ 0.50) per person. There were more vendors than I expected and felt the selections were good. Yea, it’s not Aloha Stadium, but the layout was good for being a smaller Swap Meet.
The selection of produce was really good. Too bad we’re only here for a couple more days. If not, we would have bought various fruits and veggies. I enjoyed trying samples from Aunty Lia’s baked goods. They were so good, we bought the Lilikoi and Chocolate Banana Breads. We also enjoyed a shave-​ice from Maui Girlz as well. It was the perfect remedy to a hot day.

Some of the prices are about the same as Front Street in Lahaina, but you do find some local goodies. Indie’s Attic was my favorite local jewelry stand with items made from recycled paper, some painted and some not.
Come EARLY, because even though it’s a little rainy, you won’t regret it after the sun comes out really strong around 10am-​ish. If you head out later, just wear sunscreen! And eat some shaved ice :)