How do I display clothes at carboot sale? Advice please!

Seaxwyn · 1 June 2007 at 5:37PM

Hi there

Can anyone give tips on how to display clothes at a carboot sale?

I bought a clothing rail at Argos but it is completely rubbish - falls over if you hang more than five light items on it.

I don't want to spend much on a good rail as I only have a couple of bags of clothes to sell - but they are good quality and I'm sure would sell well if I could just make them look enticing.

I would be really grateful for any advice on how to rig up a rail or otherwise display clothes.

Thanks

badmumof1 · 1 June 2007 at 5:44PM

put some weight on the bottom of the rail to stop it from tipping over

if you have a roof bar then you could hang the clothes on hangers from that.

or a large sheet and lay them on that on the floor and let people rummage through them

StaffsSW · 1 June 2007 at 5:55PM

Any clothes I've sold on ebay. I've always got pictures of peope wearing them, so bring along as many of your mates as possible to model them!!!

In all seriousness though, a weighted clothes rail is about the only practical option, although I have seen people hand them of the roof gutters along the sides of cars and vans. Vehicle needs to be spotless to get away with this!

Seaxwyn · 1 June 2007 at 10:56PM

Thanks both! I'll experiment with weighting the clothes rail but I'm scared of creating a trip hazard. I did try hanging stuff off our car but it doesn't seem to lend itself to that - not many places you can actually fit a hanger.

Have you had good results selling clothes on ebay? The few times I've tried I've got 99p+postage and it doesn't seem worth all the hassle. I'd rather get rid of them in one go at a carboot and avoid having to pack and post things.

Guinea_2 · 2 June 2007 at 12:13AM

Hi there
I also bought the cheapy rail from Argos and took it along to a car boot sale. Sold no clothes because the rail fell over numerous times and I couldn't deal with the embarrassment anymore so I put the clothes and rail away.
BUT...I took my clothes along to a car boot about a month ago with a cheap sofa throw from Ikea and spread them out with skirts and trousers folded at the top of the sheet, dresses below that then tops and belts nearest where people walked. I charged things at £1.50 per item and sold about three quarters of the stuff. I was quite pleased really! But...I guess it does depend on the day what people are looking for.

annie-c · 15 June 2007 at 3:14PM

I solved a falling-over-clothesrail problem by lowering it to the lowest height possible (and still hang the longest clothes) and by setting it up on a rug/old curtain to give stability.

Also, to sell clothes well ensure they have enough hangers and are ironed.

onredbull · 16 June 2007 at 1:32AM

When I used to sell some of my baby items; vests, baby grows, socks, cheap t-shirts ect, I got a few shopping baskets (from supermarkets - many years ago) and similar sized plastic boxes.
I would lable them with A4 paper saying "0-3 months" or "12-18 months" ect and a price - 10p per item and they sold quite well.

Depends on what your selling - I agree with havin a rail and weight to hold it down as ive had 2 that have fallen down at the same time - not nice.

caela_2 · 27 June 2010 at 10:01AM

You can use your actual car boot to display items. Lift the door fully open and tie a piece of string to a hole on one side and as taught as you can, to a hole on the other. There are usually holes cut into the metal of the inside of the boot door, so it should be easy. You then hang your clothes on hangers from this make-shift line and put a sign above it saying your price per item (e.g. all items £1 each). Anyway, that's what I'm going to do, but make sure to put your main stall to the side a bit so they can access the car boot and clear anything out of your car that anyone could nick!

VanillaDelia · 27 June 2010 at 10:30AM

We also used to have one of those cheap rails from Argos, any sign of wind and it was over. We popped sand in the bottom pole, which helped a bit. The rail died on us though and ended up in the bin in the end.

PasturesNew · 27 June 2010 at 10:32AM

Staple them to the car with a staple gun.

Claire_Bear · 27 June 2010 at 2:50PM

I did a car boot sale last Sunday and put clothes on a sheet on the floor with a sign saying 50p each, only sold about 5 things, people just didn't seem keen on leaning down to the floor to rummage through. Some people have suggested taking a folding clothes horse and hanging clothes off there? Or you could try and construct some sort of clothes line, maybe if you ask the person in the next car if you can string a line between your car and theirs?