SELLING AT A CAR BOOT SALE – TIPS & TRICKS

Hi everyone! If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen I did a car boot sale recently. Usually when I go to the car boot sale I’m there hunting for bargains, but this time I decided to have a good clear out and declutter and sell things on to a new home.

I thought I’d share with you some car boot selling tips and tricks to help you if you are planning on selling at a car boot sale yourself.

For readers outside of the UK, a car boot sale is similar to a garage sale, or a flee market. It’s called a car boot sale because people sell things from their car boot (although usually they also put a table up to display items on!)

selling at the car boot sale tips mr carrington

TIPS:

  • Get their early to secure a good spot. The later you arrive, the further away from the start your row will be, so people may tire by the time they reach your stall.
  • Pack food and a flask of coffee. There is usually food available but it’s not cheap and if you are on your own you won’t be able to leave your stall.
  • Bring plenty of loose change.
  • Remember you will have to pay for your pitch, this can be anything from £5 upwards.
  • Bring carrier bags and newspaper to wrap up fragile items.
  • Don’t expect to make huge amounts of money at a carboot sale. Clothing items generally sell for £1-£2 and bric-a-brac sells well at 50p. People may even offer 10p or 20p for things at a car boot!
  • Expect people to haggle. Usually they will offer half of what you ask.
  • Don’t hold onto things for their value. If you want to make more money on items, consider selling them on Depop, Ebay, Gumtree, or Facebook Market Place instead.
  • If someone asks you to hold an item for them, take the money and make it clear how long you are prepared to hold it for them. I usually say I’m leaving in 1 hour so they collect it promptly.
  • Have fun, chat to people and enjoy people watching. You meet some real characters down the car boot.
  • A folding decorating table is good for displaying items and will pack up neatly into your car boot. I got mine for £9.99 from B&Q.
  • Take ANYTHING you don’t want anymore. I am always surprised at what sells at a car boot sale. Old glasses cases, rusty old nails, old wifi routers, old suitcases all seemed to sell well!
  • Check the weather forecast! If it’s going to rain it will put buyers off so the boot sale may be quieter.
  • Do it with a friend if possible, they can help you set up, sell and watch the stall if you need the toilet or want to go for a browse 🙂
  • Pack the car with setting up in mind – so any tables, rails or blankets for the floor go in last.
  • Keep valuable items locked in the car or in a secure space on the table. Occasionally people will be light fingered at the car boot sale.
  • Fellow Car Boot enthusiast Kate McCabe (check out here Car boot sale hauls on YouTube) recommends laying out clothing onto blankets as a clothes rail can look expensive and put buyers off.
  • Reduce items if they aren’t selling. And towards the end of the morning consider making everything 5op to clear it all.
  • Be vocal and call out prices (i.e. all clothes £1 to attract people to look)
  • Don’t price items individually, usually when people do this the prices are too high and it puts buyers off.
  • Be polite and smile, and don’t be offended when someone offers you 1op for your wedding china.

I hope you found these tips useful! You can check out my vlog below to see how I got on selling at a car boot sale, (a few people asked how much I made, and I think it was around £60 or £70) and I’ve saved my stories from the day over on Instagram as a highlight.

You can also follow my home Instagram account where I share any home bargains I find!

Let me know if you have any other tips and if you are doing a car boot sale this summer have a good one!

 

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