Springo Bingo 5
Go to a Car Boot Sale… or better yet – do one!
My 10 Tips for a Banging Boot Sale
If you’re going to get up early at the weekend, you might as well be a seller rather than a buyer.
Doing a boot sale is the perfect opportunity to declutter.
You could take it straight to the charity shop, of course, which is a totally legitimate idea.
But everyone should do a boot sale at least once, and if you have children old enough – the learning (and bonding) opportunities are sprinkled liberally.
Also it’s an activity that generates money rather than costing it – for a change.
Side note:
[A long time ago, after months of repeated requests to an ex to pick up their things, including a final warning with a countdown, a close friend of mine generated a couple of hundred pounds at a boot sale selling the aforementioned things.
She donated all the money to The Cats League. The ex hated cats.
Every element of that was hugely satisfying.]
I digress.
Here are my top Car Boot Sale tips:
1. Do it with someone else
If you’re not going as a family, rope in a friend. You share the cost of the pitch, but more than that, you can keep an eye on everything else while you’re taking payment.
If you’re both selling, just direct the buyer to whoever owns the thing to pay (or split the entire profits at the end).
If there are two of you, it’s much easier to feel safe, get bants going, nip to the loo, etc., and you can create a fun atmosphere together that will attract more people.
2. Take something to play music on
I have done (and helped friends at) several car boot sales, probably 12-15 of them over the years. The difference in drawing a crowd when I played music and when I didn’t was marked.
People just come over and jig about a bit when they hear it.
It should be upbeat and not too heavy or too loud.
If you want to get all ‘amateur-sales-psychologist’ about it, you could curate your playlist especially to create feel-good vibes, not too fast (it makes people move on quickly) and not too slow.
(they feel soporific and tend not to make buying decisions).
p.s. I’m not saying you have to play ‘We’re going to Ibiza’ by The Vengaboys: – but I’ve experienced some kind of weird magic in terms of people buying everything when I did.
3. Have a money belt
(or bum bag)
Part of the fun of the car boot sale is that there’s lots to keep track of.
If you’re anything like me, you can easily lose track of the Tupperware you’re using as a till, and someone could make off with the whole lot if it’s on display.
It’s stress you don’t need. If there is any environment where this could happen – no offence, car boot sale organisers – this is one of them.
And talking of money – don’t forget: you need change.
Lots of change.
Best to sort this at the Post Office or bank (if you are lucky enough to live near one of the remaining few).
Do this a few days ahead, rather than relying on local shops or other stallholders to take pity on you and give you change.
They often don’t like doing it, and it would be an annoying deal-breaker if you packed the car up and couldn’t get any change for customers.
Actual money is becoming a rarer and rarer commodity these days.
Unless you’re self-employed and use it for other things, getting a card reader won’t be worth it.
Money summary: Get £20-£30 worth of change, some kind of money belt, and don’t leave it to the last minute.
4. At last – a use for all those carrier bags
Hopefully, you are more disciplined than me and don’t have about 100 carrier bags under the stairs…
But if you have collected them, don’t forget to take them with you. People might be prepared to buy another item or two, if they can carry everything more easily.
5. Think about your stock
Clothes and shoes always sell well (men’s in particular). I know it’s a car boot sale, and people won’t pay very much, but it’s worth trying to display things nicely. Things that are all bunched up are unlikely to sell. You don’t need a rail (some people dislike rummaging in them), but some swear by them. If you don’t use a rail, be prepared to keep refolding things throughout the sale.
Other things to sell:
Ornaments/photo frames and nick-nacks are REALLY good sellers at car boot sales. Clean, unbroken children’s toys/baby things are also popular. Jewellery is a winner too, but this is not the place if it’s high value. Sell that online instead. Furniture can sell well, but you won’t want to bring
Swell, but you won’t want to bring that home with you – so make sure you display it from the start. Weirdly, I’m told that people still buy DVDs and CDs at boot sales. I have no idea what’s going on there.
6. Moolah
People want serious bargains at boot sales.
It’s one of the few scenarios in Britain where the tradition is to haggle.
When pricing, bargain on about 10-15% of the new price – and adjust from there if it’s really good, or a bit worn out.
If that makes you want to dissolve into a pile of embarrassed goo… you might be better with eBay or Vinted, because it will happen.
People will be outrageously cheeky. Expect that. Smile sweetly.
It’s either a yes or a no – you don’t have to justify it.
A wink is optional.
It’s a great opportunity to practice being assertive.
Work out your actual lowest price.
This is the price point at which, if it goes any lower, you would prefer to take it to a charity shop.
And stick to it.
Remember, you’ve come here to get rid of stuff, so resist getting heady and power-crazed.
As the day goes on, if you haven’t sold everything, it’s normal to lower your prices and eventually give items away for free, unless you plan on coming back.
Consider making a sign to bring along;
“EVERYTHING £2 (or 5p, whichever is appropriate)” or “LEAVING SOON, LAST CHANCE – MAKE ME AN OFFER!”
That way, you won’t have to drive everything home again and decide what to do with it.
7. Get there early
Audaciously early. It will open earlier for sellers than for buyers.
Be at the front of that queue too, so you get the best pitch. The best pitches are near the entrance, near the food sellers and in the general thoroughfare (not tucked away at the back).
Also – put your trestle table or whatever else you are using to display your things in the car LAST.
So it’s the first thing you take out. This means you can set up super fast.
The other sellers will be having a mooch round before the official buyers come in so if you’re organised you are likely to sell a ton of stuff before it officially opens.
A successful car boot sale is one where you; totally empty your car, fill up your money belt, have had a ton of fun, a belt full of money – and be halfway through double egg on toast by 10:30 am.
Not one where you are begging people to take the stuff away from you at quarter to one.
8. Prepare like a pro
If you get a coffee from the van, then a bacon sandwich – and then spot a handbag you like on the way back. You can make unnecessary dents in your profits.
Get organised and pack breakfast and snacks, and take a flask of good coffee -and you won’t be tempted by watery, second-rate brown sadness water and greasy baps. (^ not a euphemism)
It’s physical work, and you need decent food to keep your strength up.
9. Bribe people
Although it’s important not to eat into profits, a little bit of zhuzh and pizazz never hurt anyone.
Every time I added a little something unexpected to the selling experience, it caused laughter, fun, conversation, and really good humour.
n.b. Those things create perfect buying conditions.
Little extras I have thrown in in the past:
Lollipops (super duper cheap ones). I bought a big box of them, and as I gave each person their item(s), I gave them a lollipop and said: “and that’s for you!”
Ice Poles in a freezer box in the summer. Sparkly Stickers (for children).
A stamp (that I owned anyway) saying “Thank You’ that I stamped on various parts of people’s bodies, depending on the level of bants we’d achieved. Usually the back of the hand. But in one case, a bottom. It was consensual, and I knew them from somewhere else.
I may delete that part, as it may not be universally useful.
It did happen though. Just don’t do it and say I told you to.
In all of this, your ‘extra’ must be something cheap and easy, or you’re defeating the object.
People LOVE these little touches, and the bar for it is low.
People tend to swing by again on the way past to say hello again when you do that.
You will be the rock star of the car boot sale.
10. Turn on the Charm
The British Car Boot Sale is as much a social activity as a transactional one. Being bright and breezy, smiling, saying hello, holding things up and creating a buzz with your energy really is what it’s all about.
If there are two of you, you can spark off each other – pretend to haggle, talk about what you’re selling, and sing along to the music.
By being peppy, but not overdoing it (to avoid being terrifying), you will naturally attract people, which increases the likelihood of them buying your things.
Plus, you’ll enjoy the experience more as well.