Holding a SUCCESSFUL car boot :)

This post isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea but after completing something like my tenth car boot this morning I thought it would be nice to share how I cope with the early morning, hagglers and tiredness.

I've been doing the occasional car boot with my Auntie Julie for the past 2/3 years and when your there earning money from what you perceive to be "junk", it gives you a great feeling. However, when you have to do all the boring stuff like packing the car or setting up your stall its tiring and you begin to think 'Is it really worth it?'. After this mornings successful car boot and managing to earn approximately £65 from old "junk" I thought I'd bullet point the things I think are most important when performing a car boot yourself.

First of all, although car boots are rewarding in the long-run, they are the most depressing thing to be taking part in at five in the morning. When your having to set your alarm at 5am the night before the car boot you just think 'Why am I doing this to myself (again - in my case)?' but still continue because now you've packed the car and things, you have to follow through.

 

Jessica's Car Boot Advice

1. Make sure the car boot is on! To me, this goes without question. However, in Doncaster the car boot is held regularly every Sunday morning from January through to December but I'm not positive whether that's the same at all other car boots as I do know places that only do a 'one-off' car boot.

2. Be selective. Being selective doesn't mean throwing out everything you think is rubbish because trust me, at a car boot, anything goes. What you think is useless and no-one would want, surprisingly, people buy those things, even if its only for rock bottom prices (it all adds up in the end). On the other hand, there are particular items which don't sell as well on today's car boot markets; for example, videos are outdated and often don't sell; books are temperamental, it just depends on the people you have at the car boot on that particular day.

3. Pack the car the night before. Doing this gives you more sleeping time, and you may be sat there like so? But don't forget, in order to get a good spot at the car boot, you need to be setting off at approximately half past five in the morning meaning your up at 5am. On top of that, if you still need to pack the car up, thats meaning you probably would have to be up an hour before that too! Who wants to be up at 4am to stand in the cold, selling your old items until midday. Thats a longggggg day.

4. Take a 'float'. I know some of you are sat there like, why you taking a big advertising vehicle? Well this is 'car boot slang' for loose change. You need to collect as much loose change as possible but remember to count how much you have so you can work out the profit at the end of the day. Most people will attend a car boot with change as they know things are cheap but other bring cash like £5, £10 and £20 notes (which can get annoying when your having to copper up to give out change).

5. Avoid price labels. Having labels on items puts potential buyers off. You may think it saves time and when your drawing in a big crowd you don't want to be answering five different people asking 'how much?' but the interaction between yourself and your customers gains their trust, therefore they will potentially pay more money for items.

6. Never go alone. This is simple. It is boring if you are sat in your car boot behind all your items and your there all alone. Myself, going with my auntie lets us have laugh and joke all morning so the time passes more quickly and we work well as a team. However, like us, if you have a mixture of items from both your houses, my advice is to take two cash containers so you get the money for what is sold of yours. Its the easiest way to pocket cash.

7. Research your items. You need to check how much approximately your items are going for on sites such as eBay so it gives you a good background how much things go for second hand. Also, check how much things are which you believe will be worth money, tricky things to keep an eye on are: records - some are worth a fortune! and at the car boot you'll only get at the most a £1 a record, Disney DVDs - me and Julie have made this mistake once, Disney DVDs are sold at no less than £15, you won't get that at a car boot but don't let it go for a pound or two.

8. Be approachable! Its not nice when you have people sat presenting a stall with a mardy look or look like they don't want to be there. In contrast to that, don't be too forward.. Things like playing music and shouting deals out to oncoming customers is off-putting and isn't going to increase your sales as it alienates people.

Don't be afraid to do a car boot from this big list, its a really rewarding task to take part in. Some things are not enjoyable to do but you have to do them to seek the other rewards.

 

Car boots are fun!

J