Car Boot Sales: How well do kids clothes sell?

TUS

We have accumulated around 200 items of kids clothing (boys and girls from newborn to 18 months) over the past 2 years and most of it is in excellent condition - some never worn.

If I were to do a boot sale, does kids clothes sell well? Was thinking of just laying it all out and selling for a quid per item which to me sounds like a great price (a lot of it is Next, Mothercare, Pumpkin Patch, Gap, etc).

Can anyone who does boot sales or goes to them regularly advise whether they think clothes would sell well or if I am wasting my time/entry fee?




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I_try

I have bought baby clothes etc from carboot sales but have never paid more then 50p an item regardless of it being Next, Mamas & Papas or whichever brand. Many of my friends also buy at boot sales as most stuff is in very good condition.

I don't really bother to look at the stalls where everything is just all thrown in together for you to sort through, it's just too much hassle. It is so much easier when things have at least been sorted and seperated into sizes.

GreyQueen

Hi there, I've been going to bootfairs most Sundays for the past 20 + years and there's always a fair bit of interest in kids' clothes, but there are also a lot of people selling them.

Prices tend to be less than 50p an item, with a lot of stuff at about 20p an item. There's such a lot of kiddies' and babies' stuff around in as-new condition that it doesn't fetch much.

If you tip it into a pile on a tarp it'll end up in a great big snarl and people will get too exausted to paw thru it; best to sort it by ages/ sizes/ gender into labelled cardboard boxes.

Is it worth it, financially? Job to say, would depend on the pitch fee and the price of the fuel to get to and fro. I'd say probably not worth it for kids' clothes alone unless you can scratch up some other items which are relatively compact but high value (ornaments spring to mind).

Howsomever, that's just my two-pennorth, only you can choose.

ragz_2

If they are in good condition you may get more on ebay selling in bundles, at boot fairs people will only want to pay about 50p and you will need it neatly laid out. I often buy kids clothes at boot fairs but there are always a lot of sellers and they usually go home with most of their stuff!

zippychick

As this isn't Old Style I've moved it to the appropriate board.

Hope it goes well for you

Zip

soolin

I have tried some baby items at car boots and having had to beg people to pay 20p an item I didn't think it worth wasting the room in the car anymore. However it seems to vary from boot sale to boot sale and so ti might just be a case of going to your local one as a buyer first to see what others are actually managing to shift and for how much.

TUS

Thanks for the responses. Must say I'm surprised they go for that low ... maybe I should start buying my kids clothes at boot sales rather than ebay/sales :-D

I think I'll take the advice of selling as bundles on ebay ... we dont have a lot else to flog at the moment, so after pitch fee (a tenner) it prob wouldnt be worth it.

Debnatric

Our local National Childbirth Trust do a couple of sales a year of baby and children's clothing - when my children were younger I sold a lot of their clothes and got reasonable prices - about the same as on ebay or in a charity shop - you don't have to be a member - just pay a small fee to sell and then price your items - they sell them for you take a small % and give you the remainder

clearingout

have to say, the only children's item I'd pay more than £1 for at car boots would be a coat in very good condition or something that still had the tags on it. Other than that, 50p is my limit and I would say I generally only buy items of Next and upwards in terms of quality. It is possible to get new t-shirts etc. for £1 - 2 at Primark and supermarkets so wouldn't really want to be paying more than 50p for something second hand, regardless of where it came from.

And yes, do buy clothes from car boots for your children, as opposed to ebay etc. as it is cheaper!

bubs

Debnatric wrote: »

Our local National Childbirth Trust do a couple of sales a year of baby and children's clothing - when my children were younger I sold a lot of their clothes and got reasonable prices - about the same as on ebay or in a charity shop - you don't have to be a member - just pay a small fee to sell and then price your items - they sell them for you take a small % and give you the remainder

Might be worth checking your local NCT terms and conditions if you're looking to sell through their sales. Some do tables that you pay a hire fee for and sell your own stuff from, but our local one is now huge - 2 sales a year BUT their charges are now extortionate. They charge a £4 'admin' fee, plus they take 25% of what you make on your sales, and you're limited to a certain number of items - think its around 35 clothing items....it never used to be so expensive and others may well be a lot cheaper as things do sell for more money there. Also, check if they charge to go in. Ours used to be 50p which goes to the NCT (which is a charity of course) and there would be hundreds queing to get in, but at the last sale they wanted £1.50 to get in. Consequently there weren't so many in the queue this time!

Tigsteroonie

I'm happy to buy Andrew's clothes at car boot sales, but I rarely pay over 50p/item (unless a coat or snowsuit). I don't mind things not being laid out, but I do appreciate stall-holders who have sorted the clothes into sizes so that I only rummage through boxes of appropriate size.