A Beginner's Guide To Selling at Car Boot Sales

This may be your first of many regular car boot sales. Or it may simply be a one-off sale with a view to clearing our the surplus odds and ends, that you have accumulated over the years. Either way, your first step should be to carefully pick your venue.

If you don't already know where your local carboots are held, then your local paper is a good start. Alternatively, try www.carbootjunction.com, which lists hundreds of regular and one-off car boot sales throughout the UK, buy local area. You may search by town or by county and get additional information not found in the papers, such as whether there are toilets and refreshments, how much the selling fee is and sometimes even a link to a map so that you can find your way there.

Having established where your local sales are, make sure you go to one of the more popular ones. Perhaps visit potential sites the week before, or post a message in the popular car boot sale forum at www.carbootjunction.com/cbjforum/index.php to ask about other peoples' experiences.

Also, check that it's going to be a reasonable weekend weather wise. There's nothing like a damp boot sale to stop people parting with their hard earned money.

Personally, unless you know a really good Saturday car boot sale, I would stick to Sundays. People seem to be in more of a spending mood on Sundays. Maybe it's because traditionally other shops are closed and Sundays are the traditional market and boot sale day. Whatever the reason car boots tend to be busier on Sundays.

Once you where your chosen venue is, make sure you get there at a good time. You don't want to be the first in the queue. Nor do you want to be too late. Often at the bigger sales the first couple of rows are mainly made up of the regular "traders". Nothing wrong with that but many of the regular buyers will skip these rows as they know there are very few bargains to be had. As an example, you will find the "professional buyer" at the end of the field where the new cars are coming in. Rather like vultures they sweep in jostling for the bargain from the unprepared newbie seller! This is where you want to be.

I try to arrive within 1/2 an hour after the advertised starting time, but bare in mind that many start hours before the advertised time. Check with the organisers for their advice on this.

Once you arrive, get out the car and close all doors. Open the boot and get your barricades up. e.g. a decorating table or two. Put a box of cheap junk on the table immediatley to give the vultures something to rummage through. This will stop the reaching of hands into your boot while you try to set up.

Once set up, it really is a question of waiting, talking to people and hopefully taking some money, but there are a few things you can do to increase your sales.

A lot of people don't like to ask prices of things, so label many of them up. Especially bigger and more desirable items. Don't get fussy on things like books and cds, and try not to look to professional as people may think you are a regular trader and be put off. Just put up a sign saying "All books 50p each" or something like that. Be prepared to come down as the day goes on. Maybe reduce the price by 10p every hour if you want to get rid of everything. Do offers like "DVDs £3 each or 4 for £10" etc. Make sure these signs are prominent.

Don't shout out your offers and hawk like a market trader. Most people will just give you a funny look, but if you have kids it can be quite cute and may get attention if they do it!

There is nothing that attracts crowds better than more crowds. If a few people, start to gather around a stall many more will come to see what the fuss is about. So if you know people there or have invited people to come along, get them to pretend to be customers from time to time.

Take plenty of carrier bags with you, as people will often ask for one if buying a few items. And if you are selling crockery of anything heavy or awkward, make sure you take a couple of spare boxes in case people buy some but not all.

Make sure your stock is clean and not covered with dust. If items come in bits and pieces. e.g. jigsaws or board games, make sure they are complete and tell people so when they look at them. If you have any electronic items, you don't need to supply batteries, but have some with you so you can prove that they are working ok.

Also, don't forget some change. Bare in mind that people may well have stopped at the cash machine on the way to the car boot sale, and won't have much by way of change, so unless you want to lose sales because you can't break a twenty pound note, make sure you have come prepared. Try not to look like a market trader with a money belt, and don't leave your money box or tin on display in the boot or back seat of your car. Best place for the money, is in your pocket. If there are two of you, split the change between you. It's less for one person to carry around with them and if one person goes off to the loo, the person left behind still has change for the customers.

Finally, your behaviour and appearance can make a difference. People will look at your stall if you seem open and approachable. So even if you don't have many sales to start with, it's cold, and the burger stand has questionable hygiene, don't stand their frowning with your arms folded. Smile and look attentive. Be willing to say things like "Only 40p for that item" when you see someone looking at an unpriced piece. Also, there is no need to dress up. But don't dress down too much either. A few years ago, a friend of mine tried to attract people to his stall by getting his attractive girlfriend to sunbathe in her bikini on top of his car. Sure, there were plenty of men hanging around his stall. But their disgruntled wives weren't buying much of his stock.