Plenty of vendors take cards or a phone payment now. Others still don't, and you only find out at the table. Bring cash and you won't get stuck. If a market's own site says there's an ATM on the grounds, that's useful, though those machines often charge a fee.
Early is when the tables are fullest, and some of the better pieces leave in the first hour. Later in the morning, or after lunch, the crowd thins. Some sellers would rather not pack a thing back into the van, which is when a polite offer can go further. There's no single right answer. Check the hours first. A lot of markets are weekend-only, and they close earlier than a regular store.
Often yes. Most sellers of used goods expect a little back and forth. Be polite about it. Skip the lowball that makes the table go quiet. If a price is marked firm, take that as the answer. Asking "anything better if I take both?" on a couple of items is usually plenty.
In a lot of the country the two names point to the same kind of place: a bunch of vendors selling used, vintage, surplus, or handmade goods, often on weekends. "Swap meet" shows up more in some regions, especially farther west, and sometimes leans toward an outdoor setup. We list both and don't treat the name as a hard category.
Wear shoes you can walk in. Bring a bag or a cart if the market allows them, and bring cash. If you're hoping to take something large home, measure the space in your car first. For an outdoor market, check the weather yourself. We don't forecast it, and a storm can thin the field or close a lot entirely. Leave a little room in the plan. The odd thing you didn't plan to find is often the point.
Weekend-only and seasonal markets get stale hours on map listings all the time. We check against the market's own site, but even that can lag if a market changes schedule and doesn't update its page. If the drive matters, use the phone number or the official site on the listing and confirm. How often does this happen? Often enough that we mention it on every state page.