Car Boot Sales - Doing my first one on Sunday, need as many tips as poss

[FoghornLeghorn]

That's it really - First car boot I'm doing on Sunday with MIL, we are going to split everything 50-50.
I have absolutley shed loads of clothes - mainly baby/toddler all in excellent condition (anything soiled I have thrown away) plus some ladies & mens clothes - Would these sell ?
Have tons of shoes/boots too - Would these sell ?

Am going to go through garage for housey bits/CD's/DVD's.

Just generally need advice please

take tons of change, and some old carrier bags to put stuff in!

If you have or can borrow a clothes rail to go alongside your car it might help the clothes to sell...

still thinking..

and there will be people there early and going through your stuff before it's even been unpacked!
be prepared! quite annoying!

plus you'll say 'give me 50p for that jumper' and someone will reply i'll give you 20p! FFS!

oh yes MLS! and they will probably be asking if you've got any jewellery.

second the clothes rail - all the decent stuff on the rail and replace as it sells.

with baby clothes be prepared to sell for peanuts, most of my baby stuff sold at 20p an item!

I took some of dd's first blankets to sell, nice condition, hoping they'd go to a nice family with a new baby.. Some woman bought them for her dog's basket.

Ah Well, at least they sold..

what mls states is true but that is the fun of bootsales (apparently) - it is true that something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it... If you want to get rid of everything then be willing to haggle. As the sale goes on you will have to decide wether you want to go home with everything or be willing to drop prices in order not to have to pack it all back in your car.

My in-laws regularly do stalls on carboots at the moment (the are clearing their house of all the stuff they have bought in car sales)- when it is getting close to the end then they try and find a dealer to make an offer on what is left.

Try to lay everything out attractively as possible, sort clothes into sizes - if you want the best prices they need to be washed, ironed and easy to see the size/ age group. I always judge wether it is worth going to a stall by how it looks and if the booters are smoking(sounds snobby but it is true i am afraid)

didn't intend to be so long winded but we are going to be doing a stall this summer so i have been giving subject alot of thought!hth

just read back my post - i didn't intend to assume that everyone overprices their items - but some stalls do overprice (£1.50 for a used babyvest )- what i mean is that when you do a stall you have to decide if it is more important to get rid of stuff or make as much cash as poss - iykwim

people will always make cheeky offers - so just smile and have in mind a threshold which ou will not drop below (until you want to gohome!!)

Ok - have just emailed my mum asking for some clothes rails.
How much change should we take ?

I don't want to price my things unrealistically and then end up taking things home with me but equally don't want to be ripped off - what is a fair price for general items ?

X posts BMSA

All clothes are washed btw but oh how I loathe ironing - I don't even do it for myself, DH and DD's unless it is unavaoidable .

What are good sellers generally then at car boots ?

if it is a busy site, when you park the car, you will be lynched by a small crowd (I really don't know where they come from) almost breaking into your car to see what you have, Don't be scared.

Wait for a car behind you to park next to you and then get out, the crowd should move along like a small wave of vultures!

If you try to unpack your stuff while there is a group around you, they will be asking you to sell for silly prices so they can put them on their stalls! Tell them thanks, but to come back later when you have unpacked!

Take a flask of coffee and a money belt with some loose change (a cash float) and some plastic bags to give things away in.

good luck.

Have you been to any carboots Foghorn - as they can indicate what the going rates are for things in your area?

I think if you have good quality adult clothes you can probably charge up to a couple of quid per item - and do a deal if someone picks up several items. t-shirts and kids clothes 50p-£1 possibly more depending on item. Things you want a really good price for are better sold on ebay. People go to carboots with aim of getting a bargain.

good luck

Difficult to specify but I consider a good stall to be people (youngish couple with nice car)who look like they are clearing out their kids stuff and if they have a boy and girl a couple of years older than my two then bob's your aunty!! basically it is extremely personal to each booter depending on what your potential customers are likely to be looking for - presentation is not the be all - but it helps!

Float wise, we usually have in the region of £15-20 in change, you always get people with £10 notes buying something for 50p!

lol, they are like vultures arent they, when you are trying to unpack

so annoying, you end up trying to push them out of the way lol, just so you can unpack
You always get 'regular' sellers, they will have set up at the earliest time possible and they are the vultures that try and buy your stuff, cheap, whilst you are unpacking, so they can sell them for more!!!!!

Have a eyes at the back of your head...

enjoy lol

yes mind your float while the vultures are around...

dress warmly, even if you think its a hot day, and take plenty of food with you