are carboot sales worth it?

larochelleuk · 18 February 2009 at 4:40AM

Hi, I know this may sound like a silly question as it's so subjective, but please can you tell me whether in your opinion, carboot sales are worth the effort?

For me it seems like quite a lot of hassle, as I am clearing everything out in order to leave the country, so would quite literally be taking most of my life down to a carboot sale.... but it's that versus ebay and freecycle!

Any thoughts?

Kind regards,
larochelleuk
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adecor · 18 February 2009 at 7:28AM

Think in your case I'd consider having a house sale as you don't have the hassle of packing everything up - you could then freecycle or maybe gumtree the rest.

Throbbe · 18 February 2009 at 9:14AM

It's more convenient than listing loads of stuff, but personally I hate car boot sales.

As long as you don't mind people climbing into your car to see what you've got (OK, maybe I went to a bad one) or haggling over a 5p item (I'd happily have given it away free tbh, but that just wound me up).

in short, if you're a grumpy sod like me, don't bother.

Otherwise, go for it.

antenna · 18 February 2009 at 10:01AM

Can 10,000 people be wrong?,and these are just the once only sellers clearing unwanted stuff from their homes,go to any bootsale and you will see first timers doing a once only bootsale,thats where the best bargains are.
You will be surprised what you can get for your stuff,and it will still be a bargain for the buyer.........

Crazy_Jamie · 18 February 2009 at 10:55AM

I actually quite like them. Good for clearing out things en masse, and realistically you'd have to do a level of organising to get rid of the things anyway. I haven't done one a long time but am actually planning one on Sunday if the weather holds. Sure, there are annoying people out there, but there are ways of dealing with them, and I still somehow manage to have fun with it all.

fatpiggy · 18 February 2009 at 11:08AM

I think they are fun to both buy and sell at, but I rarely make any money at all from them. I don't ask stupid prices, but I refuse to give stuff away either - many people really think you will just let them have whatever they want for free (and then half of them go and sell it at their own stalls!) and can actually get quite rude. Yes, I'm decluttering but I'm also trying to raise some cash to pay, say, my vet bill. I only buy quality stuff so I'm only selling quality stuff. The best things to sell are childrens toys. I don't think you can go wrong there. Unfortunately I don't have any kids! Oh, and watch out for dealers - they try to get in your car while you are unloading and can be very hard to get rid of.

Crazy_Jamie · 18 February 2009 at 11:14AM

fatpiggy wrote:

Oh, and watch out for dealers - they try to get in your car while you are unloading and can be very hard to get rid of.

They can be stubborn little gits admittedly. You just have to take as firm a line as necessary with them until they get the message. And if that means kicking one of them in the groin to scare the rest away like a flock of pigeons, then so be it. Most are eager to buy something on the cheap to sell it on at a profit, but few are willing to risk castration for it

INT1 · 18 February 2009 at 11:37AM

Car boots can attract non internet savvy bargain hunters. I personally would go for it if the stuff you are selling is not too bulky

butterfly72 · 18 February 2009 at 8:11PM

I normally do one a year and make around £100 each time. So if you can be bothered to sort your stuff out the day before, pack the car, get up at 5am and man your stall until 1pm, repack the car ... all for a few quid then its worth it!!

I'm going to do my last one this year and my left overs can go to the charity shop!

For bigger items I use gumtree.

PasturesNew · 18 February 2009 at 8:15PM

Whether a car boot sale is successful or not depends on your location and the actual car boot sale in question (and the weather).

On the telly they're all doing really well, but I've done a couple and found it a pain in the 4rse. I took about £70, but there was a lot of sorting out, packing up, getting up early, buying a table to put it on, driving there, unpacking... and standing all forlorn at my table all day as people shuffled past turning their lip up or expecting everything for 10p.

Then, there's most of it that you have to pack up and bring back home ... and unpack again?

The second time I did one, I did the car boot sale, then drove the car back home .... and first thing Monday morning I drove the remainder down to the charity shop!

jus71_2 · 18 February 2009 at 9:29PM

I sold some new toiletries for £1 each. They all went but someone came up to me and said I was a rip off as they could get them at the pound shop. These were things like the giant bottles of Treseme shampoo and other expensive items that you never see in a pound shop. Also, my mum was selling new M&S school skirts for £2 each and no one wanted to pay more than 50p! Some people get too greedy though, a woman on the stall next to us was selling a manky towelling dressing gown with pulled threads and marks on and wouldnt take less than £3, she took it back home with her!

are carboot sales worth it?

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