Car boot sale advice - updated 2013

savingmore

well we did another one yesterday as we had alot left over from last week, only made £20 profit this week but it was the wierd things that went that didn't sell at all last week, videos, cassettes (which totally surprised us) and books...however bank holiday mondays must bring out different people to sundays, we had someone debate buying a book for over 20 minutes - perhaps it was too expensive at 10p!!!!! it has almost put me off for life, shame as we really enjoyed the one last week...rest of stuff went to charity shop this morning. at least the house is decluttered to some degree and a few more pennies in the bank.:j

wildmantel

Hi all. I have done a few boot sales in my time and this thread is interesting and very informative. Here is my pennies worth so to speak.
Because of my previous job and my current business the early dealers tend to know me and usually just ask if I have anything for them. My answer is always no. If I have something that they are looking for they always want it cheaper.
So here is how I start my boot sale. I arrive at a time that suits me usually, if possible, when the site is half full. The dealers have got too many stalls to check and often move on quicker. When I have parked I will get out, lock the car and go for a walk around the stalls already out. Sometimes I find something that has been put out since the dealers moved on. Either way it gives me a chance to buy because later I will be stuck behind my stall and unable to go walkabouts. So (tip 1) go with a family member or friend. Always price your goods I have heard one member of a family say one price and another member something different. This is annoying but can be used to your advantage! Wait until one member moves away and then ask another and say that you were told it was only so and so, much less than it really is. This is another reason to price everything first, so it does not happen to you.
A good pricing system is to put actual prices on the more expensive items and then use different colour stickers on the other items. You can choose to put a guide on display telling the public blue is 50 pence, yellow is 25 pence etc. but beware of label changing. If someone tries it and you know they are trying it on say you are sorry but the item is no longer for sale.
Do not be intimidated by the buyers, always be polite and say something like "I'm sorry but I would rather try it for a bit longer at that price" it worked for me last week I was selling a canoe paddle for £7.00 not too expensive , I thought but a chap kept trying to get me down to £4.00. After about 10 minutes he returned tried again. I'm sorry I said but it is worth More than £7.00 so I would rather not and guess what? he paid the £7.00.
Books,... good clean modern paperbacks are not cheap as you will know if you buy them even charities know their worth so stick to your guns £1.00 for the thicker ones and 50 pence for the normal esp. if they are in good condition.

wildmantel

The last reply was getting long so I cut it here is a little more.
If you are doing a one off to make money for a charity or fund raising! Make sure the buyers know. Again stick to your guns with prices, you will get people who say you are not doing it for charity but for yourself. Ignore them, they are just the sour grape in the bunch.
Get as many people in on it as possible, include a local paper, they may not come along if it is a Sunday but get some pictures of the volunteers, the table layouts and get a mention in the paper before the event. If you can get more than one car involved say three or four then go in together and ask the organisers to let you pitch your convoy along side each other, for support and help. Put signs across the front off your tables and have flyers mentioning about the charity or whoever is going to benifit from the monies.
It doesn't hurt to ask for a little discount on the pitch cost. Mention that you have been in contact with the local papers already and will be again, after the sale. Some boot sale sites have got web pages? contact them before you contact the papers and tell them that if you get discount, then they get a mention. What have you got to lose.
One more important bit. You will never sell everything (Go on prove me wrong:D ) but if you do not intend to do another in the near future, then get chatting to a nearby stall holder and see if you can find one that will take the remaining items of your hands at the end of the day. Say for an agreed price £5, £10, £25 whatever! remember every penny counts. I know that I would be one of those who would take it off your hands.
I could go on all day but I will add some more later in the week. Good luck

bluenose1

Well after reading all your tips on here decided to do a Car Boot last Sunday. Got up at 5.30am, had packed the car to the rafters, my sister had done the same and we met en route, drove from Liverpool to the multi storey in St Helens. Arrived at 6.15am. There was a massive line of 100's cars waiting to go in. Queued for 1 hour and 15 minutes only to be turned away as they were too full!!!!!!!!!!
Couldn't believe it. Had to drive home with all my stuff. My families face was a picture when I returned with a full car.
So my tip if you are doing a Boot sale there is make sure you are there for at least 6am. In fact I won't be doing one there now 'cos there seemed to be too many sellers.

keelykat

we did three this year, well i went to one and had to let my hubby do other two by himself (pregnancy and stinky portaloos at other side of field werent a good idea!)

tinkerbell12

Hi,

I am doing a car boot on Saturday and wondered where I can get plenty of change from as my initial float? Will the bank do this?

Also, how much do you think I need?

Thanks very much...

Contains_Mild_Peril

Bluenose, doesn't the car boot sale let you book a stall in advance? All the boot sales in my area do, apart from the ones in a huge field which can accommodate thousands of cars. Most in my area even have a discounted fee for pre-booked pitches (presumably so that people are less likely to wait until the Sunday morning to decide whether to sell, then stay at home if the weather doesn't look good).
Tinkerbell, your bank will probably change money for your float. I usually just save up my loose change for about a week beforehand. About £20 in various denominations should do. If all your prices are divisible by 5p then you won't have to worry about coppers, but make sure you have plenty of 50p's.

lisalawton

Hi
I am doing my first boot sale in the morning an am very nervous. Ages ago I bought some platinum plated jewellery really really cheap with the plan to start selling as a business but never got round to it, so I am planning on getting rid of it at the boot sale tomorrow, I have read your advice on the 'muggers' and keeping it in the car til much later, but am wondering what sort of prices people pay for second han clothes. I have recently lost a lot of weight so am selling ALL my clothes from jeans to suits, all top brands like next and principles and in nearly new condition. Is £5 a piece too much with slightly more for suits or are they better on ebay? same for the jewellery, its platinum plated with swarovski crystal chips etc...was hoping for £7.50 ish for the bigger pieces and a fiver for the rings. Any advice greatly appreciated.
Cheers

annie-c

lisalawton wrote: »

Hi
I am doing my first boot sale in the morning an am very nervous. Ages ago I bought some platinum plated jewellery really really cheap with the plan to start selling as a business but never got round to it, so I am planning on getting rid of it at the boot sale tomorrow, I have read your advice on the 'muggers' and keeping it in the car til much later, but am wondering what sort of prices people pay for second han clothes. I have recently lost a lot of weight so am selling ALL my clothes from jeans to suits, all top brands like next and principles and in nearly new condition. Is £5 a piece too much with slightly more for suits or are they better on ebay? same for the jewellery, its platinum plated with swarovski crystal chips etc...was hoping for £7.50 ish for the bigger pieces and a fiver for the rings. Any advice greatly appreciated.
Cheers

Hi Lisa

Have you thought about trying ebay first, esp for the clothes. Your things sound like they are stuff you could get more for on ebay. At boot sales people want a bargain and clothes don't go for much more than £1 or £2. I know because I did a few boot sales last year. I took suits I had 'slimmed out of' and although they were immaculate I priced them at £5 to start but ended up selling them 2 for £3 in the end. And lots of stuff we sold for 20p an item just because we were fed up of it all by the end. Wish I'd given it to a charity shop in retrospect! I have had better luck on ebay. Depending on the sizes, lots of people who are slimming will buy on ebay because, as we know, it is expensive buying clothes when you only want them 'just for now'. Bigger sizes tend to sell better, possibly because bigger sized people (as we know!) tend to hate shops and changing rooms. That was my experience of selling anyway....

Another thing to be aware of is that people tend only to buy secod hand clothes that are in season... so your suits and winter clothes will sell for more than summer things.

A good idea is to go to a boot sale in advance (this morning perhaps?) and get a feel for how much other people are sellling stuff for. Sellers are friendly so you can always ask people how well they are doing and it will give you a feel for how you might do yourself.

Good luck!

Contains_Mild_Peril

I agree: in my experience boot sale customers tend to want secondhand clothes for next to nothing. This applies especially if you have no clothes rail to display them properly. Presentation seems to have a profound psychological effect: if clothes are hung on rails as in a charity shop, customers might pay up to very cheap charity shop prices, but if they have to rummage jumble-sale style they expect jumble sale prices. Bigger sizes tend to better on eBay. When I slimmed from a size 18 I sold some of my better size 18 clothes on eBay, hardly any at a car boot sale, and gave most away to friends and charity shops.