Thrifting at Boot Sales

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What's Treasure Hunting, Again?

Treasure hunting is the act of seeking out flippable (usually) second-hand products. If you find yourself anywhere that people are getting rid of yet old things, you will come across items that have been underpriced. This gives you an opportunity to buy it and resell it in another marketplace – usually somewhere like eBay or Amazon – for profit.

There are various ways to source second-hand products to resell and, due to the availability of them, car boot sales tend to be one it tells best places to locate gems to make big returns on.

Why Boot Sales?

Boot sales attract everyday people that want to downsize the possessions in their home. Everyone has completely different backgrounds, and will bring along the most unexpected items with them. These can be things that they've had sitting around or a while, have had in storage or just need to cash in on.

With people so willing to part ways with their goods – random goods at that – you have all kinds of opportunities to come across flippable bargains. Even if you've been to boot sales in the past to buy, you still may not appreciate just how much potential there is out there. Put your reselling hat on when you're rummaging through a boot sale stall.

Unlike charity shops, you have to bear in mind that the quality won't always be as good. This leaves you at risk to buy broken electronics, torn clothes and other defective stock. When you're sourcing to resell from car boots, you need to be wise to common issues that may arise.

How Do I Find Boot Sales?

Boot sales take place all over the gaff. You can find them on local sporting fields, farm, school playgrounds. They are everywhere. To find them, you may need to do a bit of digging. This site is a good starting point, but you're better off just searching your local town and village names and “[your town] car boot” to see what's going on, as I mentioned with jumble sales and tabletops.

Whenever you find a listing for local boot sales, you need to check how recently it was published. You may find that some are regular, but others only take place on bank holidays or other special occasions. Once you get down to one, ask sellers about any nearby, because they'll know better than anyone.

How Do I Know What's Worth Money?

It's difficult to know the current second-hand value without the eBay app. If you're ever unsure if something is worth your time, check through the completed listings (to see if it's actually selling recently) and then refine it down to sold listings, to see what price to expect for it. More advanced sellers may only check one of these filters.

Depending where your boot sale is will determine whether you're going to have the signal to actually use it. In this case, you're actually going to have to study. Pick a category and just start checking through sold listings. This example of valuable PlayStation 1 games shows how you can quickly increase your knowledge of a certain product area. If you apply it to other areas, you will soon enough have all the tools you need to start sourcing BOLOs without needing to heck beforehand.

When is the Best Time to Go?

I would always say that it's better to go at opening time. It's a mad rush at these times, because this is when a lot of other resellers will be around. They'll be there as people open up their boots, asking what people are selling, before they get chance to get it all prepped on their tables.

All of that madness – the exact chaos I hate when I sell at boot sales – can cause people to underprice what they have. That disorientation throws inexperienced sellers off, and they end up taking lower prices on their products just to cover the pitch fee quickly.

But you can get deals later. If you get there later, yes, the obviously underpriced, well-known BOLOs will be snapped up early, but there's so much potential out there. Many resellers, including some of the well-known vloggers, actually say that they prefer to go later. The atmosphere is calmer. You can haggle in a more friendly manner, and you have more time to sift through things that other would overlook.

Another thing about waiting until sellers leave is that many won't want to bring anything back home with them, so they do desperate things to get rid of the excess. “Everything 50p” signs often pop up in the last couple of hours and – if you're lucky – you might even come across a seller giving things away for free.

Obviously going to car boots early won't work for everyone, especially if you're opens at 5.30am-7am, as the best ones near me do. It's impractical, and it's especially difficult if you need that time on a weekend to recover from a working week, but how bad do you want that profit? The one near me actually ‘opens' as soon as sellers turn up – an hour before it's scheduled to.

Anything Else You Need to Tell Us?

If you're thinking long term, you need to make friends in this game. Networking is your key to success. Although most of the people you buy from will be different week to week, there will be regular sellers. Striking up the right conversations can lead to you being able to get better deals, done to agreements on future trades, and ensure that you have reliable suppliers for your business.

Boot sales are all very different, and you need to learn how to navigate through them effectively and efficiently. Over time, you'll learn whether the speedy or more measured approach is beat. And you'll figure out the best ways to haggle. It's all about finding what's most comfortable for you, and what gets you the results. Be brave. Be confident. Consider the profit. Now go and do your thing.