Sites like eBay and Gumtree have meant car boot sales are no longer the obvious choice for flogging clutter and old clothes, but with the right approach car boot sales can be profitable and fun! To ensure your car boot sale experience isn’t hit or miss, read on and follow these top tips:
Before you arrive
Deciding which car boot sales to attend should be part of your strategy to succeed selling your old goods. Car boot sales may be held on a regular basis or as a one-off special event. If the event is a one-off, buyers may be more willing to buy something special and spend more.
If you opt for a weekly car boot sale, head off the week before and stroll around as a buyer. This way you can suss out any high-traffic spots, and get a feel for the busy periods of the day. You want to catch potential buyers before they’ve spent all their money and before they are tired out by their explorations of the site – so you’ll want to avoid that pitch by the exit.
Don’t forget to check the weather before you head off to a car boot. It takes a lot of effort to set up properly and having to cram everything away in the pouring rain is an unwanted stress. If you do decide to risk bad weather, take plastic lidded boxes which you can quickly pop your goods in and keep them dry until it clears up.
Organising goods for sale
Although it’s called a ‘car boot sale’, items are rarely arranged for sale inside the vehicle. Take a folding table (first, check these are not provided by the organiser) so that you can clearly arrange your goods at an appropriate height for people to browse. If you’re looking to make money for clothes, take a clothes rail or a large blanket on which you can arrange your garments. Make your customer’s task as easy as possible; if you’re selling children’s clothes, sort these into tubs labelled by age range. Make a feature of any kid’s clothes that have popular characters on or are from designer brands.
When selling books or DVDs, try displaying these in shelving which is propped up against your table. This helps them to be clearly displayed – people will get bored of browsing through a muddled box. If you are selling puzzles or board games, make sure that all the parts are included and label the boxes as ‘complete’.
Best sellers
There are a number of items that always seem to go down well at car boot sales, so if you’re taking any of these to sell, make them a prominent feature:
- Old blankets – can be used for picnics, dog blankets or as nice home throws
- Computer cables – if you find the right buyer, an old computer cable will go for as much as it would new
- Toys – bright coloured electronic toys are great for attracting attention and will have little kids persuading their parents to make a purchase. Stuffed toys are always popular too, with people buying them for pets as well as children.