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eBay

If you buy or sell items on eBay, you will find tips and advice on this forum.

Is anyone a car boot expert, am thinking of doing one instead of Ebay...(she says, posting in the Ebay topic)

30 replies

Oliveoil · 10/04/2008 14:18

but I figured if you do lots of Ebay you may carboot as well

anyhoo, how much would shoes/trainers go for? I have a mountain that do not fit me anymore (feet grew after pregnancies grrrr)

books?

etc etc

ta

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flubdub · 10/04/2008 14:21

Weve sold 100's of things on eBay lately, and have now vowed not to use it again.
Altogether in the last few months, weve made almost £650; £190 of which went to ebay.
It is usually only around £10 to set up a carboot stall, and you still make £100's. without having to walk to the post office every day.

flubdub · 10/04/2008 14:22

Oh sorry - didnt answer your question!

Dragonbutter · 10/04/2008 14:22

I do ebay and car boots.
I think things go for less at a car boot sale generally. Some people make a living buying things at car boot sale then selling them on ebay.
As a buyer, I would say i get more bargains at a boot sale than on ebay. Good for me, not so good for sellers.
Car boot is good for books and also large bulky items that are a nightmare to post.
Also at car boot sales, the weather can affect things. if it's raining, i get better bargains as sellers are usually fed up and want to go home.

I don't know how much you'd get for your shoes. depends whether they are brands etc. But i sympathise with you....my feet grew too.

MaureenMLove · 10/04/2008 14:25

TBH, there can be good days and bad days at a car boot. I did one last summer and made quite a bit, but the next one I did, I barely covered the cost of the pitch. You won't get more than a couple of quid for shoes and trainers and books I usually sell as a bundle, but again only a couple of quid.

It depends how much you've got to go. You need to weigh up the cost of getting it all in the car,the early morning and then getting it all back in the house again, at the end of the day.

Oliveoil · 10/04/2008 14:26

lots of lovely adidas [sob]

I have a huge walk in wardrobe/closet thing full of stuff and the thought of photographing it all and listing it on ebay...

have never sold anything on there and am boggled by it

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Oliveoil · 10/04/2008 14:27

so books, say 50p each

trainers - £2

childrens shoes £1

that kind of thing or is that too expensive/cheap?

am clueless

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frogs · 10/04/2008 14:29

Grit your teeth and do ebay. It is a steep learning curve and it is a faff, but not difficult once you've got the hang of it. I do carboots as well, every once in a while, but only for things that aren't worth ebaying. Agree you don't get v. much for things at carboots -- people expect to get something for nothing on the whole. Ebay buyers are more realistic.

flubdub · 10/04/2008 14:30

You should get more for that for the shoes.
Have a look here for examples.

Oliveoil · 10/04/2008 14:30

will you do it for me?

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schmoopoo · 10/04/2008 14:30

Can I but in I have loads of soap, toothpaste etc from when tescos were offering extra points on them. Do you think they will sell at a car boot sale

schmoopoo · 10/04/2008 14:30

Can I but in I have loads of soap, toothpaste etc from when tescos were offering extra points on them. Do you think they will sell at a car boot sale

frogs · 10/04/2008 14:31

Those prices are probably about right. But you don't need to put labels on it, so you'll soon get a feel for what is a realistic price: if they bite your hand off in their eagerness you know you've underpriced, if they sneer and walk away you know it's too much.

If you're after a one-off clearout, it can be a good way of doing that, but in terms of making cash, it's less reliable than ebay.

moondog · 10/04/2008 14:32

I've never done eBay as

  1. Don't understand it
  2. Thought of photographing and packing all that stuff makes me come over all queer.

Tried to carboot baby stuff (or rather made dh do it) and he came home after 4 hours having sold notihng.

Put (free) ad in paper and sold the lot! It was great fun, all the wheeling and dealing. Met someone in an underground carpark to pass on the Phil & Ted.

I wasn't too professional though. Some poor woman had to come back to our house twice (20 mile round trip) to pick up bits of cot i kept on forgetting to pass on.

frogs · 10/04/2008 14:33

Errr... no.

On account of how I have a complete shed full of stuff waiting to go to the carboot already (left in house by previous occupants) and I have a broken leg and can't drive. So the clutter lives on.

Carboots are quite fun in a hideous kind of way, but you do have to psych yourself up for them. Ebay is easier, more reliable and more lucrative, and doesn't require you to get up at 4am.

Oliveoil · 10/04/2008 14:34

I don't have time to fart, let alone photograph stuff and do a million trips to the PO

I thought that one trip would clear out my closet

I may do a recce and see the car boot first

or burn it all...

we are emigrating and I need to offload all our stuff and need to start NOW

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moondog · 10/04/2008 14:34

Where are you going OO?

Oliveoil · 10/04/2008 14:36

Australia

but are waiting for all the paperwork to be done

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frogs · 10/04/2008 14:36

Okay, how about you put an ad in the local paper? Or freecycle if you just want rid without worrying about the money?

Or you could list the shoes on ebay as a job lot, for pickup only. Photograph the whole lot together and do as detailed a description as you can be bothered to do. You wouldn't get as much as selling individually (on the whole, though people can go a bit silly over bundles sometimes) but much less hassle. But do specify cash on collection only, paypal or cheques is asking to be scammed on pickup items.

moondog · 10/04/2008 14:36

Blimey.
Bon Voyage

Have you had enough of Blighty thrn?

Oliveoil · 10/04/2008 14:39

yes indeedy, BIL lives there as well and is doing v well

and if we don't like it we can come back, we have done it before (Canada)

I will do some research on Ebay then and see [grumble], you are probably right on trainers as some of them are limited edition

thanks all!

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LOOBYLOU2 · 10/04/2008 14:40

All I would say re car boots is do a bit of research to find best one ..... when DH and I first moved in together we sold most of his flat at an inner city car boot BIG mistake - would have made twice as much in the leafy outskirts!

frogs · 10/04/2008 14:44

Oo, ebay is much easier than you think. I put off doing it for years, and it really isn't that bad. If you've got fancy trainers then a carboot really is a waste.

Look at 'completed listings' on ebay to see how much similar items have gone for.

Flibbertyjibbet · 10/04/2008 14:54

I take clothes and shoes in good condition to a dress agency. They take 30% commission but people come in, browse, try stuff on etc. Much better than ebay - I gave up buying clothes and shoes as its not the same when you can't see or try on. Also clothes are bulky = more postage.
Anything lightish and postable I ebay. Yes there are fees but I can do it half an hour a night for a week or so till the stuff is sold. Prices are better on ebay than car boots - at a car boot you only have the customers that choose to come to that particular car boot that morning. Ebay is like having every car boot customer in the country looking at your stuff. The last couple of car boots I did I came home with at least half my stuff, whereas 9 out of 10 items sell on ebay.
I have to psych myself up to do ebay - one session of sorting/washing/cleaning and photographing. Then when I next have a free half hour I upload the pics. Then I just put items for sale in batches as and when I've a spare half hour or so.
You do get the odd crappy customer but I try to look at the total profit overall, not what I get for each individual item.

Flibbertyjibbet · 10/04/2008 14:56

pssst any size 6.5 trainers and nice shoes? (grin) my feet also went up half a size and all my 6's are too small....

Oliveoil · 10/04/2008 14:58

they are all size 6, am now a 6.5 too

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