Best car boot sale and charity shop bargains.

Ballymackeonan

Car boots here are still a washout, but this afternoon the sun is shining, so here's hoping!

So I trawled the local charity shops with a friend - he got a pair of shoes, that's all. I did rather better - including a new Hispanitas suede and patent handbag (up-market Spanish brand, apparently favoured by Victoria Beckham in her Madrid phase). No price tag, so I took it to the counter - the lady asked "would £3.50 be OK?". Needless to say, it was!

In my favourite local charity shop I'd seen a heavy silver charm bracelet during the week. It was the manageress's day off and she'd padlocked it onto the display and taken the key home with her. I called in yesterday AM, thinking it would have been sold already, but she offered it to me as soon as I went in. She's been holding it for me! £30, but the charms alone (which include a couple of old watch fobs) are worth £100+, even on Ebay..the scrap value of the silver would be over £80 at today's prices!

It's usually useful to build up a relationship with the staff in local charity shops, let them know the sort of thing you're interested in - in that shop, I get first refusal on good jewellery, mainly because I don't quibble about the price

mandragora_2

Bowling_4_Gold wrote: »

Just out of interest, How do you approach the guys at the tip when you want to buy something? When I go, I often see some really nice stuff people throw out but am concerned about asking the guys how much they want for it?

Our local tip is a gem - council owned, with licenced 'totters' to run it. It's in their interest to sell stuff, and there's a small shop area, with stuff indoors and out - basically you just have a good old poke about till you find something you want, and ask them how much they want for it - round here, books are usually 10p each, bits and bobs of clothing from 20p to a couple of quid; last week I got a lovely travel cot for £3, and I've had some of the best baragins of my life from there - it's worth being pleasant when you're dealing with them. I once picked up a great Kenwood chef and all the attachements for a fiver - which seemed like a good deal to me (especially when I sold odd bits that I knew I'd never use on ebay, and made about £60 profit!). I baked them a cake, and for a very profitable summer or two, they'd put any other Kenwood stuff that came in aside for me! :T

So I'd definitely recommend just asking them, and having a handful of small change in your pocket - if you don't like the price, you can decline - nothing lost.

Bowling_4_Gold

mandragora wrote: »

Our local tip is a gem - council owned, with licenced 'totters' to run it. It's in their interest to sell stuff, and there's a small shop area, with stuff indoors and out - basically you just have a good old poke about till you find something you want, and ask them how much they want for it - round here, books are usually 10p each, bits and bobs of clothing from 20p to a couple of quid; last week I got a lovely travel cot for £3, and I've had some of the best baragins of my life from there - it's worth being pleasant when you're dealing with them. I once picked up a great Kenwood chef and all the attachements for a fiver - which seemed like a good deal to me (especially when I sold odd bits that I knew I'd never use on ebay, and made about £60 profit!). I baked them a cake, and for a very profitable summer or two, they'd put any other Kenwood stuff that came in aside for me! :T

So I'd definitely recommend just asking them, and having a handful of small change in your pocket - if you don't like the price, you can decline - nothing lost.

Ah, right. Cheers. Shall have a nose about next time we need to go to the tip. At our usual one, there are about 4 or 5 oil covered men who sit in a run down portakabin listening to the radio all day, it seems. But our council have spent millions on an all-new recycling centre so hopefully I shall have some better luck there!

Thanks again.

mrs_lds

saturday got a pair of used birkenstocks 50pence and 1 christian laquiox t shirt 75pence and china doll for our princess for 50pence.

seabright

mazz1953 wrote: »

I have been going to jumbles and car boot sales for over 30 years.

Hello Mazz1953 - I have PM'd you, I hope you don't mind

Dee2

Thrilled with my treasure today! A lovely tapestry draught excluder £1, a brand new (still had tags in!) Red Herring knee length knitted cardigan 10p! And a jacket that I bought just for the gorgeous diamante buttons 10p!!! I think people just wanted to sell their stuff quickly before the downpours!

siren13577

Gosh you're fab car booters!!! I'm a little bit green at all the bargains you've found.

Can anyone give me any tips to find vintage clothing etc, I'm trying to make a bit of money for my wedding in November and could do with a nice pair of 50p shoes to sell for £100, lol!!! Thanks

JesaRose

My best tip is just to buy what you like siren - that way if it doesn't sell it won't go to waste. You could search the highest price sold items in the Ebay vintage clothes category which would give you an idea of what sells at the moment

mandragora_2

siren13577 wrote: »

Gosh you're fab car booters!!! I'm a little bit green at all the bargains you've found.

Can anyone give me any tips to find vintage clothing etc, I'm trying to make a bit of money for my wedding in November and could do with a nice pair of 50p shoes to sell for £100, lol!!! Thanks

The best finds are new shoes, still, if you're lucky, in their boxes, unearthed from the back of grandma's cupboard... look at the stalls of posh people for treasure! I picked up a lovely pair of snakeskin shoes from the 30's for 30p at a local jumble sale, complete with ticket, box etc. Somebody from South Africa bought them from me, for a decent profit! I love it when you find a 'timewarp' thing, still with receipts and natty 70's style writing on the booklets inside - but, as other posters have said, buy wht you like and enjoy, so that if you end up keeping it, you get some use and pleasure out of it!

hornetgirl

Sadly a rubbish weekend for me. On Saturday I happened to be in a more affluent area than my usual patch, so thought I'd take a look at their charity shops. They had nice stuff, though nothing special - M&S, Next etc - but the prices were eye-wateringly high, so I came away empty handed.
Yesterday should have been bootsale day, but the weather was far too bad.
Oh well, at least I got some broad bean plants from Freecycle today