What can you sell at a boot fair??

chelle73

We did a boot fair a little while ago and on our stall we were selling sweets. We were told by an official that we are not allowed to do that because if Trading Standards saw us we would be in trouble.

I spoke to Trading Standards and they said its nothing to do with them.

Yesterday, I read in a national magazine, sold in every newsagents(probably) that to make extra money, why not bake cakes, sweets or make Jams to sell at Boot fairs......

So my question is:

Can we make them and sell them or not??????

Crowqueen

No.

It would probably come under food safety regulations. For instance, your items may not have been made in a sanitised kitchen (to sell food to the general public you need certification).

Plus some boot sales pay out for refreshment vans and they don't like competition from unlicensed traders.

If you make your own food for sale you'd also be trading as a business, which comes with its own issues. Trading Standards and HMRC I would imagine check boot fairs pretty closely to make sure everything is kosher (pun not really intended).

Advice elsewhere may or may not be reasonable, even in relatively reputable magazines (which should know better to check their facts), and should never really be trusted without doing your own research. A lot of eBay guides exist, for example, but give out advice which could damage your account.

freddie_2

Were they home made sweets or bought?

If bought it may be that mulitpacks had been split to sell individually which wouldnt be allowed by trading standards.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

If bought it may be that mulitpacks had been split to sell individually which wouldnt be allowed by trading standards.

As far as I know there is nothing to stop you splitting a multi-pack, the 'not to be sold separately' I assume is designed to deter the consumer. Also if a big company (say a supermarket) kept splitting multi-packs the brand could refuse to continue to supply them.

If you buy sweets at say Macro and sell them at the bootfair there should be no issue regarding Trading Standards (as far as I know, I've seen it at plenty of bootfairs and lots of sweet shops still do 'penny' sweets) but if the bootfair owners don't want you to do something and ask you to leave there is very little you can do.

chelle73

Thanks for the advice, now I know not to go baking to sell.

Crowqueen

ludovico wrote: »

If bought it may be that mulitpacks had been split to sell individually which wouldnt be allowed by trading standards.

As far as I know there is nothing to stop you splitting a multi-pack, the 'not to be sold separately' I assume is designed to deter the consumer. Also if a big company (say a supermarket) kept splitting multi-packs the brand could refuse to continue to supply them.

If you buy sweets at say Macro and sell them at the bootfair there should be no issue regarding Trading Standards (as far as I know, I've seen it at plenty of bootfairs and lots of sweet shops still do 'penny' sweets) but if the bootfair owners don't want you to do something and ask you to leave there is very little you can do.

Our local village shop sells multipack cans of coke, it runs on a shoestring (virtually no passing trade) and so the proprietor seems to get round that somehow. Never looked into it myself, he also sells foodservice/catering packets of McVities cheesy bites and other stuff of relatively dubious provenance but it's his problem if he shouldn't be selling something, not mine.

There's a discussion here.

If you are a private seller just selling off your own personal property you need to be careful buying from a cash-and-carry as that would take you into trading, which is of course a whole different ball-game, as well as an issue for some boot fair organisers.

jabdc5

I parked my car the wrong way around at a boot sale and sold the engine.....

Pembroke

All the info about making cakes for sale can be found on this MSE thread, including the hoops you need to jump through for the necessary health certificate and what training you yourself will need.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2167151

Oh and loads of inspirational pictures and stories from people already doing it. To sell such items at a boot sale you need to contact the organisers first to find out their requirements, you will certainly need the health certificate (and display it on your stand). If you find they already have a food supplier (who probably pays through the nose for the right to sell at the site) then just approach that seller and see if they will sub-contract some baking to you or if they will sell your cakes on their stand.

pleasedelete

It may well be the rules of the sale. Most don't allow food or drinks as they have deals with the ice cream and burger vans who pay much more.

Hammyman

chelle73 wrote: »

So my question is:

Can we make them and sell them or not??????

Do you have a food hygiene certificate? Has your kitchen been checked by the local Environmental Health to ensure it complies with food hygiene standards?

If the answer is no, then the answer is no.

But ultimately if the people running the car boot say no, you can't even if you have the above.

texranger

chelle73 wrote: »

We did a boot fair a little while ago and on our stall we were selling sweets. We were told by an official that we are not allowed to do that because if Trading Standards saw us we would be in trouble.

I spoke to Trading Standards and they said its nothing to do with them.

Yesterday, I read in a national magazine, sold in every newsagents(probably) that to make extra money, why not bake cakes, sweets or make Jams to sell at Boot fairs......

So my question is:

Can we make them and sell them or not??????

silly question, but i assume the sweets were new.

some car boot operators will not allow new goods to be sold regardless to what they are.