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Do a Car Boot Sale

Home > London > Markets | Shopping
Published February 13th 2011
In these interconnected days of the World Wide Web, we can do just about everything we need to without having to leave the comfort of the sofa.

That's all well and good, but reaching 70 years of age and suddenly realising you only ever got up to powder your nose would be more than a little alarming.

So it might be useful to be reminded that there is indeed another WWW out there: it's called the Whole Wide World. And perhaps we'd do well to engage with it from time to time.


One such way would be to do a car boot sale. This could be good for a number of reasons, such as:

1 – you'd be interacting with your fellow human beings
2 – you could make a few bob
3 – you'd be clearing some clutter from your living space
4 – you'd be using your brain in a spontaneous way (eg. when haggling with a punter)
5 – your lungs would be dealing with air less stale than that surrounding your sofa, which surely has to be a good thing.

To do a car boot sale all you need is a boot (and possibly a table), some things to sell and ideally, another person who can help you out. Having a friend or member of the family along will be a boon should things get busy, or if you need to dash off to the loo.

So what to sell?
A good idea would be to visit the car boot sale you intend to do, to see what sort of things are being sold and for what kind of prices.


Back at home, look through your DVD/CD collection; run through your vinyls. Any good books? Computer games? What have you got in your attic? Any electronic gadgets you don't use anymore? Any quirky ornaments or unwanted gifts lying around? Decent toys and games anywhere?

Make sure everything looks at least fairly decent and is in working order. If there's a slight fault or blemish with the product, make sure the buyer knows. If you've still got the box, all the better.

Be sure to arrive early, as this is usually the busiest time for a car boot sale as punters seek out the best bargains. Price everything up clearly, using stickers.

Price things a little higher than you think you can get, as many people will try to haggle to get the price down. But don't feel pressurised to agree to a price if you're not happy with it!


For the last half hour of the sale, consider knocking 50% or more off your stuff. This could create a last minute rush and ensure you don't return home with anything except some cold hard cash.

Above all, enjoy yourself in the great outdoors and feel good that you're doing something positive for the environment through the recycling of unwanted items.
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Why? It gets you out, clears some clutter and hopefully makes you a bit of cash.
Comments
I am ken to have a car boot sale but never know where and who to approach to allow me to sell my stuff.

I always look at schools and market sites also weekend notes and am still not the wiser.

HELP !
By Slama - reader
Sunday, 29th of January @ 09:37 am
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