Selling at your first car boot sale: a checklist

A simple plan for your first time selling, from choosing a car boot to packing up at the end.

The week before

• Pick your car boot. Check the organiser’s own page for the day, the time sellers can arrive and the pitch price. Some want you to book; most say “just turn up”. Look for any rules about vans, trailers or what you can sell.
• Sort your things into boxes by type. Clothes, kitchen, toys, books, tools. It makes setting up quicker and helps buyers find things.
• Price as you pack. Small stickers or a few “everything in this box £1” signs save you answering the same question a hundred times. See how to price things.
• Test anything electrical and make sure it’s safe. Some organisers don’t allow electrical goods at all, so check first.
• Get change. A float of coins and small notes. Many buyers turn up with £10 and £20 notes early in the morning.

The night before

• Load the car in reverse order: the table and anything you set up first goes in last.
• Check the organiser’s page or social media for a weather cancellation.
• Pack a flask, snacks, a coat and a waterproof sheet for your stock, even if the forecast looks fine.

What to bring

• A pasting table or folding table, and a ground sheet for larger items
• A clothes rail if you’re selling clothes. They sell much better hanging up.
• Bags for buyers, and newspaper for anything breakable
• A money belt or bum bag, kept on you rather than in a tin on the table
• Pen, stickers and some card for signs

On the morning

• Arrive at the seller time the organiser gives. Arriving too early can mean queues, or being turned away.
• Expect early buyers. At many car boots, buyers walk up as you open the boot. Keep your best things in the car until your table is set up, so you’re not rushed.
• Keep the table full. As things sell, move the rest forward.
• Be ready to haggle. Most buyers expect to offer less than the sticker. Decide your lowest price before you arrive.

Packing up

• Prices often drop in the last hour. Decide what you’d rather sell cheaply than take home.
• Some organisers have rules about leaving unsold items behind. Plan a charity shop drop on the way home instead.
• Leave your pitch clear. It’s the quickest way to be welcome back.