Have you been to a carboot sale recently
Discussion
This morning I had to drop mini spare tyre with assorted chums off at a scouting activity centre about an hour away for a three hour event, so not much point in burning two hours returning home
Looked at my options, a local car boot sale near by, turned up at 930 (it started at 7 I think)
I need a new (second hand) length of hose for a project and have been searching for a breaker bar for a while. Thought I’d have a hunt about
£1 entrance - not unreasonable I guess
My word - car boots have changed - not many families off loading stuff, just iffy characters in vans mostly
A few old boys who think just like selling stuff as a hobby
People who must work at a tip and sell stuff they find
People buying stuff from temu in the hope of selling it to a toddler with pocket money
The odd person selling honey, I’d imagine an honesty table would be better
One fella selling iffy clothing
The rest just seems odd, when you have marketplaces globally and locally like Facebook / vinted
Well worth going, it’s opened my eyes to various struggles.
Looked at my options, a local car boot sale near by, turned up at 930 (it started at 7 I think)
I need a new (second hand) length of hose for a project and have been searching for a breaker bar for a while. Thought I’d have a hunt about
£1 entrance - not unreasonable I guess
My word - car boots have changed - not many families off loading stuff, just iffy characters in vans mostly
A few old boys who think just like selling stuff as a hobby
People who must work at a tip and sell stuff they find
People buying stuff from temu in the hope of selling it to a toddler with pocket money
The odd person selling honey, I’d imagine an honesty table would be better
One fella selling iffy clothing
The rest just seems odd, when you have marketplaces globally and locally like Facebook / vinted
Well worth going, it’s opened my eyes to various struggles.
The Mrs loves going to a car boot sale on a Sunday morning, our local has a decent cafe on site so I tag along for a Sunday breakfast.
Probably a 50/50 mix of traders and people selling their unwanted stuff from home. Occasionally pick up a bargain, a few weeks ago picked up a decent kitchen knife set from a trader who was selling them as factory seconds, turned out a couple of the knife handles were loose but an easy fix.
There’s a decent greengrocer on site where I buy fruit and there’s an old boy selling plants so the Mrs picked up various bits for the garden.
Probably a 50/50 mix of traders and people selling their unwanted stuff from home. Occasionally pick up a bargain, a few weeks ago picked up a decent kitchen knife set from a trader who was selling them as factory seconds, turned out a couple of the knife handles were loose but an easy fix.
There’s a decent greengrocer on site where I buy fruit and there’s an old boy selling plants so the Mrs picked up various bits for the garden.
I quite like trundling around the odd one.
Observations:
(1) As Spare Tyre has said, some shady characters who have never done any real work in their life. How many report their earnings to HMRC?
(2) Household stuff that you can buy for less at supermarkets.
(3) Gets a bit boring with the same traders bringing the same unsold stuff every week. The same cheap branded tools being sold at every carboot.
(4) People with no pride, tipping a black bin bag of clothes onto the floor.
Observations:
(1) As Spare Tyre has said, some shady characters who have never done any real work in their life. How many report their earnings to HMRC?
(2) Household stuff that you can buy for less at supermarkets.
(3) Gets a bit boring with the same traders bringing the same unsold stuff every week. The same cheap branded tools being sold at every carboot.
(4) People with no pride, tipping a black bin bag of clothes onto the floor.
Steve vRS said:
My wife buys clothes for a quid or 2 then sells them in Vinted for quite a bit more. She had a good eye for what will sell at a profit. Keeps her out of trouble.
The Vikingettes do this. They resell clothes for what I consider to be obscene amounts above RRP. I'm like an old man shouting at clouds. Apparently it's to do with popular out of stock items on Shein/ASOS/OhPolly/etc that you can buy, wear, and sell on for more than you paid for it, with P&P on top.SchillingTwo said:
I ve never been to one. I imagined they were always a mixture of tat and stolen goods
Genuinely I recommend going along, really fascinating All types of folk. If I was a soap opera script writer / novelist looking for ideas I would be there taking notes
Lots of youngsters scooping up stuff clearly for resale online
I haven't been for a while, largely due to a self-imposed ban in an effort to control the amount of stuff in the house.
The best boot sales are in decent weather during the school holidays, lots of family clearouts so a far better selection of stuff than the rest of the year when its largely traders only.
A friend had her daughter and baby granddaughter visiting from abroad, so I went with her on a couple of consecutive Sunday mornings and got all the pushchairs, cots and other baby paraphenalia she needed, for pence in the pound compared to new prices.
They're also a bit like a slower version of speed dating if you're so inclined. Once the initial rush is over, you can wander round and chat to the yummy mummies plus their single friends helping out.
My best buy was an unfinished Tamiya Toyota Hilux for £30. That went for £400 on eBay to Germany. Also an anchor winch for a yacht for £5, sold for £265 to North Carolina. First I had to identify what it was, because I really hadn't got a clue.
The best boot sales are in decent weather during the school holidays, lots of family clearouts so a far better selection of stuff than the rest of the year when its largely traders only.
A friend had her daughter and baby granddaughter visiting from abroad, so I went with her on a couple of consecutive Sunday mornings and got all the pushchairs, cots and other baby paraphenalia she needed, for pence in the pound compared to new prices.
They're also a bit like a slower version of speed dating if you're so inclined. Once the initial rush is over, you can wander round and chat to the yummy mummies plus their single friends helping out.
My best buy was an unfinished Tamiya Toyota Hilux for £30. That went for £400 on eBay to Germany. Also an anchor winch for a yacht for £5, sold for £265 to North Carolina. First I had to identify what it was, because I really hadn't got a clue.
Edited by GliderRider on Sunday 20th September 16:00
I used to go to boot sales pretty religiously every Sunday. But the local popular one nearby stopped several years ago, and all the others nearby charge an entrance fee for buyers which I refuse to pay on principle. So not been to any for years.
The one I did go to turned into a bit of a market which spoilt it really.
The one I did go to turned into a bit of a market which spoilt it really.
Not for many many years. My late MIL used to do them regularly and I used to go along with my then girlfriend to 'help'.
My main memory is of my late MIL having a full on argument with someone asking if she was throwing stuff away, basically saying if it's actually in the bin then it's thrown away, as it's not currently in the bin you can pay me for it.
My main memory is of my late MIL having a full on argument with someone asking if she was throwing stuff away, basically saying if it's actually in the bin then it's thrown away, as it's not currently in the bin you can pay me for it.
I know someone that gets everything she can find for free on whatsapp, facebook etc and car boots it. She reckons she makes 500 a month minimum from doing it.
I've not personally been to one for many years but I've heard you can pick up makita/dewalt or anything else the scrotes have nicked from trades vans en masse.
I've not personally been to one for many years but I've heard you can pick up makita/dewalt or anything else the scrotes have nicked from trades vans en masse.
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