Car boot sale advice - updated 2013

GrammarGirl

Thought I'd share my experiences after doing my first ever car boot this morning. I felt a bit daunted after reading tales of pushy buyers and was a little nervous about 'car boot etiquette' so wanted to give a bit of advice for anyone in a similar situation.

My friend and I sold at 'The Big One' in Leeds, which is advertised as 'opposite the airport' but is actually quite a way away, opposite Greenacre Cattery just after Pool Bank crossroads. We crammed as much as we could into the car and also took a trestle table, tablecloth, picnic rug and clothes rail with shelves.

We arrived at 7am after getting lost (driving round the airport!) and the field wasn't quite full. It was £8.30 for the pitch. The buyers/other sellers swarmed our car, peering in before we were even out! Most were friendly, a few were pushy and they all rummaged in our boxes as soon as they were on the ground! I kept an eye on everyone but we had no problems. Lots asked if we had computer games, perfumes or mobile phones (we didn't!).

One thing we found a huge bonus was our clothes rail. It took a bit of time to put together but was so worth it. We made most money on clothes and people were always rummaging through. It also helped that we individually priced all our items so people had an idea, but we were really open to haggling. We thought of every penny (after our float) as profit which made it easier when a cheeky man bargained me down from £7 to £2.50! Better to get rid than haul back home. In the last 30mins we reduced everything to 50p and shifted loads. We did bring some back but not a great deal and we'll donate it all to charity.

If you feel uneasy with a price, don't sell. My friend had a car stereo that she knew was worth about £25. She wanted £15 and no less and was very firm with everyone who tried to offer her £10. Eventually one man who fought the hardest for a reduction came back and paid full asking price. Take lots of plastic bags, plenty of change, bottled water, toilet roll, snacks and a warm jumper! We also found displaying things in open vintage suitcases and hanging from our rail (good for scarves, belts, bags etc) loads better than cramming it all into a plastic box. Lots of people are put off by mountains of stuff all piled up and messy. And leave room in front of your table so people can actually get to it... the stall next to us had about a mile of stuff in front and people were getting angry!

Hope my advice helps for anyone wanting to do a car boot for the first time. We'll definitely be back in a few weeks!

bettyanne6

I did my first carboot today in the last few years in our local tesco car park-pitch fee of £5 booked or £7 on the day -reasonable as this goes to charity -was busy with a lot of stalls and customers-until after 2 hours the heavens opened!!! It's amazing how quick you can pack stuff back in the boot! only sold a few things-£26 after fee-booked on the next one in 4 weeks' time-stuff all ready which is an advantage! will be adding to it -will deffo take a clothes rail and just price up all items 50p or £1-things I might have listed on Ebay but know will not sell for any more and with the p&p probably not sell at all!! Carboots are deffo a good way to get rid of a lot of stuff quickly-as long as you dont expect to sell anything for any sort of decent price!!!! Often people really do want to pay pennies for items-I stuck to my prices though on a few items-didnt sell them but hoping to next time!!!

Willowtree_2

starxtrouble wrote: »

There is a really good one which I go to in Taplow. Go along the m4 and get off at the jct for West Slough (7?) turn left at the roundabout and follow the signs to Taplow/Maidenhead. Keep going for about 1-2 miles. The car boot is on the left directly opposite Taplow railway station. Its officially open from 10, but the first time I went there I was a bit late and got there about 11, and had to queue for an hour to get in with all the buyers. The people running it told me that most sellers get there around 7am. Its on every Sunday except BH wkends (including Easter) when it is on on the Mondays. I will be going this sun and easter monday. Hope this is useful.

Louisa

I agree with you, this is a fantastic Car Boot. You can spend the whole day there (until about 4.30pm). There are even places to have lunch (food good also). Its worth remembering that its open Every Sunday until early Winter but on Bank Holidays it changes to Mondays instead of Sundays. I sometimes do sell there and do really well, other times I just go to look round and its so good for buying, loads of different types of items for Sale .:T

1HANNAH

We did our first carboot sale this morning in Swansea raising £118 after pitch fees.
Loads of people were asking us for baby blankets which we didn't have with us (will remember for next time)
not good sellers today for us were
baby clothes, books, electricals foot spa & jacuzi, soft toys

GOOD SELLERS - Kids toys, moses basket/stand, a cot

Hope that helps someone.

Elfinwings

Hi everyone, it's getting to that wet and cold time of year - does anyone know of an indoor carboot in the Worcestershire area?

Thanks,
Elfin.

Hezzawithkids

This looks like it could be the last nice weekend of the year (weather-wise) so I predict it will be a bumper weekend for booters everywhere!! We are taking a pitch at our local one on Sunday for one last de-clutter plus I need some cash to pay for the Beyonce tickets I've just bought.;)

I have one request of booters/sellers: Charity shops are crying out for stock at the moment, I've noticed in the last couple of months that the charity shops seem to be emptying out of stock and they are all appealling for our unwanted stuff to replenish. So if at the end of your sale you still have some stuff left and don't think you'll be able to sell it elsewhere, then please donate it to your local charity shop, they will be very grateful and you will get a nice warm fuzzy feeling inside!

Whatever you are up to this weekend - have fun!!

sar80_2

I did my first 2 car boots over the summer. The first one was a bit daunting, especially as before we'd even got out the car we had people knocking on the window asking if we had dvds, jewellery, mobiles etc. The pitch fee was £6 but I went along with my sister so we split the fee. First time we made £92 and the second one about £70. Both times we only sold about a quarter of what we took. Baby clothes were the biggest hit, along with dvds and books. But it's true what they say, people really will buy anything. There were plenty of things that my mum thought were ready for the bin that people actually bought.
It's not nice getting up early on a weekend and loading the car up with stuff but by the time you leave it's a pretty good feeling knowing that you've got a purse full of money for your old junk.

Hezzawithkids

We did our last car boot of the year today, despite the promise of good weather it was rather cloudy & chilly. We arrived at about 7.35am for an 8am set-up and got a really good position right on the end of a row and opposite the burger van!! By 8am the field was full of sellers so I'm glad we got there early.

A few early-morning "vultures" did circle but they were not at all aggressive and we didn't have anything they wanted anyway so left us alone.

Overall profit for the day was about £65 (after my pitch fees of £9) which wasn't bad considering most of my stuff was priced either £1 or 50p and I had 3-for-2's on clothes, books and some jewellery. There was no particular big seller (apart from children's books which seemed to fly off the stall as they were all in excellent condition), but I did find it beneficial to have a big chest of small toys priced at 10p just under the table which pulled in the kiddies so their parents came across to look at what else we had. It was delightful watching the kids rummage around, their faces were a picture!! I stickered up most things with neon "flash" signs which seemed to help, especially as my own 2 kids came along to help and it avoided any confusion over prices. My best sales were a boxed up a wooden train set which sold for £5 (with no haggling) and a small goldfish tank with all the accessories inside which sold for £10 (again, no haggling). Nobody really haggled much, maybe they were too cold!!

True I did spend most of the day shivering in shorts & flip flops (expecting a warm day) but I look on it as £65 in my purse that I didn't have this morning. I'll bag up the unsold items and distribute them around the local charity shops this week, but I may keep hold of the toy chest for next time as that seemed to be a winning strategy!

Agutka

Buoyed by what Hezzawithkids said about a bumper weekend I packed up the house and went off to do the last carboot. I had a bad feeling about it though, just didn't want to do it, didn't want to get up, didn't want to drive in when I got there! Now I know why. It was a cold day and there were NO buyers. I actually had a nap in the car at one point! (I was on my own). Halfway through I was really fed up and made up lots of free boxes - couldn't even give stuff away! Had a walk around and everyone seemed to be in the same boat - everything 10p, ready for the charity shop or tip. Ridiculous. I made the grand total of £20, compared to £170 last weekend! And I had better 'stock' this time. I'm going to stick to buying till next summer. Goodbye!

NatNat1977

Sounds the same as me! Did my first and last CBS yesterday! Was there at 5.40 ready for 6am opening and after the pitch fee of £10 was taken off I had a whole £25! I can't believe what I thought I wouldnt sell I did and what I was sure would go didnt. By 12.30 I was packing up and had lost the will to live! The car is full of stuff that is going straight up to the charity this morning!

Never again!!!