Profits From Car Boot Sales


CASH FOR TRASH


CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION
WHERE DO I START?
HOW DO I START?
WHERE DO I OBTAIN STOCK?
WHAT SHOULD I SELL AND FOR HOW MUCH?
WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO KNOW?

INTRODUCTION

Every weekend thousands of normally sane individuals gather in
some of the most uninviting of places, in often attrocious weather
conditions, intent solely on jostling with like-minded people for
possession of items long since abandoned.  What am I talking
about?  Why, car boot sales, of course!

They were virtually unheard of a few years ago, but now never a
week goes by without finding a deluge of similar events vying for
prominence in the classified pages of the local press.

Village Halls, Auction Rooms, Church Halls, Pub Car Parks; these
are but a few of the places that regularly play host to the
rapidly growing great British pastime - Collecting!  And just
about anything and everything will satisfy collectors, hoarders,
and those who merely want to acquire goods and household items:
books, plates, cutlery, toys, old tools, clothes, you name it, at
car boot sales you can buy it.

Prices vary as widely as the quality and quantity of the goods on
offer, from a few pence to many pounds, but unlike many sales
venues, there will almost always be something at the car boot sale
to interest collector and hoarder alike.

All this of course, considers only the buyer's side of the fence,
but buyers obviously need sellers, and on this other side are some
of the most enterprising and profitable small businesses, with
speedy turnovers and often massive profit margins .

With so many venues available and an endless supply and range of
stock, it may be hard to accept that room will be available for
even one more trader, yet this is indeed the case.  Not all
dealers choose to attend events on a regular basis, many viewing
the car boot fairs as no more than a means of disposing of items
from a recent one-off attic clearing exercise.  There are others
who consider it a spare-time venture only and will build up their
stocks, perhaps over several weeks or months, in readiness for one
particular event.

Increasingly antiques and bric-a-brac dealers have realised the
potential these sales offer as a means of unloading their less
quality items, some supplementing their trading at Antiques and
Collectors' Fairs, even shops, with a few well-chosen outdoor
venues.

For most dealers, less than œ100 takings from a boot sale would
spell disappointment, unless of course, the weather or some
coinciding event, such as Wimbledon, contributed to a low customer
turnout.  When you consider the small outlay for stock and the low
business overheads, even a 'disappointing' œ90 represents a tidy
profit for a day's work.  The fluctuating rewards might not suit
those supporting a family, but it can provide a very useful second
or spare-time income.  Amongst other adv antages the car boot sale
offers is the chance to be your own boss, working when and for as
long as you choose, where you wish, selling whatever takes your
fancy, and with no boss or workmates to create pressure or stress.

Sounds ideal, doesn't it, for anyone seeking an exit from the 'Rat
Race'?  But don't be deceived.  It does require some effort on the
trader's part.  Competition exists: for customers, goods, even
venues and trading pitches.  Consequently a professionalism has
developed, many regular traders trying all manner of ways in which
to increase their share of the profits, getting to the venue
sometimes hours in advance of others to select a prime position,
customising their vehicles and even buying new ones to suit,
paying great detail to selection and layout of goods, and hounding
new traders for the pick of their better goods.

I mentioned 'vehicles' in the last paragraph, and that's what
you'd thing a car boot sale trader would need as perhaps his most
essential possession.  Strangely though, this is not always true,
and we've recently seen the emergence of 'Table Top ' fairs
existing alongside the car boot sales.  Traders without transport
can turn up with their goods, by whatever means, erect their table
(usually a folding wallpaper-pasting table), put a cloth cover on
it, set out their goods and off they go!

So Where do I start?

First and foremost, you must, if you haven't done so already,
visit as many of those venues you wish to join forces with. 
Arrive early if you can, watch the traders drive in and set up. 
Look around at what's for sale and more importantly at what is
actually selling.  Where do the crowds tend to flock?  Around
those tatty old clothes, or that pile of toys offered
appropriately, just before Christmas?

Your local newspapers, free papers, and shop windows will keep you
informed of what venues are available.  Some are regular weekly
events, others once-off.  If 'tied' to such as a rally or
carnival, the latter can be extremely lucrative propositions, but
otherwise, BEWARE!  The regular weekly events tend to have an
established and usually growing clientele on both the buying and
selling sides.  These events in my area, the North East of
England, are found on racecourses, car parks and in huge
warehouses.  They are long-established events and some, I know,
are extremely viable business propositions.  They must be, for I
know several bric-a-brac and antiques dealers who have foresaken
their normal attendances at fleamarkets, even quality fairs, in
favour of spending every Saturday on our local racecourse, selling
anything from bulky packets of elastic bands, to toys, stamps,
books, cutlery, some even specialising in 'lower end of the
market' antiques.

Once you become established in one or two venues you will find out
through experience, or the advice of fellow traders, just where
the best events are.  Fellow traders, incidentally, with the
exception of a small minority, are not normally avers e to pass on
many of their secrets and to help the newcomer make the best of
his chances.  They might though expect something in return, for
instance trade discounts (normally 10%), or first pick of your
goods, but these are normal practices between traders, and a small
price to pay for the information they impart to you.

How do I Start?

You can remember sell almost anything, the most obvious items
being excluded, for instance animals, and foodstuffs in most
instances.  The organiser will advise you as to what you can not
sell, as will your local authority Trading Standards Department.

Some things are better sellers than others, some less bulky to
transport, some take up more valuable stall space than others,
some are more durable and so on.  These considerations you will
learn through experience and they shouldn't concern you too much
at the beginning.  Just don't go trying to hump four poster beds
to such as the local school car park for a fund-raising event.

It's possible with car boot sales, to start a lucrative sideline
with no capital other than the petrol to get you to your first
event and the fee to pay for your pitch.  The latter incidentally
often amounts to œ5 or less, normally a car costing slightly less
than a van.  The fact that some take vans must prove the viability
of these sales venues as business ventures.  But to get back to
the point, starting with little or no capital normally
necessitates cleaning out your own garage and attic and those of
friends, relatives and neighbours.  You then take along all but
absolute rubbish (destined for the dustbin), price it, sell it,
and where applicable return an agreed percentage of the takings to
the original owner.

With the money you've made, you buy more stock, sell it, buy more,
and so on, until your volume, range and quality of stock is
adequate and you can then consider taking a 'cut' of the profits,
remembering always to plough something back for futu re stock
purchases.

Where else can I obtain stock?

Unlike many retailers you will almost certainly find no difficulty
in obtaining suitable stock, both in terms of quality and price.  
The sources for obtaining stock are many and varied and include:

Other car boot traders, particularly newcomers and once-off
visitors

Collectors' Fairs

Fleamarkets

Charity Shops

Jumble Sales

Church and School Fetes

Auctions

Wholesalers

The Classified Adverts in Local Papers

By Advertising for it Yourself

At the start of the day's trading many 'car booters' find
themselves inundated with buyers, to the extent they find it
impossible to set up stall.  For many this most profitable part of
the day will find traders swooping particularly upon first-timers
and irregular visitors, hoping to find amongst their wares, some
choice bargains which will be hastily repriced and given pride of
place on their own stalls.  Amongst traders 'bargaining' is
common, many expecting trade discount, usually of 10 %. 
Personally I always give this reduction to trade hoping to secure
regular custom and not often being disappointed.  I find too, that
being fair with fellow traders brings another advantage in that
they often consider me first for items falling within my scope
but outside of theirs.  As you grow in experience you will become
aware of customers' particular interests and can then search other
dealers' stocks for suitable items, unless of course they have the
same customers and it is unlikely therefore that you will be able
to buy and sell anything at a profit.

Once-off traders tend to price their items low and may be prepared
to lower them further as the day progresses, since they usually
want to sell everything at one go and are reluctant to transport
items home, only to have them clutter places they were trying to
evacuate them from in the first place.

Collectors' fairs and fleamarkets tend almost invariably to fall
midway between jumble sales and antique fairs, no disrespect
intended to any of these outlets.  All will be advertised in the
local papers and a visit very early in the day will of ten reward
you well, since fellow traders will be taking advantage of the
proceedings to relenish their stock.

Stick to what you know will yield a profit.  I usually work on
paying half of what I intend to sell for, thereby allowing me some
leeway for trade discount to my buyers, and to take breakages and
mark-downs into consideration.  At the end of the day, taking all
of these things into account most traders average a profit of 50%
on the majority of items.

Charity sales and jumble sales are excellent sources for stock
acquisitions, as are church fairs and school fetes.  These too
will be advertised in local papers and shop windows.  Keep a
careful note of all potential venues, and plan to visit as many as
time and other commitments will allow.

Auctions are the possibly the happiest of hunting grounds for the
car boot trader and his counterparts at the fleamarkets and
collectors' fairs.  Surprisingly, the novice can be extremely
apprehensive of even visiting an auction, fearing that th e
slightest body movement might render him the proud owner of 'Lot
Number.......'.  In my opinion, this in extremely unlikely to
happen, and I truly believe this misconception was formulated by
auction regulars, keen to protect their interests and wi th the
intention of keeping the opposition as low as possible.  In my
experience of auctions, which I admit isn't vast, I have never
seen anything knocked down to an unsuspecting bidder; the
auctioneer always makes certain that what he believes could be a
bid, is in fact so.

Auctions differ greatly in terms of what they deal in, the
Clientele they attract, and the professionalism with which their
staff conduct themselves.  Great works of art and highly prized
pieces of antiquity rarely appear in your local back street
auction rooms, and similarly a tea tray of bric-a-brac will not be
given house room in the larger auction rooms which specialise in
selling fewer, but more select items at higher prices, and
consequently attract very few of the car boot and fleamarket
fraternity.  Our place for the better bargains, is the small
auction room with its sometimes conflicting standards, where we
must unfortunately be content to jostle with hundreds of fellow
bargain seekers, but all to good avail, for that tea tray of
goodies, be they teapots or odd glasses will fill many a gap on
our pasting tables, usually costing little, and consequently
yielding a good profit margin.

As always, visit a few auctions in advance of a genuine bidding
session, just to see for yourself what really happens.  Some will
let you take your goods home minutes after they are knocked down
to you, whilst others stipulate that nothing can b e removed until
the sale is over.  Some establishments require evidence of your
bank allowing cheques for higher values to be cleared, others take
almost all cheques if covered by a current bank card.  Make sure
in advance of buying anything just what the individual
requirements are in this respect.  Remember too that on top of the
price you have bid for any particular item you will almost
certainly be charged V.A.T. and a Buyer's Commission, both of
which can increase the cost of your purchase significantly.  So
check before you bid and take these added costs into account when
assessing the worth of any prospective purchases.

Wholesalers up and down the country carry many goods of use to car
boot traders, some though fewer, specialising in second-hand
goods.  These firms will advertise their services in the local and
county press, and in such as 'Exchange & Mart' and 'The Trader'. 
Some will require you to spend a minimum amount, to discourage the
private buyer or the time-wasting browser, so again, check in
advance.

The classified advertisements in local papers will reveal many
potentially suitable items, and if from a private source they may
indeed be just what you are looking for.  Be careful though, for
sometimes that job lot of bric-a-brac or children's clothes and
toys might have been placed by a fellow trader, anxious to rid
himself of stock that simply hasn't sold.  Experience will tell
you what will sell and what won't, so in the early days you must
content yourself with a few mistakes, remembering of course that
you can always try the classified sections yourself to sell
surplus stock, even if you just break even or sometimes incur a
small loss.  These advertisements are often free and represent an
additional market place for your goods, and not only those that
have been around for a long time.

You could also try advertising for stock in the 'Articles Wanted'
section of the local press, remembering of course you'll most
likely require bulk purchases to warrant the time and trouble it
takes to visit prospective sellers.


What should I sell and for how much?

As mentioned earlier, the answer is 'almost anything'.  Some
advantages exist in specialising, perhaps the biggest being that
of less competition for stock.  But by specialising you will rule
out much of the passing trade upon which many traders depend.  The
majority of visitors to a car boot sale have no particular
purchases in mind.  They have their eyes open for a bargain but
what form it takes often depends upon their frame of mind at the
time.

Toys seem to be good sellers, as do ornaments and books.  Domestic
tools and hardware are in demand perhaps due to the high prices we
must pay to buy them new.  Nothing will suffice for your own
market study of what people appear to be buying an d which traders
seem to attract the greatest crowds.  Provide a similar service
and stock and you really can't go far wrong.

Traders with young children can take advantage of a steady stream
of cast-off toys and clothes, and the green-fingered amongst us
will no doubt find little trouble in keeping up with demand for
low-cost plant cuttings.  My own specialism is ephemera of the
paper variety, and I seek to offer a constantly changing stocks of
old postcards, magazines, theatre programmes, tickets,
advertisements and so on.

Be constantly on the look-out for items you can repair or
renovate.  A boxful of picture frames might look anything but
inviting in that dingy auction room, but imagine what they could
do for a few well-chosen and extremely cheap magazine advert
isements or prints.  Paperback books seem to be enjoying a second
life at many venues.

I know of regular traders who specialise in antiques, gardening
products and produce, others with only books or toys, pictures,
craftwork, cosmetics and curios.  It really is up to you what you
sell and I think a mark-up of between 50% and 100% makes for a
fairly quick turnover and allows you to drop your price for trade
discounts, breakages and stock that is sticking.

You must be prepared to lower the price of items that have been
around for too long.  Just how long you're prepared to give each
item is up to you, bearing in mind the number of sales you take
them to.  Perhaps after half a dozen sales you may consider it
appropriate to lower the price of some older items to make way for
new.

At the car boot sales, with the 'rummagers' out in full force,
nothing attracts more than a pile of goodies, poking haphazardly
out of a plastic storage box and offered with an 'everything
for....' tag stuck to the front.

As a last resort, take unwanted stock to the local auction room
even if only to reap a pound or two for your efforts.  Customers
will start flocking again to a display of new stock once the stale
items have stopped hogging valuable stall space.

Price everything on your stall.  Small self-adhesive labels are
ideal and can be purchased at most newsagents and stationers.  Be
careful of items that might be damaged even by the lightest of
stickers, for example ornaments with a hand-painted finish.  Some
labels tend to stick with the intention of never departing the
scene.  Fortunately not many fit into this category but it's wise
to test a few - just to be on the safe side.  Pricing your goods
in advance allows you to remember what you need to take to incur a
profit, and from experience I know browsers and intending
customers are often reluctant to ask the price of an article,
preferring instead to saunter off in search of alternative items -
with a price tag!

To avoid pricing and repricing items and to satisfy the rummagers
amongst their customers, many traders sell their stock at
'Everything for .... pence'.  Everything at this price is placed
in the appropriate box or boxes.  Obviously too many different
prices will cause chaos and confusion, so it's best to stick to a
few prices, perhaps 20p, 50p and œ1.  A small table for
individually priced items may be placed alongside.

Haggling has long been one of the most common features of the car
boot sale, often as an end in itself I suspect, as opposed to a
need to acquire the item more cheaply.  Be prepared for this but
stick always to a pre-determined price below which you will not go
except to effect the sale of an item which is due shortly for
saleroom status, or perhaps bulky items which you would prefer not
to transport home - again!  Where possible have a code on your
price tag to indicate what you paid for a n item and if the time
is right you might consider letting it go for little, sometimes no
profit - simply to get rid of it.  Your code could be such as:
'F289' to indicate the item was purchased at a fleamarket for œ2
in 1989.  Whatever serves the purpose of jogging your memory will
suffice but I always prefer that the code is unlikely to be
cracked by the customer.  The 'F' in the example code is for
little reason other than to add to the complexity for attempting
code-busters.

What else do I need to know?

Make the day's work as easy for yourself as possible.  Instead of
carrying precariously stacked 'about to give way at any second'
cardboard boxes, invest in some of those handy stacking plastic
containers most supermarkets stock nowadays.  Inbuilt handles
make them easy to carry, and being durable they offer more
protection to your stock.  They also look more professional, not
something that might increase your profits, but will certainly do
a lot for your ego.  At a price of a few pounds e ach I can't
understand why some traders still seem to insist on battling with
cardboard boxes and carrier bags that promise shortly to collapse
under the strain.

Professionalism comes from paying attention to minor details, like
putting a cloth on your stall before displaying anything.  An old
cloth or curtain (preferably not brightly coloured or patterned)
is adequate.  The bare boards I'm afraid, do no thing to aid your
chances of a sale, and showing you care about the appearance of
your stall serves to show you also care about the quality of your
goods and service.  Any valuable items should be kept towards the
back of your stall, or under a glass top if possible, to deter
pilferers.  Those who want a closer look will ask you for
assistance.

Working outside in the summer might be seen as providing an ideal
working environment, but in the winter it's an entirely different
story.  That same freezing cold that's causing your teeth to
chatter and convinces you your finger ends have gone , could also
be the reason for a marked lack of customers.  If you decide to
persevere trading through the bad months, do all you can to make
the job as comfortable as possible.  Always, but always, have
plenty of food and drink (not the alcoholic variety - you've got
to drive home remember).

Company is advisable to help you through the long days (congenial
company that is), and is essential if you wish to roam around
looking for stock on other stalls.  Take someone you trust to be
vigilant and to treat your customers well.  I don't believe the
trading side of the stall is the place for young children and
pets; there's simply nothing to occupy them and boredom will ensue
with its inevitable distractions for you.  Taking older children
might be a way of enlisting help, whilst at the same time allowing
them to learn the rudiments of business and the importance of good
planning and customer relations.

Many other tips, techniques and practices you'll learn from
experience and those around you.  Car-booting really can be a
rewarding activity, both financially, and in terms of the friends
you'll make on either side of the counter, so I sincerely hope
I've helped you on the first steps to success in this most
enjoyable of businesses.  Good Luck!

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