Car boot sale advice - updated 2013

Andi32uk

• books I usually put in a cardboard box (the type fruit comes in) and mark up as 30p each or 2 for 50p as I find noone will pay more than this,books don't sell very well I find so if I usually take them to a charity shop.

I have been going with my mum who has been doing CBS for years... her advice is put paperbacks and books on it's own on table! ppl hate having to bend down to look at books! she takes at least four boxes and never display's all of them from the start. ppl normally ask if she has any more and they then rummage in her box in the boot. She marks them up at 30p each or 4 for a pound.

some extra advice :j

last weekend we shared her stall and rather than pay for two pitches one parks up as a carbooter the other parks up as a buyer.. both car's full with items... and just walk the boxes over. We use two large tables, one small camping table (for the kids to have their own little mini stall) two large blankets at either end of the car for 20p items from kids clothes and other items, and puzzels for a pound each at the other side. Childrens books we keep at the front of the stall in the plastic boxes at ten pence each (just the right height for little ones when they are being dragged around) I also have a little old bathroom shelf that I use to show little nic-naks and expensive items that I want that little extra for.. and the not forgotten clothes rail for the items that you want that little extra for..

rhapsody_princess

Hi all. The car boot sale bug has caught on for sure with me and i havent been able to stop doing them!! Relatives are happy to give me theyre junk/old clothes/cds/dvds so the money making is easy. I've managed to get on top of some important bills and cut down a lot of my cards doing this.

I'm located in swansea so i have been a few of the following

Julians in Swansea. This is a Sunday boot sale..... need to get there about 6.30 to geta good spot - £8 entry. Depending on weather this can be quite good. The most i have made here is about £80 which isnt bad.

Carmarthen Showground. Again a sunday boot sale they dont let anyone in until 7am so get there a little earlier to get in the front of the queue! - £5 pitch and very good sale which has market traders also which help pull the crowds in. This one also runs all year round with a bit of shelter for the wet months (first come first served basis)

Bessemer Road, Cardiff. This is a saturday and sunday boot sale (better for those weekend commitments) Saturday sale doesn't start until 9.30am after the fruit market. This is nice as you really don't have to be up that early and you still have your sunday lay in Very busy with different types of customers compared to the two top boot sales. More chance of selling anything here. The dealers are a bit full on when you first get there so be careful and lock your boot. I havent done the sunday one here as yet. I was told that you would have to get here 6.30am to get in during the summer as it gets extremely busy. They do have some undercover area (again first come, first served basis)

Any tips? Ummm well i have noticed people do love and old rummage through a box. So all the old kitchen utensils and fruit bowls old crockery and dated ornaments are better off sitting in a big box labelled with a price! e.g. 20p/50p It will soon go down to nothing. Baby/childrens clothes are hit or miss really. Cds £1 each Dvds £1 each.

Hope this has helped anyone in my area or any other area for that matter Yes its seems daunting at first but once you see the cash coming in and your debts going down, you become the best sales person on the earth!! Lol!

I_am_mad

Hi,

I am doing my first carboot tomorrow and was wondering if anyone has any tips for me?
I am selling:
clothes
books
cds
dvds
games
bags
shoes
cupcakes
perfume
makeup
teddies

How much do you think I should charge for some of these items?
Do you think people will buy the cakes I have made and how much should I charge for them?

Thank you

Vicky

mandz27

I_am_mad wrote: »

Hi,

I am doing my first carboot tomorrow and was wondering if anyone has any tips for me?
I am selling:
clothes
books
cds
dvds
games
bags
shoes
cupcakes
perfume
makeup
teddies

How much do you think I should charge for some of these items?
Do you think people will buy the cakes I have made and how much should I charge for them?

Thank you

Vicky

personally i would go with what YOU would pay for those things, i did my first carboot on sunday and it was mostly kids clothes and toys 2 car radios , a few xbox games and i made £300:eek::eek::eek: i was completely gobsmacked but i took £3 a pair of jeans £3 for rain jackets £5 for winter coats the games £10 -£5 going on title realease date and popularity etc

but thats what thought i was going with what would i pay for this? and went from there also remember put on your haggling £s too as most people will offer less than what you ask then there will be the bonus of the ones that don't haggle and give you full price

one more thing i did a few "specials" buy 1 £3 item or 2 £3 items for a fiver went a treat at shifting more:D:D

King_Drax_I

I object to car boot sales where the BUYERS have to pay to park (or to get in) - even if it's 'only' 50p. We have a lot of these here in Devon, and imo it's pure greed on the organisers' parts.

I do not patronise these sales either as a buyer or as a seller, and I would respectfully request others to follow my lead - people power and all that.

If you really *must* attend a car boot where they charge buyers to park, then make sure you park elsewhere and simply walk a few hundred yards. Also, sellers, please check (before you go) if buyers are charged for anything. And then boycott that sale if they are.

flipper_2010

I agree, I wouldn't ever go to one you have to pay to get in (Standerwick in Somerset) £2 to get in! And there wasn't anything much there, we just ended up buying fruit from the market traders.

pennyshahin_2

What would you sell stainless steel steamer,slow cooker, george foreman grill (well used)modems ,ethernet cables, tv cables for at a boot fair?

annie-c

I sold a 2 tier steamer insert (no pan) for £1 and a large george foreman in good nick for £2.50 this summer. There is a lot of competition and £3 is an average asking price for small electricals at my local sales.

Fleur_De_Lis

Me and my parnter did a bootless car boot on a market (as we don't have a car) and we got the 'muggers' all after gold, silver and mobile phones. It was our first one and I was quite scared. I soon became forceful with them though. We arrived at 4am but this was too late and the stall we got meant we didnt sell too much. We actually came out on a loss. I would do another one but do you guys have any advice on these type of car boots?

Fleur

annie-c

Wow, 4am is really early!

As for the 'muggers', I usually handle them with a big smile and say that all my valuables have already been sold on ebay or sent to a recycling for cash company. They usually laugh and move on quickly as they are only there for valuable stuff and have no interest in junk.

To save people rooting through your bags before you are ready, it is a good idea to have your table somewhere accessible so you can get it out first, lock the car up and then take out a few bags or boxes at a time to set up the stall. Or unload your bags behind the car first and block yourself in with the table.

If your stuff is not selling at all then do some research into what else is selling. If it is a posh/antiques type sale then your household odds and ends won't get much interest. Conversely if you have good stuff to sell, but everyone else's stuff is cheap as chips, you can also be in trouble. Use google to see what other people have said about local car boots in your area.