Actually making sales at boot fairs - any tips

LizD_2

To date, the most I've raised at a bootie is about £12. I only do them now and again to shift stuff, but usually end up bringing most of it home again.

Any tips on how to actually sell things? I don't even usually get many browsers, let alone sellers.

Almo

I guess it depends on weather, time of year, how big the car boot is etc.

Last time we did one, we made about £240 - BUT we hadn't done one for ages, and had a lot of quite high price stuff. The only tips I can give are obvious, make sure everything is clean etc. I actually find its best to have as much as poss on the table - when I'm walking round car boot sales, the tables with only a few items on I instantly dismiss. We also had a couple of boxes on the floor, with cd's in one, dvd's in another etc, for people to rummage through.

We go to a huge car boot sale, so it kind of feeds itself, as so many people are there, someone is bound to want whatever you're selling. Are there any others nearby you could try?

LizD_2

We have a lot in the area, and I've done the main ones. Perhaps the problem is that I try and sell 'proper' car boot stuff (old clothes, books etc in good condition), and people are looking for designer clothes, computer games, that kind of thing?

jasmineswhiskers

I guess every car booter has books, clothes, toys etc. If you have more 'interesting' stuff then it will stand out from the rest.

goggins1977

I have only ever done 1 carboot which was a few weeks ago i made £128 i came homw with quite a bit of stuff ,but the stuff that i did sell was all brand new collectables ,people want something for nothing now a days ...If you are selling clothes try investing in a hanging rail as it makes them easier for people to see and look at and it gives the impression they are well looked after....

Jo_D_4

LizD wrote:

Perhaps the problem is that I try and sell 'proper' car boot stuff (old clothes, books etc in good condition)

These are exactly the kind of stalls I love and so do many other people.

One thing that makes me laugh when doing bootfairs is that if you stand on the buyers side of the stall, it seems to attract people. It is true that if you see people crowding around a stall you automatically think there must be something good there. If you can get a willing friend/partner to do this during a quiet period even better.

Suzy_M

Jo_D wrote:

One thing that makes me laugh when doing bootfairs is that if you stand on the buyers side of the stall, it seems to attract people.

I'm glad I'm not the only one that does that. I usually find a brief exchange of pleasantries seems to stop people in their tracks as well without giving them the hard sell and seems to draw others in. A cheerful "Good Morning" often seems to be enough.

And whatever you do don't forget "Oohs a bootiful liddle doggy woggy then" (even if the little beggar has just cocked its leg against your table or display). That's guaranteed to stop owners of small lap-dogs in their tracks!

Contains_Mild_Peril

Suzy_M wrote:

I'm glad I'm not the only one that does that. I usually find a brief exchange of pleasantries seems to stop people in their tracks as well without giving them the hard sell and seems to draw others in. A cheerful "Good Morning" often seems to be enough.

And whatever you do don't forget "Oohs a bootiful liddle doggy woggy then" (even if the little beggar has just cocked its leg against your table or display). That's guaranteed to stop owners of small lap-dogs in their tracks!

It might also help to provide a bowl of water to attract dogs who will bring their owners with them, though that works better in warm weather.
I think there are still lots of boot sale customers looking for "proper" car boot sale stuff (I know I do), but there can often be an oversupply of things like paperback fiction and children's clothes, which means you have to be competitive to sell many.
I've never made a fortune selling at car boot sales, but then I haven't tried it often, since I don't have my own car.
A clothes rail is definitely a good idea, so if you don't have one, you might want to acquire or borrow one if possible.
If you have an eyecatching item you can use as a centrepiece for your stall, avoid underpricing it - you want it to attract customers for a while before you sell it! I saw a car boot stall with a big old Bakelite radio priced at £70, and it was still unsold at the end of the sale, but it got plenty of attention and people crowded round the stall to have a look.
I find that offering quantity discounts (e.g. 50p each or 3 for £1) helps too.