car boot sale - any advice

[Beebo]

I'm doing a car boot sale next weekend.

I've never done one before, so do any of you have any advice on pricing and the best way to sell stuff?
Will everyone haggle on the price?

 

[accountantpete]

Don't allow them anywhere near the car.

The first lot of lookers will be the dealers, then the knowledgeable boot goers and Poles/Russians etc and finally the joe punters.

I'd price the stuff up with stickers the day before.

Everyone will haggle - even over the Diamond encrusted 22ct gold ring that you have priced at £1.

 

[pplpilot]

Ah car boot sales, possible one of the greatest places to observe human behaviour (apart from the once a year holidaying family at an airport)

I did one once and I would rather burn my stuff in the garden than do another.

I guarantee -

a - You will be swamped by the 'get there early to find a bargain' hardcore the second you stop and open the car to unload.
b - You will be haggled down from 50p to 25p for the old pair of shoes you only wore once
c - You will be asked if an item could be brought back the following week if if doesn't fit, it's the wrong colour, she doesn't like it, she already has one etc.
d - If you have anything remotely old you will have the wannabe antiques expert keep slyly walking past glancing in its direction until he/she/it eventually walks up and gingerly take a look underneath for a makers mark.
e - You will never do another.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Never been to one. Might go just for this

Ah car boot sales, possible one of the greatest places to observe human behaviour (apart from the once a year holidaying family at an airport)

 

[bikepete]

Go by bike trailer! Friends borrowed my big trailer for a pre-moving-house sale, got in at half the price of a car :-)

 

[donnydave]

If you have a load of DVDs make sure you pack them all in a box easily accessible the moment you arrive, we were swamped by dealers who just wanted to by the whole lot.

If you take tea in a flask don't put it on the table. keep it in the car or put it under the table hidden from view because someone will pick it up to look at it and pour your tea all over the place.

 

[Mile195]

My experience with car boot sales is that after you've paid for your pitch, and 50 cups of tea because it's so bloody cold at 6 in the morning when you're setting up, you rarely make any money, and often I find I end up buying more crap than I managed to get rid of!

Trouble is all the buyers at a car boot think everything should be 10p, and all the sellers think their old rubbish is worth 000's because David Dickenson told them it might be on the telly.

In all seriousness though, it's worth sticking some price labels on some of the key items. If there's four items on a stall I like the look of, I will only ask for prices of two, because I start to feel like a parrot keep asking about different things.

Make books videos and DVDs all the same price so people can easily browse without thinking about the cost. a 10p box is always a good draw to get people over to your stall and looking too.

 

[akb]

From my experiences.

Be prepared to be swamped as soon as you park at your pitch. Dont be afraid to tell people to come back later whilst you set up.

Work your prices out the night before; and make sure you have some kind of strategy and all who is involved in selling on your pitch is aware of this strategy. It is so easy to not make enough money on your first pitch if you dont know what you are selling.

Organise each table of your stuff into some kind of order. Ie. clothes / toys / Books&CDS&DVDS.

Box up buk items and be prepared to haggle for a 'job lot' price.

Take a flask of tea. And some extra clothing to keep warm. It will be colder than you think it is.

Have fun. They are great places to people watch and mingle.

 

[s7ephanie]

and somebody will still try and steal something !! even if everything is priced at 10p

 

[DiddlyDodds]

Put it all in a pile and burn it.
This way you will not have to go through the indignity of selling your possessions for pennies to tight wads, who will try and grind you down to save a few pence on something marked up for 50p.

Did it once , would never do it again.

Would rather lay it all out on a table and for each request for a drop in the price hit the item with a lump hammer.
Would not make any money, but would feel a whole lot better .


Oh my , I am such a bitter person , I need a rest in a dark room.

 

[biggs682]

car boots are great fun , be wary of the families on mobile phones with wheeled suit cases , who try and get everything well below your asking price ?

what car boot you doing ?

we always try and price fairly as it gets rid of the stuff you only ending up throwing away or leaving in the loft for the next 10 years .

have fun

 

[phil_hg_uk]

Put it all in a pile and burn it.
This way you will not have to go through the indignity of selling your possessions for pennies to tight wads, who will try and grind you down to save a few pence on something marked up for 50p.

Did it once , would never do it again.

Would rather lay it all out on a table and for each request for a drop in the price hit the item with a lump hammer.
Would not make any money, but would feel a whole lot better .


Oh my , I am such a bitter person , I need a rest in a dark room.

 

[Sandra6]

I've done a few car boots in the past, before they invented "retro" and "vintage" and the prices went up!
In my experience, it's only profitable if you have atleast one high value item, like a bike or electrical item, for us it was usually a pram - but definitely something you stand a good chance of getting £50 for.
If you just want to get rid of junk, bundle it together as 3 for 2 or bogof, and if you can have a couple of little boxes of small things for 20p a pop -especially kids toys, like happy meal figures or little animals, cars etc, then you'll keep the kids happy and mum and dad are more likely to buy too.
Be ready to drop your prices by 11am, so that you can have an empty boot by lunch!

 

[djb1971]

Don't allow them anywhere near the car.

The first lot of lookers will be the dealers, then the knowledgeable boot goers and Poles/Russians etc and finally the joe punters.

I'd price the stuff up with stickers the day before.

Everyone will haggle - even over the Diamond encrusted 22ct gold ring that you have priced at £1.

The voice of experience

For every normal person there's about 500 chavs who'll haggle for something if its free!

The decorators table is your best friend, it'll act as a castle wall and keep the hoards at bay.

 

[EltonFrog]

?...

Would rather lay it all out on a table and for each request for a drop in the price hit the item with a lump hammer.
Would not make any money, but would feel a whole lot better .


Oh my , I am such a bitter person , I need a rest in a dark room.

Very funny.