I was visiting Honolulu and needed about 15 Hawaiian shirts for my entire family so I visited the Swap Meet after I heard they have good prices. It’s open Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday, and there’s an entrance fee of a dollar per person. You walk around the outside of Aloha Stadium and most of the vendors sell the same sort of stuff so if you have something in particular in mind that you need to buy, don’t pay a lot for it. If you continue walking you will eventually find a good price. For example, several vendors wanted $18 for a Hawaiian shirt but I found a man selling the women’s shirt for $10 and the men’s shirts for $13. If you like, you can negotiate the price down.
There are a few places selling food and drinks and you can also find all kinds of jewelry, wood carvings, and t-shirts. My speed walking and unwillingness to stop into every store meant I was out of the swap meet in about an hour and a half. I’m glad I went, but I did get ripped off on one thing. There are dresses for women that are elastic and stretchy at the bust and then flowy at the bottom that are $20 at the swap meet. The following day, I was at an ABC store in Waikiki and found the same dresses for $12. Besides that, most prices at the Swap Meet are cheaper than at the International Market in Honolulu. I was disappointed that I didn’t find any shot glasses or snow globes. I found them instead at an ABC store in Waikiki next to my hotel.
Make sure you take cash because that’s all they accept. Also, the stadium is right near Pearl Harbor so you can make a day of it.
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