To be pleasantly surprised at the amount of cash we made doing a car boot for the 1st time ever today!!

[nananaps]

We have had a huge clear out, car was filled to the roof, top box packed, sold 70% of stuff within the first 2 hours.
Made £160 all together! Came home with a suitcase of unsold stuff thats all.

Chuffed to bits!
Never done one before, what an easy way to make a few spare quid!

Have to say though, folk will litterally buy anything !!

Love a good carboot, especially when you make a good profit. Well done!

Last time I did one they had their heads stuck in my boot as I was unloading!!!

Thats brilliant. Im doing one for the first time in a few weeks. Hope we get that much too.

Wow, lucky you. I generally make precisely 0 after costs.

Met soem really lovely people too! Folk just want to tell you their life story when looking through your stuff!

Overheard a lady saying that she had gone to a wedding last night, "much more fun that funerals aren't they" she said to her pal, made me giggle

lljkk costs were £7 for the car, that was it! Brilliant

Can you give us some tips of what you learnt today and would do differently as I'm thinking of doing one but I'm a bit scared!

Weddings are ccertainly much more fun than funerals.

Glad you made a bit of money, what are you going to spend it on?

We are doing one in a couple of weeks and would really appreciate any tips.

I too would love to know what you were selling! I would like to do one but not sure what sells, what prices to set etc!! Any tips gratefully received!

We are going on a wee holiday in October in our caravan, the money is paying for our days out during the week.

We sold, camping gear (we had tons as we bought a caravan so no need for any of it)
Went from room to room and collected stuff.
Kids clothes went well, ds piled up toys he doesnt play with any more, they all sold.
Curtains, pictures, cups, plastic plates, kids novelty bowls & plates from my kitchen cupboards.
Some clothes i no longer wear, football boots, shoes, childrens books & all sorts of general house hold stuff.
We did sticker price everything, but just wanted rid, so didnt really haggle with any one, accepted what was offered.
Toys at one end, books at another, didnt stack stuff up, just kept putting stuff out as a space was made available...just so that people could see things without having to root too much.
Started at 7am..finished by 1pm, siesta in the sun after counting up cash in the afternoon!

Well done op and hope you enjoy your break :)

Well done, I made £50 at my first one last week, just from unwanted crap round the house and garage.

Tips:

try to pick a dry day.
get there early.
bring lots of change and carrier bags.
Don't haggle if you just want rid.
Smile and be friendly

I didn't price anything, which worked in my favour as people had to ask me how much, then I could persuade them to buy.

If You're thinking of it, just do it, it's not that daunting.

You had to drive there, too, right? (I know I am an anorak about this) It costs 40-60p/mile, roundtrip, to move most cars from A to B (more like 85p/mile for my old 7 seater). So need to deduct that, in theory.

The highest gross takings I ever had was about £30.

I think that our local carboots are just too quiet. Was it heaving busy all the time you were there? We're lucky if we get a full hour like that, with trickle trade thereafter.

Oh, and then if you bring helpers children, they start asking for hot dogs & snacks, soon bleeds any profits (sigh).

I do car boots with my mum occasionally. We mostly sell clothes and shoes. I would recommend getting cheap clothes rails rather than the wallpapering tables most people have and shoe boxes (you can get loads very cheap on eBay) if you plan to carboot regularly. I find we get maybe 25% more for clothes that are "ironed" (tumbled for a minute and smoothed) and hung up and clean/polished shoes with a blank shoe box. We're in London (go to Battersea Carboot mostly and it is very busy).

Oh and we do take plenty of drinks/flasks of tea, crisps, sandwiches etc too. That saves loads.

Wow, I'm impressed! We're doing carboots at the moment to clear our house of junk and the tiny amount stuff sells for and the small amount we come home with (most was £30 after cost of entry, worst was £11) would make you weep.
I'm not sure what else to do as ebay is such a hassle but I am truly fed up with selling £40 like new monsoon dresses and virtually brand new books for 50p.
Tell us your tips!

Well done
but I have been to funerals that were far more fun than weddings !

Well done :)
DM is an inveterate hoarder and every now and then we car boot the generous gifts crap she passes on to us. My tips are pretty similar to above:
Take loads of carrier bags
Do not overprice yourself, if you want a good return then go home and try eBay
Present your stuff nicely, clothes folded, shoes paired, toys together and so on
Stuff with small bits should be securely bagged so there are no escapees
Jigsaws etc checked and labelled "checked & complete"
A little anecdote such as "that was DS's favourite" or "that was one of the best purchases we ever made" can help sway a wavering customer

Above all smile, look interested when people approach, pick a nice day and get there early.

A little anecdote such as "that was DS's favourite" or "that was one of the best purchases we ever made" can help sway a wavering customer

Yes - this definitely made a difference with selling toys.

I drove 0.7 miles to my local car boot sale, brought a flask and picnic and didn't visit any other stalls, but I agree all these can eat up the profit.

I waited about 3 weeks before it was forecast for fine weather, but not too hot/sunny so people weren't put off by the rain but didn't think they were "wasting" a nice day by being in there, so it was nice and busy.

TBH I couldn't imagine doing it as a regular thing, maybe once a year to empty the house of crap.

Some examples of the bizarre stuff that sold:

A very old rug that I had brought along just to lay things out on - £3
Carpet underlay offcut - £3
An empty wooden box that once held a posh bottle of wine - £1
A "paint your own gnome" kit - £3
A "make you own energy bars" kit - £4
Assorted handles, knobs and hooks bought from Ikea for a kitchen project that were not needed - 50p each
Framed prints rescued from a skip - £7 each!!
Kids videos - 10p each - sold 20.