Ebay, Amazon or Car Boot? Total Newbie...!

kates2787

Hi everyone,

I'm about to move out of my flat (after 5 years) and go on a gap year but I have gathered so much stuff since living away from (my parent's) home that I can't fit it all back into my old bedroom!

I had thought about doing a car boot sale to get rid of some of my unnecessary items but after doing a bit of research I'm now having second thoughts as I've never even been to one before and apparently people try to rip you off and steal stuff off your stall and even your cash float?! I don't think I could handle it by myself!

I've used ebay a few times in the past but it seems to take me so long to set up each individual listing and I'm running short on time. Also I work full time at the moment then I'm going to Kenya for a few weeks to teach so I can't really go to the post office every day. Is Amazon any better than ebay?

I have a lot of photo frames/albums, kitchen things, jewelery, books, board games, ornaments, clothes, shoes, hand bags, folders/stationary - general decorative items and unwanted/unused presents that I won't need while I'm traveling. Some of it has never been used and others I paid good money for and its still in good condition so I'd rather not just throw it out or put it in a charity shop as I'm really struggling for money just now myself

I really don't know what to do with it all, has anyone got any advice? All suggestions appreciated.

Thanks in advance

hermum

I would rope a friend or 2 in to helping you with a car boot sale, especially for the cheaper things. Ask around for the best ones in your area & go take a look around as a buyer first. If you price cheaply you can probably shift a lot in a couple of boot sales. If you've only got a few weeks & work full time you may run out of time listing loads on ebay.

Fag_ash_lil

Hi ya ,

To be honest if you haven't got time to list and post items on Ebay , you probably won't have the time for Amazon either ....

I think that you would be better off doing a boot sale ... As hermum suggested, go to one first and have a look around so that you know what to expect ...

Car boots sales can get very busy , so try and take somebody with you when you do your first one ... It's handy to have somebody with you in case you need to pop to the loo ! .... Also take plenty of change with you .... A bum bag comes in handy to keep all your money in ...

Also remember that you are trying to have a clear out , so don't come back with more bargains than you have sold :rotfl:! I love car boot sales , but i still can't stop myself picking up some mega bargains when i should be selling ...

Above all , have fun !

Good luck ...

terri x

kates2787

Thanks so much for all your help. I'm in Fife, Scotland so been having a look on the net and the best ones round here seem to be Kinross and Inverkeithing. The Glasgow ones sound good too but that's at least a 2 hour drive away and if you have to be there about 6am.... I'm not a morning person lol! How cheap is cheap at a car boot sale? I was hoping to sell most things for between £1 - £10 but from what I've read most people want everything for 50p!

soolin

kates2787 wrote: »

Thanks so much for all your help. I'm in Fife, Scotland so been having a look on the net and the best ones round here seem to be Kinross and Inverkeithing. The Glasgow ones sound good too but that's at least a 2 hour drive away and if you have to be there about 6am.... I'm not a morning person lol! How cheap is cheap at a car boot sale? I was hoping to sell most things for between £1 - £10 but from what I've read most people want everything for 50p!

I went to one yesterday I was selling books for around 10p a go, CDs for the same. Some framed prints went for 50p and I only sold two items of clothing and had to let them go at 50p each. My pitch was £9 which was expensive even for Gretaer London.

Giggles_Fairy

A car boot is definately your best options, like others have said just get a friend to help you. I havegone to a really large one twice in the last couple of months and its served well and when you are unpacking there can be people already at the stall so my partner stands and serves and tells prices whilst I carry on getting the stuff out. Also remember there is no rush. So if you have a boz in the car but feel its too busy to get it out then dont. Waiting 30mins before you get it out wont harm your sales much.

People do like bargains at a car boot. Generally clothes will sell well for 50p or £1. In terms of people wanting 'everything' for 50p I dont think thats really true, if its worth £5 its worth £5. But for small bric a brac I only usually ask 50p as when Im buyer if I have my eye on something and its only 50p, well I cant really say no! For gift sets still packaged I have sold these for £2-£3 before, although it depends what you have got in them. Just mke sure that whoever your friend is you have a discussion with before about what kinda prices you want for things, maybe you coul evenb ask them to pack the boxes with you so you can tell them as you pack? There may be somethings that you would definately not sell for less than £x amount and would rather take home than sell for less than that so you need to be clear in your mind what these are and what the minimum amount you would take is.

Also as you are wanting to get rid of stuff when it gets to a certain time (midday is usually about dying down time depending on the carboot) then just slash all you prices! This can work well. We just do everything is 50p. We also did things like, a woman was looking at 1 of 6 ties (these had had no interest all day) and was going to buy it for 50p so I said 'Do you not want to take them all for £1?', which she did!

Giggles_Fairy

Oh also, dont be scared by the horror stories. Of course there are bad experiences but also great ones. Me and my partner have had lots of fun doing two sales the last couple of months and have met some lovely people. We used to go to a local one and you would often get a few 'dodgy' people who you just wanted to go away but there is none of that at this new one we found. We have to travel 40mins to get there but it is well worth it. As everyone has suggested go yourself as a buyer first (we did this too) and suss out the car boot. check the prices, arrival times and what people are selling and for how much. You will feel more confident if you have done this.

kates2787

Thanks so much everyone, I will ask around locally to try find a good one nearby. I've seen some previous threads on here about ones in Fife but they're from a few years ago so will do a double check. Thanks again

teapot2

Hi kates2787 - have you thought of posting on the Scottish forum to ask for people's experiences/info about Kinross boot etc? There are often threads on there about different boots.

Good luck

kates2787

I didn't even know there was a Scottish forum! I'm still finding my way around! Thanks for the tip

teapot2

kates2787 wrote: »

I didn't even know there was a Scottish forum! I'm still finding my way around! Thanks for the tip

In case you haven't spotted it yet - look at the green banners on the Forum main page. There's one called 'For Who and Where You Are' and the first forum is called 'local money saving' and theres a Scottish forum there - thread already re a car boot in fife in Aberdour this week [don't know if thats near you?]