Peak time in Quartzsite

A crowd heavy on retirees pours in throughout the season, in part to enjoy a communitywide swap meet of gems, antiques and just about anything else that can be sold.

Even with the economy faltering and many people putting the brakes on spending, Mayor Walt Akin said the party's still on and business is good in Quartzsite, which is just off Interstate 10 about 20 miles from the California border.

For example, a couple of weeks ago, the peak time for visitors, motorists endured several light changes before getting through the town's main intersection, he said.

"We still have the snowbirds that come here to get out of the cold," he said. "They'd rather spend money on gas than pay heating bills at home."

However, Joan Reily, who comes here from Parker to sell antiques ranging from dishes to books, toys to tools, said she was hoping for a bigger crowd. The tent where she works with her husband, Ralph, was mostly empty last Friday.

"When we first started coming here, it was bumper to bumper with cars," she said. "It should have been good this year, I thought, with gas prices."

The Reilys, who have set up shop here since 1997, usually see buyers for major antiques dealers in Los Angeles coming in and spending $500 to $600 in a day. They've seen none this year, Joan Reily said, though business has remained solid because snowbirds are still coming.

"We did just as well as last year," she said. "They love to come here for this stuff; they can't stay in the cold because of their health."

One of those who fled the cold was Carol Falldorf, a Florence, Mont., resident browsing books and tools in the Reilys' tent.

"I just came for the great deals," she said.

A few blocks down Main Street, Geri DeBore was inviting every passer-by to try binoculars that are the featured product she and her husband, Bud, sell on tables in front of their RV. She said she's seeing more browsers and fewer buyers.

"It sure isn't the gas prices this year, so it's gotta be the economy," said Geri DeBore, who has been coming here from Kenosha, Wis., for 17 years.

"The economy is bad," her husband said. "I don't care what anyone else says."

Stephen Happel, an associate dean and professor at Arizona State University's W.P. Carey School of Business, said retirees born before World War II are typically frugal and more likely to curb spending in a downturn. Meanwhile, baby boomers, who are more likely to spend, are just beginning to reach retirement age.

"It has probably caused some people to pause and think, 'Now, do I want to spend this money, or do I want to hunker down and ride this storm out?'" said Happel, who specializes in the economic implications of demographics.

At Reader's Oasis Books, one of Quartzsite's few permanent shops, owner Paul Winer said his business is on par with last year — in part because he is known to visitors for wearing little more than a G-string on the job.

He said there are fewer people visiting than last year, but he suspects it has more to do with regular visitors growing old.

"We've lost a lot of the World War II generation this past winter," Winer said.