Please help 1st car boot 2moro on own with 2 kids

Jennie_2

jet77 wrote: »

Jennie - OMG I hadn't even thought about the kids needing the loo :eek: I haven't got any1 who would be able to look after them.

Have you still got a potty knocking about? It is do-able for the kids to go to the loo in the car discreetly. If not, an old plastic bowl or ice cream tub?

Suss out the people on the table next to you. It may be that they can watch the stall for you while you go off and spend a penny. Use your judgement - there are plenty of decent people around.

jet77

I'm feeling knackered but really pleased with myself.

I've managed to obtain a car and load it :T (apart from bar stools - I will have to save them for another day ). I've made a picnic and prepared books/activities for kids :T . I've found quite a few more carrier bags too :T .

Think all that's left to do tonight is mark up the boxes (can't find sellotape anywhere ) - don't know how I'm going to fit the boxes in the car though

In the morning I need to go to tesco (little one by me opens at 6 a.m. even on sundays :j ) and get some wet wipes and 20 pounds cashback in change and I shall be off on my adventure :cool:

Thank you all for ur help :beer: I feel much better now and much more prepared for the battles I shall face to become DF 2moro :rotfl:

jet77

PS - wet wipes are to wipe down books etc that look a bit grubby and also for sticky fingers/mucky faces!!

Quackers

jet77 wrote: »

Thank you all for ur help :beer: I feel much better now and much more prepared for the battles I shall face to become DF 2moro :rotfl:

Good luck & most of all ENJOY it!!

Have fun whilst you are making the money. Dont get too worried about anything & just go with the flow.

I'd just like to ditto the point about not opening your car as soon as you get there. Wait a good 10-15 minutes until the dealers etc have moved on. I sometimes go and get a cup of tea and have a wander round the other cars before I even set up - sometimes its a good 40mins after I arrive! - I opened my car on my first car boot and got lots of stuff stolen!!! Nightmare. Ok, wasn't worth much but its the point.

BargainJunky

Just wanted to wish you good luck in the morning - you deserve a medal doing a car boot on your own with two kids. I did one with my mum on Monday but left my three year old with his daddy.

Hope you sell everything and make a fortune.

Let us know how you get on.

Good luck again and dont forget to set your alarm to make sure you dont oversleep.

Contains_Mild_Peril

mom23 wrote: »

Actually forgot to mention car boot i am doing tomorrow i am taking my 13 yr old son:eek: (who is so obnoxious it is untrue, but you will have that all to come!:eek: )
Think i would rather take your little ones!!:rotfl:

My DS is 13 now too, and he was defintiely more difficult to take to a car boot sale when he was young! Mind you, we don't have a car, and I've found I can't take enough by myself for it to be worthwhile, but now he's big enough to take a trolley of stuff and not try to escape (much), it's much better!
If you can get the kids to sell their own outgrown toys and clothes, it will keep them occupied, they'll be delighted to be making their own money, and they'll probably make more than you would selling their stuff for them: most customers are reluctant to haggle with a cute kid. One of the problems I had with my one nightmarish attempt at running a car boot sale with no car, no adult helper and a young child in tow (he was about 7 at the time) was that hardly any of the few items of his own whcih he'd brought were selling, so he got bored, frustrated and grumpy.
Good luck, and don't forget to take plenty of change in different denominations. I once lost a sale because I'd run out of change and the customer had only a £10 note. She said she'd come back later when she had some change, but she never did.

jet77

Hi,

Well my first car booting experience was a disaster on the financial side (made a grand total of 4.50 :rotfl: after deducting the 10 entry fee)

However the day had many positives and was definitely a learning curve :T I arrived at 8 a.m. but most people had already set up and I was right on the outside of a very large field with all the 'punters' coming in at the furthest point from my car :mad: There were no dealers at all in sight so I just unpacked everything as quickly as poss and laid it out. The kids had a brill time and were very good. I got a lovely tan and spent 5 hours having fun and working together with the kids. I spoke to the lady at the car next door who has done that car boot a few times and car boots regularly. She said it's def worth doing again so I'm going again this sunday but arriving for 6.45 so that I get a better pitch. I'm going to sell things more cheaply.

Thank god for the old saucepan I took for the kids to use as a potty It saved the day. And another brill tip I picked up from this thread was about bin liners because it was really foggy when I arrived and the ground was very damp.

I did spend 20p on a ball for the kids to play with but thought this was quite good considering I was v. tempted with some of the stuff on the stall next door

THANK YOU ALL so much for all of your advise as it would have been a complete disaster without you :beer:

Luv Jxx

mom23

Hi Jet
Sorry it was a disaster financially but as long as you had a good time what the hec!!!
I did think about you especially when i saw someone walk past with 2 bar stools !!:rotfl:
I did ok, i had done one the week before and cleared 120.00 and yesterday i cleared about 90.00 (pitch costs 7.00).
Obnoxious 13 yr old was quite good (if you ignore the fact that he spent loads and bought a fried egg and bacon bap which he managed to drip over his trousers and the seat of the car!!!:eek: Bless!!!)
Anyway i am not doing any more for a few months, but wish you loads of luck next week!
x

bluenose1

Hi Jet,
sorry you didn't make more.
I think you are so brave going and doing a car boot with 2 young kids. It's made me think what a chicken I am. I sell most of my finished with stuff on e bay and mostly make more than expected.
Hope you do better next week.

annapantscats

Awww.....good for you Jet77!! :T I remember doing car boot sales with my boy when he was little and it can be a hard slog if you dont have someone to help.
My only tip would be, yes, get there as early as you can to get a pitch nearer the entrance. Grab those punters while they still have money in their pockets and are not already weighed down with purchases!! Oh, and I use to take an old shower curtain to throw over everything if it rained. Hope you have better financial luck next time!!