Bootfair tips

Rachel021967

Good luck with your carboot sale. Just don't take a used loo brush. Yes I went to a carboot sale where somebody was trying to sell a used loo brush. Needless to say I walked on past as I had no idea what had been packed next to it. Yes take crap but not literally. Good luck again and enjoy.

meerustar

Rachel021967 wrote:

Yes I went to a carboot sale where somebody was trying to sell a used loo brush. Needless to say I walked on past as I had no idea what had been packed next to it. Yes take crap but not literally.

:rotfl: It never ceases to amaze me what some people will try and sell:rotfl:

boglin

I agree with meerustar about taking what you might consider to be rubbish. I did my first boot sale today - I found that some of the stuff that I took was too 'good' for the market and will do far better on eBay (three items have already sold this evening for more than I was asking at the boot sale!)

I did find that putting lower priced items in crates at the front of the stall was a good idea as they got lots of children in particular rummaging through. The parents seemed happy for the children to look in the crates but not at the items on the table (which weren't that much more!) As the day wore on I added some items from the table into the crates.

Marking items with prices is a good idea although that can work against you if you are open to offers - maybe just price the crates with a general price label and let people ask you the prices of the items on the table so that you can engage in a bit of haggling. If you have everything priced you will never know how close people have come to buying!

What fascinated me was that people will spend a fortune on the burgers and ice creams yet haggle over items half that price on the stalls!

Good luck with your boot sale!

Sweet_Pea_2

As has already been mentioned, loads of carrier bags, plenty of change (I use a bum bag!) flask, somewhere to sit, something waterproof, something to eat.
I would advise not to price things up with post its or whatever 'cos this seems to put people off. OH tends to make a list of some of our "better" stuff and roughly what he wants for it, then consults it if someone is interested. Its better to have an idea of the lowest you'd go for some items as some people literally seem to expect you to say "thats OK, have it for nothing!"
Watch when you first arrive as you get bombarded by people and it can be a bit stressful, I usually say Im not selling anything until its all out of the car and on the table so come back later! (When you are a bit stressed and trying to unload the car its easy for people to pinch stuff so watch out for this) and always keep your car locked.
Personally I think its better to have the clothing hung on a rail as all the boots Ive been to, the rails get looked at and the stuff in a pile doesn't.
I also agree with the person who said take all your rubbish. OH and I had two lightshades for sale at our boot sale. One was a lovely pleated one from M+S, about 6 months old. The other was from my mums, was approx 40 years old and had paint drips down it. The M+S one was totally ignored but we sold the one of my mums within 10 minutes! OH still cannot believe that someone actually bought it. I found, naff ornaments (and I mean "A present from Blackpool" etc, ones) old bits from tea services, old mugs etc sold really well. Old dears love to buy just one plate, or two saucers etc.
Right at the front we have a box with McDonalds toys and little kiddy bits and bobs in, and we label it 10p per item. All the kids who walk past want to buy something, the parents dont mind parting with 10p for something small and whilst they are hunting in pockets for change they give your stall the once over.
Good luck! Dont get wandering round the stalls as you will spend all your profits.
Ooohh! Im in the mood to go and do a car boot now!

inadream

Agree with clothes rail idea! Ifell for the 10p box a few times today at our car boot. First one this year and am getting that familiar windswept 'why did we go?!' feeilng!!!!!

kittiwoz

Don't label all your stuff, it makes it look like you won't be prepared to haggle and most people who do label everything overprice. I suppose pricing everything suggest you are thinking along the lines of collectables and semi-antiques shop whereas your buyers are probably thinking more along the lines of jumble sale. When pricing bear in mind that second hand shops are able to store things until someone comes along who really wants it. You only have a couple of hours so only hold out for a high price on items that you'll be happy to take back home with you if you don't sell them.

Piling up clothes is OK for babies clothes or cheapies but if you are selling good quality clothes hang them up on a rail so it's easier for people to see what you have. I never bother rumaging through piles or boxes unless there are a few good items at the top to make me think it might be worth a look.

Ensure clothes are clean before you sell. If anyone in your house smokes this means laundering them all. Otherwise it just means washing any that are dirty. I am less inclined to buy clothes that are dirty or smelly even though I can wash them myself when I get home. I only buy stuff like this if there is something really special about it.

Pricing wise I have paid up to £5 for shoes (which were good quality, leather boots in good condition) but would expect to pay about £2-£3. I would expect to pay £1-£2 for most adult clothes in worn but reasonable condition but would pay more for something like a fitted suit jacket in nice fabric or something with decorative beading. I may not be typical in this but I'm prepared to pay extra for things which I regard as better quality and having intrinsic value, i.e. tailoring, expensive fabrics, hand decoration, but am relatively unmoved by labels. My most expensive purchase was £30 for a red dyed fur coat.

I expect to pay about 50p to £1 for LPs and aound 20p for singles and always ask for a deal if I buy a few from the same person. The most I've ever paid for a record at a car boot sale was £7 for The Abbey Road Album bought from a dealer who had a regular pitch. Remember that often the best known hit records( e.g. Parallel Lines, Tubular Bells, The Wall) were million sellers so though they might be well worth owning they're not exactly rare. You can probably get £1 for most proper albums and 50p for compilations such as MFP and Ronco. Put the records you think are most desirable to the front to encourage people to look through. If you have James Last at the front people will assume that reflects your taste in music and the rest of the box will hold more of the same. Remember anyone buying records is taking a gamble since you can never really tell whether it'll play through til you've got it on the turntable so they will expect the price to reflect that.

Paper back books are worth up to 40p dependent on quality and content except for cookery books which may be worth a little more if they are good ones i.e. by known authors and not the microwave cookery book or 101 things to do with mince. Hardbacks vary a lot depending on what they are and how well bound they are. If they are quality bound with marbling and something people might actually want to read they could be worth £2, if they are on wartime paper they're worth about the same as a similar paperback. Collect similar books together so it's easy for someone to find all the books you have that are likely to interest them. Display them with the spines visible so it's easy for people to quickly see what you've got.

If people pay up or haggle with you your pricing is OK though it doesn't mean you shouldn't be prepared to come down a little to shift stuff. If you tell people the price of something and they just look at you incredulously and wander off without bothering to even try and haggle you're pricing too high. I once heard a woman at a car boot ask £2.50 for a Blondie LP- Eat to the Beat that I had been looking at. The guy walked off and she wondered to her mate why he hadn't even tried to haggle. I told her it was because it was worth about 50p and she'd started too high. She seemed to reckon she'd get more for it and since there was no way I was going to go above £1 I left it. I came back later just before we were about to leave and asked her if she'd sold the record. She hadn't so I asked her if she wanted to sell it and I got it for 50p. I would have gone to £1 on it if she'd asked a more reasonable price in the first place but because she overpriced I knew she wouldn't sell it so she ended up having to sell it me for 50p or take it back home with her. Ultimately the rule is it's only worth what you can get for it.

viru.doshi

My dad did a carboot a few summers ago, he really only took junk and things that didnt work. He sold the lot! Amazingly people buy broken items knowingly! Like a exercise bike without a speedometer, a garden fork with a missing point...lots of broken things.

So if you have broken things i'd take them, even if they go for 10p, its 10p in your pocket! And you can always stop off at the local council dump on the way home and get rid of things that didnt sell. (or just charity them if they're in ok conidition).

kittiwoz

Some people still know how to fix things. You could still use an exercise bike without a speedometer. And someone probably canibalised the broken garden fork to replace a broken handle on another fork or spade. People will clean and sharpen tools that are rusty and blunted. There will always be buyers for things that have a practical use.

Yorkielass

I want to take some clothes with me to the next car boot sale I do but I don't know how to 'display' them. I don't have a clothes rack and I only have a Fiesta so don't have a huge about of space for anything big - any suggestions?

annie-c

Yorkielass wrote:

I want to take some clothes with me to the next car boot sale I do but I don't know how to 'display' them. I don't have a clothes rack and I only have a Fiesta so don't have a huge about of space for anything big - any suggestions?

If you have time, put a 'wanted' ad on your local freecycle site asking for a clothes rail - you'll probably get several offers!