Allotments 4 All

Completely non gardening this question!

My darling and I are having a major sort out and clear out of the house - and he has decided that we should 'boot sale' lots of the gear.  We have only been to a boot sale once, in Devon, in the middle of nowhere and it was teeny, so really have no idea what things go for.

Could any of you give me and example of what things like CD's, Vids and kids toys go for please.

I think you've really got to know your hunions if you want rid of all your junk, if it's too pricey you will be bringing it back, don't feel too attached to your treasures but don't give em away. ::)

What we used to do was find a good spot, (Don't park on the edges (by the hedges) as lazy peeps won't walk the distance, get in the thick of it all nearby the hot dog stand or doenut bar, you'll need all the passing trade you can get.

When you arrive (very early is best) you will be invaded by traders looking to rip you off so be firm and ask top price, garden tools are favourites, or get out of the vehicle lock it up and walk away from the "Vultures" tell them you are going to have a look around first, come back in 10 minutes and unload at speed.

Presentation, neat and tidy clean display works well, if the goods look good they think they are valuable (to a degree) put all your pricey stuff on the table and your junk on the floor, if that don't sell then throw it in the skip on the way home. ;D

I want to learn how to use eBay as I think I could get rid of far more junk at a much higher price. ;D

My OH sells stuff on e-bay and it blows my mind how much peeps will pay for stuff! He sold a plane that would have cost £160 new, for £184 second hand!! I do car boot sales, think Roy's right, you have to be prepared to sell stuff at lot lower prices but not give away. But try E-bay, peeps go mad! Think they bond with things and get possessive!!  I could't give my bike leathers away in shop, but sold them on e-bay for tidy sum. Lottie ;D

Probably to me lottie!

Thanks for the info......we are fairly experienced "Ebayers" both selling and buying and have found the experience to be pretty easy so far (and we have made a couple of bob on some things we just didn't know how to get rid of).

What we do have though are lots of video's (we now mainly stick to DVDs (as do probably everyone else)) and CDs.........we were thinking of CDs and/or Videos at £1 each.........as a guide is that too high, or too low?

Thanks again......

(Oh, and if anyone wants a specific video or CD, you never know, we have all sorts of rubbish!  ;D ;D ;D ::)).

Rubbish!  Cheek of the man!!  I collected most of those CD's and vids with love!!

eBay's a crazy place to trade; I've seen rubbish go for top prices, and valuable things go for a song.

It all depends on your locality - and even then there are bound to be variations.  It also depends on how much you want to get rid of the "junk".  If you really want to get rid of it, then you'll likely as not skip it in the end, so anything you get for it is a bonus.

Price high and be prepared to haggle.

We're in the same position as you EJ - lots to sell but no real idea of what sort of level things go for. All I can suggest is to go to a local car boot & have a look round before you go to sell. That's what I intend to do when I get round to it. Our problem is what to do with the stuff before taking it. There's loads of stuff in the loft but we have no room to sort it. It even crossed my mind to hire one of those storage units to move it to but it kind of defeats the object.

My husband does a regular amount of buying & selling on ebay & says that frequently people pay more than they would have to elsewhere. I suppose it's like any other auction really. Sometimes people get carried away & some times there is nobody looking who wants your item.

We tend not to price anything when car booting, then get someone to make an offer, you'll be surprised. Something that's junk to you, could be what the other peeps have been looking for!! Videos tend to go for about £1, but I've sold them for 50p, I do car boots for things I have no use for, and E-bay for things that I know have a certain "worth". Lottie  ;D

EJ, neice did a car bootie yesterday, her 2nd one. She was amazed that the things that went the first and fastest were clothes! :o  Especially kids clothes, oh and sheets!!  She wants to do another one in 3 weeks time so I shall be sorting through my clothes to give to her.  She also managed to get rid of loads of horse related toys my girls had when they were younger.

On telly today they were selling their videos on a car boot sale for £2.50 each which I thought was dead good.  Round me they'd be about a quid I reckon.  My niece sold one for £5!  Kids toys go well.  Daft things sell as well.  Stuff you wouldn't think you could sell like a piece of worktop I sold once, oh and a radiator (good nick though).  All the clothes I made sure were clean and pressed and hung on hangers on a rail with things in some kind of logical order.  People like to see things rather than rummage (although some will but they block up your stall so other peeps can't get to the front) I once washed all my plant pots (well the ones I didn't need) put them in a clean black plastic sack and got a fiver for them  :)  Men's shoes do well too  :)

We have loads of old baby toys, and I do have a sack of plant pots......but the thought of washing them!  Oh well, all in a good cause I suppose. 

I know your prices can't be too high EJ, but do be careful you don't underprice them too.   My sister in law had a stall in a car boot sale a while ago and her prices were quite low,  and the upshot was the people that bought her stuff turned out to be regular traders who put them on their stall the next week at bigger prices.  My OH advises you start off higher in the morning and go lower in the afternoon, if they aren't selling.  Good luck, hope it goes well.   :) busy_lizzie

Watch out for people nicking stuff too.  They pinched a jug and bowl set that we had priced for £3 from our scouts jumble then came back and nicked the vase that went with it.  Rat bags.