Surviving My First Car Boot Sale - What I Learned

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I like money - I like earning, saving and spending it! A couple of weeks back I had some stuff that wasn't going to sell on ebay (think Primark clothes, books etc) but would do really well at a boot sale. So lo and behold by the Sunday myself and my friend set off at 5am to do our first ever boot sale - and it was a really good day! I had been to boot sales a million times before to buy stuff but never to sell. There is - believe it or not - an art to getting a really good bootsale right. So if your looking to make some money then read on.

Do you research beforehand
There is nothing worse then paying for a pitch and finding out hardly any buyers are going to turn up. I googled extensively using the website gocarbootsales and Facebook to whittle down the best sites.

Be used to the early starts
6am are the normal time that sellers need to start setting up and people come earlier - car boots may not be for you if you struggle to get out of bed anytime before ten on a Sunday. On the plus side you are more likely to be done by 12 so you still have an afternoon.

Take a friend
If you can take a friend, you can share on costs and it will be handy when you need the toilet. I parked my car in a lay by, transferred my stuff over to my mates car and travelled in with her as I didn't have that much to sell and it meant it cost us £4 each for the pitch rather than £8.

Driving down the cost of everything!
The aim is to make money - so bring your own lunch and drink, I used a old duvet cover and a very wide scarf as a blanket for the floor and a recycle bin to put items in.

Bring your own loo roll and hand sanitiser
Them toilets can be nasty!

Bring a float
I brought thirty pound in change but £25 would be ok.

People expect something for nothing
If I hadn't done my research beforehand I would have been surprised at how little people are prepared to pay for things. Don't go to a car boot expecting to get good prices for your items as it won't happen. I would normally go in for a price that was higher then I would be expecting so I would more likely get the price I was happy with. Haggling can get quiet intimating so don't be afraid to say no.

People may try to get in your car
Again as in the point above, I would have not expected people to try and get in the car when we were parked up, especially if they see an item they want. We locked the car doors and just set up as quickly as possible.

Strategise
I had to admit it was kind of fun setting up and switching items around throughout the day to try and increase sales. Jewellery and make-up which started off at the back got moved to the front as it was very popular and rather than have all our clothes on the clothes rail - we laid them out on the blankets as well.

People will literally buy anything
Finally this point is so true. I saw people walking around with really random items that you wouldn't think would sell. So it really is worth bringing any old tat along and seeing what price you get for them!

Have you been to a car boot? How much have you earned from one? Let me know in the comments! xx




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