selling at a boot fair - what time?

[evedawn]

I'm doing a boot fair / car boot sale tomorrow for the first time. Whats a good time to get there and set up my pitch?
thanks in advance.

[evedawn]

uhhhhmmmm - yup knobby thats what i thought but "HOW" early? Around 6:00am? 6:30am? 7am?

[jedimistress]

It depends on the car boot sale. The one near me is very early start, 5 or 6. Yet seom begin midday.

Your car will be surrounded by people as soons as you park. They will usually rumage through your boxes before they even come out of your boot and offer pretty low sums. They are generally looking for things which may be of value that you are unaware of and other trinkets to sell on their stall.

Sometimes it's good to park up, wonder round the other cars, then begin to set up. Good luck, hope the weather stays nice for you.

Don't be surprised if you can't fit things back onto your car afterwards, despite selling half of them and having got them in there in the first place.

[frankofile]

Watch out for the professionals who start rifling through your stuff whilst you are still unloading your car. If they want it , it's probably worth more than you realise, and they sell it on later at a profit.Happened to me at my first car boot and made me so cross. As to time, whenever the gates are open,get the best pitch

[evedawn]

thaks jedimistress...thats a big help for the other bits of advice too...i have wandered around this b/fair myself at aorund 8am (as a buyer) so maybe if I get there around 6ish....(?)


daft thing is when going through my loft alot of the stuff i am trying to get rid of is stuff i have bought at boot fairs myself...hahah.

[theonlyone]

Get there early to get a good pitch ..
the dealers are like vultures ..will
not give you a lot ..tell them to push
off and come back when you are set
up ...don't be intimidated..bullies will
back off ..set your price high ..then the
ball is in your court ..enjoy ..

[frankofile]

A big plea to all you car booters. When you have finished and have a load of bits and bobs left over, please don't offload it on your local charity shop without checking if they really want it first. I am a charity shop manager and last year my trade waste collection charges were �2750. We are treated as a business, not a charity for trade waste. If you can't sell it at a car boot. then we probably can't sell it either. I'm sorry if that sounds ungrateful, but we are in business to raise money for our charity, though many car booters use us rather than separate their waste at the tip

[jedimistress]

I often wonder if my donations are good enough for charity shops now or if I contributing to their waste bill. I guess that's another question.

[whiffey]

What a horribly depressing insight into human greed and nastiness some of these answers have exposed.

Don't do the boot sale. Give the stuff to charity if you really don't want it.

[Jugglering]

And as a further aside to Whiffey's comment, if you cannot take the stuff to the charity shop, advertise it on Freecycle - only two main rules there, everything is for free and no animals. I have gotten rid of loads of unwanted stuff - always to young folk with not a lot of money - who are delighted to take my *unwants* off me cos they will give them a good home.

[frankofile]

I,m aware I could open up a whole can of worms regarding donations to charity shops. We are always told to not refuse anything as that person might bring in a Ming vase next time, so don't offend them by saying no this time. Generally few charity shops can accept electrical goods, or anything to do with child safety (stair gates,reins, highchairs) due to trading standard laws. Just ask, we are always willing to chat, or should be!

[lilteddybear]

evedawn it reali depends on wot time the car boot starts but usually getting there about an hour early usually works

[whiffey]

I am ashamed now after frankofile's response. So many times I have looked at odds and sods around the house, realised I don't want them, and taken them to charity shops. And yet I wonder, if I don't want them, why would anybody else ? Then I reason, well somebody somewhere might get a little pleasure for 10p, and if they don't, then the charity shop can send it to landfill as easily as me. I didn't realise they have to pay trade waste charges.

Reinforcing what Jugglering wrote, I gave 2 single beds in very good condition to Freecycle.

[whiffey]

People like whiffey realise a lot of things, but if you need to con your fellow man just for a few bob, then it's your conscience not mine. They'll do it to you next time.

wizard, so charity shops bin 90% of what they are given? So what. If I bin it then there is 100% certainty that it will go to landfill. If I take it to a charity shop, then there is a 10% chance that someone somewhere might for 10p get a fleeting moment of pleasure.