How to make a profit at a car boot sale

Secrets to make like a bandit at your first boot sale

Clean and good repair, clothes are always good sellers. Picture: iStock

AS THE cost of living rockets, we could all do with a little more change in our pockets. Boot sales offer the twin advantage of valuable profit and a good clear out. Here are some proven hacks to make more money from that brave outing to a muddy field over the spring/summer.

First of all team up. If you don’t have a suitable car and/or trailer, if you don’t simply have enough stuff, or if you’re downright nervous about the whole enterprise throwing your fortune together with friends or family can make a daunting moment a memorable adventure with plenty of potential for fun. Having extra hands also allows you to wander off to get chips or have a sly shop.

Plan ahead together, ensuring you have enough room in the vehicles for your boxes. A pre-boot sale strategy meeting is well worth the trouble, as you may want to combine boxes by type and co-operate on reasonable pricing that will clear your tables by early afternoon. If you have roughly the same amount of goods, think about just splitting the profits with the exception of star items that will fetch a considerable price.

At home, gazing over the chaos of the attic or dumping room, a fresh set of eyes on what you consider trash, that might appeal to a buyer can free up your ideas of what to bring. Nothing is off the trestle table once it’s in good, usable condition. Pieces that don’t tend to sell fast include DVDs (who even has a player?), incomplete toy sets, and paperback books of any vintage.

Don’t dismiss bringing any ornamental thing. Your tat could be someone else’s treasure. Picture: iStock

Speaking of tables — fold-down picnic tables at waist height can fit in a small estate car. Ensure there’s not too much wobble if you are including a lot of ceramic and glass, and find something similar to baize for both a pretty presentation and with a little traction to prevent slips and smashes.

Use plenty of newspaper or other material to ensure fragile items don’t break while still in the boxes, and allowing you to roughly wrap pieces for buyers on the spot. Packing boxes the night before the boot sale is vital; when you rehearse the layout of the goods. If you’re using blankets on the ground — put them in the car last, so you’re ready to go. Don’t put every saleable thing out at once if you have multiple boxes — refresh the staging over the morning (we really want to be out of stuff by midday for a real success). People cannot buy what they cannot see and reach easily. With clothes, a rail is a fantastic addition, and you may well be able to borrow one if you don’t have something suitable.

When you have valuable, light items, keep them under your eye or behind you on the tail-gate of the car. Things are stolen regularly at boot sales and it’s very difficult to spot someone in a milling crowd, and even worse, to challenge them. Where you are asked to “hold” something, sell it and hold it. Remind the buyer when you are leaving the field.

For everyday clothes, think about one price for every item — highly attractive to vintage collectors and secondhand roses on the move who don’t want to wait in line to negotiate over every garment. Deploy a bundle price for multiple pieces ahead of time — say €4 each or three for €10 for example, and ensure your partner knows this equation too. “Almost new” is not new, even with the labels on — don’t demand retail pricing, or even close to it.

If you grow your own slips and seeds into plants, these are great sellers and put a nice gloss on a stall. Know your plants and have a little advice for the seller. Three-for-two is a very attractive deal in plants, indoor or out. Use simple crates and boxes to tier the display rather than throwing them all over the ground. For household items and bric-a-brac in general boxes for rummaging — ensure the goods are robust enough for rough handling, and put one price on the box to clear it quickly.

Electrical items with a plug (rather than phones and, say, leads with USB cables) can be tricky. For safety’s sake, if you are not 100% sure the item works and is up to standard spec, leave it at home.

I like to have two fanny packs with a variety of notes and coins organised on my belt, with an extra tin of change hidden in the car. Expect to make change consistently over the morning. Your first and last hour are likely to be the busiest — when you deal with other sellers and dispatch your left-overs for bargain prices.

The first buyers will not be members of the public, but other car-booters and professional resellers in the early moments of the car boot sale, who will hit your stall before the gates even officially open. You should be there as soon as you can set up at the venue, and ready for the challenge when you’re still decanting the car.

Picking over your goods, or even calling out for what they are looking for, the
granite-faced haggling and speed of negotiations, before your first cup of tea, can be daunting for newbies. Ensure you have double-checked the potential value of
any good items you have on show (old iPhones, 1930s condiments sets — the lot),
or you could find it flipped onto someone else’s table at twice the price at 9.30am. Irritating, but 100% your own doing. This is not personal.

For selling to everyone else, have a price in your head rather than labelling every single item. This will invite strollers to engage with you, and you can think on your feet depending on the appeal of the piece, your general mood, and crucially, the time of day (do you really want to take that stupid plastic slide home again — get rid!).

Never be rude or dismissive, no matter how rude or dismissive the potential purchaser is — they may be nervous and trying to present a tough exterior (I’m being nice here).

When you give your final, rock bottom price, stick to it if you’re convinced you can achieve that number on the day. If the cheapskates and chancers keep testing you, put it away and take it to a more suitable sale or stick it on eBay.

Finally, bring a fold-out chair, which you can put behind the table — your feet and patience will be under considerable assault.