Car boot sale - sellers' guide

He doesn't know it yet, but I'm thinking of dragging Irish to a car boot sale early Sunday am. Now that the mornings are bright and there's warmth in the sun, it seems like the perfect time to get rid of all those unwanted books, CDs, clothes and all that other random sh@t that has taken over our flat since the last time we had a clear-out.

The trouble is that I'm a bit of hoarder, as is Irish, so we need to purge ever once in a while, and car boot sales can be a fun way of doing this - no really.

After the last time we conjured up our inner market traders and sold our wares, 'two for a paaawnd', I wrote a guide of tips we picked up along the way for a, now defunct, site called More Than Living. These have served as useful reminders for me, and may just help you out too.


Make sure sets are complete - avoid any unhappy customers or no-sales by ensuring that all the parts of a set are kept together. If you're missing a part, make this known to buyers.

Spare change - as many car boot sale items go for under £5, make sure you have plenty of change for those awkward 'how much is this? £1. Sorry, I've only got a fifty' customers.

Take the kitchen sink - unless you love getting up at 6am on a Sunday morning, a car boot sale is a once-every-few-years event, so make sure you're loaded to bursting with unwanted goods. Those items you don't sell can be dropped off at a charity shop on the way home or later in the week.

Get there early - Getting up at the crack of dawn is worth it when greeted by cash-happy car boot vultures on arrival. These people are often professional eBay sellers who want first dibs on your loot and will pay the best money.

Do your research - Visit a car boot sale in the weeks leading up to your sale to get an idea of realistic selling prices.

Be ready to haggle - Haggling is an essential part of the car boot sale experience, so get used to £5 being shorthand for £3 and offer discounts on multiple items. However, it's wise to take a second to think your patter through; otherwise you may deliver such gems as '£5 for the two or £2 each', as a seller on our neighbouring pitch proposed last time.

Be prepared - In order to make standing in a car park for five hours as comfortable as possible, wrap up warm, take a flask of hot tea or coffee and pack a fold-up chair - just make sure it doesn't get sold.

Let it go - You've brought all this stuff to the car boot sale because you don't want or need it anymore, so don't start getting sentimental when it comes to selling it.

Stay till the end - The general aim of a car boot sale is to sell as many items as you can, so when the sale nears the end, reduce your prices or offer everything for one set price to shift some stock.

Don't go home with more than you came with - Car boot sales are a great place for sellers to pick up a bargain too, but make sure you don't just replace old clutter with new.

Image by Flickr user net efekt