Car Boot Sales - Useful resource or a pile of old junk ?

When you hear someone’s off to a car boot sale do your ears prick up or are you more OMG why bother with that?

I’ve found over the years that peoples’ thoughts are a bit like that of marmite – you either love or loath them! ...

But, should we be embracing them?

The car boot “season” is now upon us. Up here in Inverness the largest weekly one re-started on 19th March at Caley Stadium. It costs £10 per car and it’s not that early a start at 8am !

Despite the huge impact of the internet with auction websites and Facebooks buy, swap and sell marketplaces the humble car boot sale is still going strong.

According to Toby Walne of the Financial Mail on Sunday there is an estimated £1.5 BILLION spent at car boots annually in the UK. The typical seller makes around £80 per visit. That will of course depend on what you’re selling and the weather.

I have always enjoyed going to a good car boot. When my children were younger many of their toys and clothes were sourced from there. With a bit of advance planning I found good quality items at rock bottom prices. Books and dvds are my favourite bargains. In fact, I now find it very difficult to pay full retail price (Or even a discounted new price!) for some things when I know that you can pick them up for a fraction of the cost.

There are plenty of on-line guides to help you make the most of your car boot experience whether it is as a seller or buyer. Interestingly, EBAY has a very extensive “Do’s and Don’ts” section on car boot sales.

Here in the UK we collectively have somewhere in the region of £52 billion worth of items stashed away that we no longer use. It makes sense, both on a personal, a community and environmental level to move it on to someone who will make use of it.

Yes, getting the stuff ready to sell, waking up early on a Sunday morning and then spending the whole morning at the event may be a bit of HASSLE compared to depositing it all at your local charity shop. However, you will make some money and you may even enjoy the experience.

As a buyer there are times in your life when they can be invaluable (E.g. setting up home, having a baby etc.) in SAVING you MONEY as well as contributing to being less wasteful. Admittedly, there are some worn out, broken, useless bits and pieces on offer however, you can avoid these.

If you haven’t tried one out, why not give it a go?

I would love to hear your thoughts on “Car Boots” – good or bad …