Car Boot Advice

piratess

Im going to be doing my first carboot on sunday morning having never done one before im just wondering whether anyone could offer any tips or advice on how to make the most of my stuf ...

im at a loss really on how much to charge for things etc ...
please help
xx

Pink.

Hi piratess,

You should get more help with this on the Ebay & other auctions, Car Boot and Jumble Sales board, so I'll move your thread over there. Good luck on Sunday.

Pink

onesocklizzie

Hello Piratess,

The thing about doing car boot sales is that you have to try and remember that you no longer require/want what you are selling, there's no point in being sentimental. It doesn't matter anymore what you originally paid for a given item or whether it was a present....the buyer won't care, they will only pay what it's worth to them.
*Always price a bit high because buyers love to haggle.
*I always clean and iron any clothes and label childrens ones then hang on a rail, always get more £'s that way.
*Take LOADS of plastic carrier bags and a fiar bit of change, not only do most bargain hunters want your most prized possesion for 5p they want to pay you with a £20 note and have a bag too!!!!

In all seriousness, it can be a really good giggle and a great way to make some money, good luck!!!!

p.s beware of the other sellers who buy up your stall items only to sell the stuff on for more - that is really annoying!!!!

onesocklizzie

Ooops! Sorry!

djtonyb

My bot of advice is go for a walk as soon as you arrive (not a long one but a quick one)

This will deter people climbing in your boot as you try to unpack.

I find unpacking with other people rifling through your bags and boxes really does get annoying

BargainJunky

A paste table is a must, sunscreen in this weather too.

Some people price up their stuff, some dont - I prefer to price it as some people are afraid to ask and some offer you less anyway. I find that adults clothes dont sell well unless they are fairly trendy. designer or large sizes - not much more than 50p or £1.00 for your untrendy stuff. Take someone to help you and get there early - if its advertised as an 8am start people will be arriving around 6am or earlier - dealers looking for that antique ming vase will be in your boot before you can say good morning. Take plenty of change and keep it somewhere safe - a bum bag round your middle is the safest.

Try not to price too high but dont price too low either as people think something is wrong with it. Childrens clothes sell well as do toys - I usually go a quarter of shop price on my little boys toys and they normally sell - you can always reduce them but cant charge higher if you price too low. Videos around 50p to £1.00, CD's and DVD's maybe a little bit more especially if they are recent artists.

Take as much as you can fit in the car even if you think its fit for the dustbin - the junk will probably sell before the things that you think will sell.

Have fun and let us know how you get on.

Stratford_Bill

I think it is most important to enjoy oneself.

I mean people are paying you money for your rubbish.

Does it get any better than that?

liz_uk

I did a car boot on Sunday, arrived just after 7am and by 8am it was pouring down with rain, but yet people were STILL buying and it was busy !! Weird !!

If you have clothes, buy a £6.99 hangind rail from argos.. best investment I ever made.. as people prefer to see things hanging up than in a heap ! Sold nearly all my soggy clothes that day !

I don`t price things up, as it can deter people if they are priced to highly.

If you want to sell something for £1, and they ask how much it is.. always ask for more first - say £1.50... as you can guarantee they will attempt to haggle you down, so by asking £1.50, you have to leway to haggle.

The advice about parking up and then walking around is good.. or you do get a swarm of people trying to get into your boot and thats when people steal things too.

Also try and go with someone, as there was a incident with myself a while ago, where 4 arab gentleman used the power of distraction to steal my money tin out of the boot.. being a trusting Brit, I wasn`t aware people would do this !!

tru

Liz, did you do the one at Crypt School?

Georgia_3

I've done two of these now, made about £60 each time. Amazed at what people will buy and it's slowly helping me clear away the clutter.

Top tip in this weather-take suncream. I got badly sunburnt the first time we did a bootsale a few weeks ago.

Dealers will hover around your car as soon as you pull up. As suggested, go for a walk.I take along something to read and after putting up my table, just sit absorbed in my book until 15 mins before the boot sale opens.

Give everything you are taking a good clean the night before. Ive sen a lot of breadbins with crumbs still in there, tea/cofee jars with leftover bits in.

I've found that old cosmetics/body stuff are incredibly popular and are always the first things to go with me.

Think about bundling a few things together to give it that edge over some of the other stalls. There were 4 sellers near me all selling hamster cages for btwn £3 and £5. So was I but I spruced mine up the night before and bundled it together with a leftover bag of shavings, leftover bedding, a wheel and a little "caring for your first hamster" book. A couple out with their grandson bought it for £18.

Have a price in mind, but don't get too attached to it-haggling is part of the fun.

Lastly, have a good time!

-1-

As above, it's a great way to get rid of old things and fun too.

I managed to make £230 from old stuff we had and came home with only 3 items not sold (one being a dvd box i forgot to put the dvd in).

Start high with a price in mind as you can always come down but never go up. So if you want £10 then start at £20 or £5 if you only want £1-£2.

Like someone said above, remember you don't want the items anymore, they are probably only collecting dust so anything you get is better than nothing.

Good luck with it and let us know how you get on.