Car boot advice 2 April 2022 at 2:32PM in Ebay, auctions, car boot sales, post & parcels 26 replies 9.7K views

kimp22

Hi all I am planning on do a car boot to try get rid of extra stuff and try make some money to put on my energy bills. Any advice for me it will be my first and haven't really got a clue. 
I have a plastic paste table and big enough car to fit abit in. 

Kim

jeffuk

Set out your table then go for a cuppa and let the vultures move on to the latest car that's setting up. Price everything up the night before you go, if selling valuables have someone with you and be alert to distraction theft. A float of £1 and  50p coins always comes in handy.

kimp22

Good advice didn't think about maybe needing change. I am not really sure what to sell things for I have a lot of children's clothes some never worn. But have no way of hanging them so trying to figure out how to display them now. 

Thanks 
Kim

Martin_the_Unjust

Clothes airer is pretty useful for hanging clothes on

Pollycat

Be ready for people who want something for nothing.
My sister had a pair of Kurt Geiger boots, someone offered 50p.
She rejected that offer and the same woman came back multiple times offering £1.00, £1.50, £2.00.
My sister told her she'd rather set fire to them rather than sell them for a pittance.

Grumpelstiltskin

Do not let anyone poke about in your car whilst you unpack, they will descend like a pack of vultures as they can pick out newbies at 100 metres.

Make sure you know how much you want for everything, if you don't you will be ripped off. Don't accept a ridiculous price at the beginning. Be very careful where you put your handbag etc.

kimp22

Sounds bad my daughter is coming with me she's wants to get rid of loads of books before going to uni. I will price everything the night before and just put a hard face on if people ask. I am not selling stuff for unreasonable prices so if they ask I won't be dropping the price. Problem is I am not sure what price to put on certain things. I have two new pairs of shoes only from shoe zone about £20 each. I will never wear them so £5 or would that be to high. I haven't been to a car boot for a long time so not sure.

Thanks 
Kim

Grumpelstiltskin

You can always come down in price although not straight away, but you can't increase your price.

A lot depends on the Car Boot itself, some you will find genuine buyers others attract the vultures, I think you will soon work out which your is.

Books fetch very little these days so be prepared to get rid of them it fact before you go check out WeBuyBooks, there is a thread a few days ago about selling books.

Tranboy

I would second all the above comments regards letting the hordes of antique dealers and ebay resellers pass you by. Anything of worth keep to the back of the stall, money in your pocket and not on the table, any paper notes check them over carfully for counterfeits, write down what is sold and paid for to avoid confusion if people collecting later, bring warm clothing to wear and food and drink. Two pairs of eyes are always a good thing to have when you have a stall as there are unfortunately dishonest people out there.  That said boots can be fun and you can have a good time buying and selling.

Grumpelstiltskin

I have seen stallholders spend nearly all their profit at the Burger Van so do take a hot drink if you can and even a bar of chocolate or a banana, much cheaper than the Burger Van.

theoretica

kimp22 said:

Sounds bad my daughter is coming with me she's wants to get rid of loads of books before going to uni. I will price everything the night before and just put a hard face on if people ask. I am not selling stuff for unreasonable prices so if they ask I won't be dropping the price. Problem is I am not sure what price to put on certain things. I have two new pairs of shoes only from shoe zone about £20 each. I will never wear them so £5 or would that be to high. I haven't been to a car boot for a long time so not sure.

Thanks 
Kim

If you aren't sure what price to put on things, then deciding that you are going to pick a price and not budge may not be the best way of doing things. You could try £5 and decide by the reactions if it is too high and worth coming down.