E-Bay vs Car Boot

Gambit

Hi all,

I'm going travelling for 9 months this November (eek!) and I'm trying to think of new ways to raise money. Obviously selling stuff is something which came to mind and so have put a handful of things on e-bay. Unfortunately, I've only sold one item so far with 1 bid being put on it at 99p!!! So I'm probably just about even with the insertion fees of the item I sold and the others I havent yet...

Wondering if I should try a car boot sale as I also have some items I want to sell which are big and require collection anyways such as a car seat and a childs bed.

Has anyone had similar thoughts? Did you try the car boot sale idea? Where can I find a listing of car boots sales in my area?

Any help you can give would be great...

rose_sparky

I think your local paper will have a list of car boot sales, most probably the Friday evening edition.

You could always print off details/photo's of your larger items and display at the boot sale.

GardenMillie

I did my first car boot about a year ago with a friend, we split the fee (I think it was about £5 per car) it was good fun and you would be amazed at what sells - old cushions, plates, honestly nearly anything.

TIP: Don't be tempted to look around other car boots though or you'll end up going home with more than you took to sell.

Good luck:D

tintoys

I did one last week with a friend desperate to raise some cash. I hadn't done one for a couple of years. It seemed to me that most people really want things for a song now at a car boot, but if you';ve got items you just want to shift, this is the best place. We fared best selling clothes at 30p per item/with four items for a pound. The kids clothes went quickly then. Take a photo of the larger items with you and put up a notice, people may follow it up.

Rule One Take a flask and sandwiches/resist the temptation to buy breakfast

Rule two Only go to the loo/don't look round the stalls too closely


The local free ads are always the best to sell larger items, there are always landlords looking for spare beds particularly good mattresses.

We too split the entrance fees and despite only making £60 between us, she spent 20p and I spent £1 (to be used for kids lunchboxes the following week so didn't really count) we were still pleased with our final takings.

Good luck

Sallys_Savings

Hi,

I've done a car boot about twice a year over the last 5 years to clear my house of junk (for some reason I still manage to have loads left though )

I'd go for the car boot option if you have items up for 99p etc as you could probably get rid of items quicker in a morning than on ebay..and be out in the sunshine having a chat with a friend if you split the pitch

I would do as a fellow poster mentioned..take photos of larger items and put them up on a board on the car boot. Then if they don't go advertise in papers or ebay.

If you wish to find carboots in your area look in the local newspapers, boards and many schools have them this time of year too.

I also use these two websites:

https://www.carbootjunction.com
https://www.carbootcalendar.com

Good luck with your carboot and your travelling

ViJay_3

We only do car boot sales a few times ayear and more for fun than anything else. People at car boots are the same as those on Ebay - they expect something for nothing and so for us it's more a question of getting rid of unwanted junk than actually making any money.

We give most of our unwanted stuff to charity shops now...

Gambit

Thanks for all the responses guys. I'll see if I can find one near me next time I get the local paper and will see if my sister wants to do one with me as I know she wants to get rid of some junk... umm, I mean bargains...!

Good tip about not looking around as knowing me I will end up finding something I "need". Good idea about taking food along too!

Pennywise

We've sold loads of Son's stuff:-

Big things go into the local newspaper - i.e. cot, bed, car seat, stair gates, pram, push chair, bike, scooter, monitor, bags of clothes, etc. We kept the boxes/packing for all these and looked after them, so they were "as new" when sold and we got good prices.

We put the better quality clothes and toys onto ebay - i.e. Bob the Builder, Thomas, JCB, Tonka, jeans, tops, trousers, shorts, PJs, toys and games, Brio train sets, - the lot really - but only things that are actually "themed". Again good prices, but again, we kept boxes and they were in good condition.

We sold whatever was left at car boots, i.e. normal clothing (without themes), un-themed toys and games, and anything that wasn't in good condition or didn't have its packing, but we got very little money for them.

Having been a regular at car-boots for the last few years, I really think that Ebay has had a major effect on them. Now, the ones around here anyway, are just selling complete junk, i.e. old rusty tools, glasses, cups ornaments, old TVs, videos and computers, and now loads of traders selling market-stall type things.

So, in my experience, the local paper for larger good quality items, ebay for smaller good quality items and the car boots for anything else.