Prices at car boot

RFW

If you've got a smartphone, get the Amazon app and scan the barcodes and see what each is worth.
To ask how much it's worth selling a CD for is a "how long is a piece of string" question.

Flyonthewall

soolin wrote: »

I actually do believe that a very high percentage of people buying at car boots are looking to resell. There is a high amount of apparently casual buyers who happen to have a jewellers loupe in their pocket to check China marks or who know how to lick their fingers and rub it over impressed marks in glass to see if they can find a makers mark.

Just read some of the other forums on here, people go to car boots to find things to sell, or up cycle and then sell, there are several facebook groups I belong to for specialist China or glass where it is routine for people to post photos of their car boot finds on a Sunday ready to upload to ebay on the Monday.

Car booting isn't casual anymore, it is a business.

Sad, but true. Although I haven't seen people go quite that far in looking to find items, but it doesn't surprise me.

Thing is, while there may be odd good finds, I'd say often sellers are more clued up now on prices and will double check ebay themselves. Obviously, then there's the competition with other buyers who are generally looking for anything and everything as they don't care what it is they buy so long as it sells for more.

Years ago you could make a bit of profit (although how much and how often probably varied massively between the few that did it), but now it's far harder. All that work for very little return and there's always the risk of losses or just not being able to sell the item.

I think people get carried away in thinking it's a way to get money quick. Buy low at a carboot, go home and list it on ebay in minutes. They don't take in to account all the other parts, including the amount spent getting to the carboot (and entering for those that charge).

If you're already a specialist and dealing with specific items then when you go to a carboot it makes sense that you look out for things like that. You're bound to notice certain items. For most, that's not the case though.

ilikewatch

The days of reselling car boot buys for 10,000%+ profit seem long gone. A few years ago I would regularly buy items for £2/£3 and resell for £400/£500. Nowadays when I ask a stallholder an items price I regularly get the response "I won't go lower than £24, they sell on eBay for £25" - almost as annoying as "it's brand new, I've only used it a few times".

roddydogs

What did you buy for £2 & sell for £400?

ilikewatch

A few things that spring to mind are:
An EDP Wasp synthesiser bought for £3 and sold for just over £500 (a couple of years later I found another for £5 which sold for £400)
An early (new, boxed) Tamiya radio controlled car bought for £3 sold for just under £400
A fusion splicing tool (used to join optic fibres) bought for under a tenner and sold for £600ish
A large bundle of brand new, boxed retro console stuff bought for about £35, probably sold individually for £2-£3K

Peter_Poophead

ilikewatch wrote: »

A few things that spring to mind are:
An EDP Wasp synthesiser bought for £3 and sold for just over £500 (a couple of years later I found another for £5 which sold for £400)
An early (new, boxed) Tamiya radio controlled car bought for £3 sold for just under £400
A fusion splicing tool (used to join optic fibres) bought for under a tenner and sold for £600ish
A large bundle of brand new, boxed retro console stuff bought for about £35, probably sold individually for £2-£3K

Yeah sure...

theonlywayisup

OLD THREAD ALERT. Great first post though.