Car boot prices

scheming_gypsy

hermum wrote: »

How would that work, if people were putting things down when told the really cheap prices?

they probably thought it was cheap tat and didn't want to waste their money on it. You'll risk putting people off if it's under priced as they think it'll fall apart

McKneff

hermum wrote: »

How would that work, if people were putting things down when told the really cheap prices?

:osorry, i misread the post, i thought it meant 'haggling them down'

Note to self -'read things properly and read things twice just to be sure )

soolin

Those prices are about what I would expect at the car boot sale I go to. In fact I don't even bother with books any more as noo ne would pay more than about 10p a book and it wasn't worth the effort of taking them there in the car.

cocolgooh

The odd thing was, the things that did sell were the books. And I told the person I did it with that they should've been less but they did sell. I thought they were overpriced. Odd really.

soolin

cocolgooh wrote: »

The odd thing was, the things that did sell were the books. And I told the person I did it with that they should've been less but they did sell. I thought they were overpriced. Odd really.

The price variance is very local , just reading some of the threads on here suggests that certain things sell betetr in different parts of the country. I live in an area that is supposedly 'affluent' so maybe people feel it is beneath them to buy second hand clothes and books?

However, I now routinely use a car boot that attracts a number of traders in antiques and collectables so maybe we attract a different sort of buyer.

BarntheBarn

cocolgooh wrote: »

The odd thing was, the things that did sell were the books. And I told the person I did it with that they should've been less but they did sell. I thought they were overpriced. Odd really.

Did a Car Boot sale today, well an hour of one from 7am till 8am as the rain was so severe. Also sold mainly books at 50p each (about £13 worth and the piunters had to go through a box themselves as could not get them out due to weather).

Punters were a rude bunch, particularly an aggressive couple who kept swearing - even about the way I was dressed (in shorts as I didn't want wet cold clingy trousers).

Make £35 in the one hour and bought most the stuff home again. I probably won't do another.

BargainJunky

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

they probably thought it was cheap tat and didn't want to waste their money on it. You'll risk putting people off if it's under priced as they think it'll fall apart

I agree with the above if your prices are too low people think something is wrong with it. I always price our stuff up a little high so people can haggle if they want.

lovebargainshatewaste

I did a boot sale this morning as well, but only for a couple of hours as the rain started to get quite heavy. We just couldn't be bothered to get soaked, and figured people wouldn't buy wet stuff.

We still made £70 though! We sold shoes, some books, a few craft stamps, and a variety of other bits. We tend to price our stuff from 50p and up in stages of 50p, so it goes up 50p/£1/£1.50 and so on. We price items higher than we'll expect for them, so people get the "satisfaction" of haggling whereas we get the price we want.

Yes, some people walk away when we tell them the price, but that's their choice. To be honest, I'd rather give some stuff to the charity shop than sell it for silly money.

I do find though, that there are people around who expect stuff for next to nothing. If people are rude, I don't go down in price, but if people are polite and friendly (as we are to them), then I'll be willing to alter the price a bit.

You may have more luck next time. Don't feel disheartened, each time is different. This morning we had a few that went off in a huff because we wouldn't let them rifle through the car as we were setting up. Me - bothered? Not in the slightest.

Hezzawithkids

I think your prices are more than reasonable but as a private seller I've been finding car boots a complete waste of time lately. Did my last ever one last summer and made about forty quid once all expenses were deducted. Some may argue that its better than nothing but as I'd spent most of the previous day sorting, washing, ironing, labelling, packing etc it really wasn't worth my time & effort.

It's been my recent experience that car boot buyers are becoming increasingly rude and nasty and expect you to practically give stuff away. I've seen people rummage through my stuff, break things, chuck things on the floor, stomp on them with muddy shoes and then walk away having bought nothing. I've had people open my car boot and start rummaging before I've even switched the engine off. I've had people brazenly stealing from my stall then hurling abuse at me when I try to stop them. I've had people shout at me - and I mean right in my face so I can catch the spittle - because I've held out for what something is worth. One memorable time a lady took half a dozen items of (adult) clothing off my rail, I asked for for £1 for the lot, she told me to f**k off then threw all the clothes at me (hangers and all) and walked off. And I'll never forget the time when a couple of young *ahem* ladies spent about 10 minutes each picking up every single item that I had, examining it then putting it back down again while noisily chewing "popping" gum and blowing bubbles. I could not keep the look of utter disgust off my face. Needless to say they didn't buy anything either.

Nothing is worth that - especially not standing around in a field for hours - and consequently I'd rather give it all away to charity then let these scum bags have the pleasure.

Rant over.

Mistral001

Prices OK, but with low value items try doing 50p each and 3 for a £1. or something like that. That is much easier for the buyers as they do not have to ask questions and also puts off the hagglers.

Apart from that it seems to be a buyers market at the minute, so I would not expect to much from car boot sales as far as seling goes