Selling at a car boot sale really is selling made simple. There are no overheads, no shop rent or rates, staff or utility bills to pay. You can just turn up, set up and sell… for real hard cash.
But making real money from car boot selling, rather than pin money, is not always as easy as it sounds. So here are a few tips and secrets that professional car booters use to make money:
How To Make A Success Of Car Boot Sales
* Pick the right sales. Charity sales might be for a worthy cause but they often aren’t well promoted, well run or well attended. Professionally organised sales are usually much better. And the added advantage is that they run every week (during the season at least) so you can generate an income from them every week.
* Don’t start with a product and look for sales where you think it will sell. That’s a mistake that many newbies make. It could take you ages to find a sale where your product fits. Instead, have a look at a few sales. Look for a gap in the market – a product that isn’t sold there but could fit well – and then look for a source of that product.
* Do some reconnaissance first! Don’t go and try to sell at a sale without having checked it out first. Visit the boot sales you’re thinking of selling at to see what they’re really like.
Find out: Is the sale well organised? Is it well attended? What goods are being sold there… what goods are not? What competition is there from other sellers? Do visitors seem to like the sale? Are they spending money?
* No junk! Selling off old junk will only make junk money… plus sourcing new stocks of old junk on a regular basis takes up too much time. Instead, look for a good reliable source of new products that you can source and sell on a regular basis.
Good sources to try include: Wholesalers. Clearance wholesalers. Bankruptcy stock suppliers. Factory outlets. Auctions.
* Use a little retail psychology. You will sell more, and for better prices. Display goods attractively, on a table or rack and place complementary objects together so you can aim to sell several items in each sale.
Price realistically and do offers such as BOGOF and three-for-two (both are popular with consumers right now). And here’s a sneaky but perfectly legitimate trick: put price labels on the bottom of your merchandise, not on the top… experience proves that potential buyers are more likely to buy once they have picked something up!
* Don’t be in a rush to sell. Experienced car booters know that those who turn up early (especially those who hassle you as soon as you stop your car!) are often tough bargain hunters, and may even be other traders looking to buy from you and resell for more.
Normally, buyers who turn up later are less driven by the hope of getting something for nothing and are more likely to pay you what you want. (Another advantage of selling new stock rather than junk is that if it doesn’t sell you can always bring it back another week.)
For more expert secret sourcing techniques plus extensive listings of wholesalers, clearance and bankrupt sources, manufacturers, auctions and many more sources that are great for car booting What Biz Opp recommends the Secret Source Directory.