Hello,

I have been spending loads of time clearing out a lot of my personal possessions as I feel, over time I have accumulated far too much. Many of these items are near new or new with tags and I thought I would wear/use, but never did. For this reason I wasn’t happy with the thought of just throwing them additionally I wanted some extra income and so I thought I would try selling at a local car boot.

As a child I regularly went to car boot sales and I remember the happiness I would get when I found something completely affordable but also something I desired. I have never personally known a seller at one of these so it was going to be a completely new experience.

When I was reviewing the local ones in my area I knew I did not want anything that was too small  or local as this would mean that you could risk having no buyers because of the lack of variance when it came to types of customers. The other thing I considered was how established it was as I would be an inexperienced seller therefore I wanted the assurance of being surrounded by experienced organisers.

With this in mind I decided that I would sell at the Battersea Car boot which everyone I know as buyers have told me it was busy and they had a good experience.

It was relatively straight forward to book as this was online and you completed your personal details and if you had a car then this would include your registration. Pitches were priced in tiers depending on how early you wished to arrive, your vehicle etc.. The prices ranged between £30 – £20 to arrive between 11.30-12.30. What I liked was when you completed your reservation you could provide a note of information such as whether you are a brand new seller (which I did). Following my booking I also received a email confirmation receipt which always makes me feel better about the payment security.

After spending a day packing everything I finally made my way to the entrance and figured out where the gate was. I was approached by a man in a hi-vis jacket who said “number”. I had no understanding as to what number he was referring to however I was in my car in the road causing a traffic jam and wished to have entry to set up. After I asked for clarity he then said my booking number which no where was I advised to have to hand when booking therefore I would need to search on my phone however I was in my car in the road so wasn’t in the position to do so. His colleague at the gate read my number plate and shouted my reference the man then said to me again “so what’s your number” to which I responded that he was just advised. He then told me in future I needed to have this to hand and to drive straight on. Personally I found this rude and it provided me with a poor first impression for something I had been very excited about. (Of course I thanked his colleague)

When I found my pitch at the back of the car boot sale I was directed how to park and where I could set up which I did in lightening speed. Whilst doing this many early entry buyers (who paid an inflated price for early entry) stood practically on top of me looking into my car and asking whether I had electrical goods. I have to admit this did make me feel very uncomfortable as the car is open whilst you unpack but people are literally wanting to take stuff out to look before you are ready and without you even being aware.

The following 4 hours were on my feet with many people looking to barter over very good prices or provide unrequired advice such as; you should sell this on ebay you’d fetch more (which is why I relisted it 4 times and decided instead to take it to a car boot).

So after the entire experience I can say I definitely enjoyed it however it’s not something I would consider again. I luckily made a profit however divided into the hours I spent there, I did not achieve a good amount. I cleared out a lot of stuff I didn’t want which is 100% a positive and something I want to continue to do I just feel that people are looking for stuff people just want rid of rather than actual items of good quality at a great discount. Also clothing and books did not perform what so ever and the majority I came back with were just these.

I will be trying DePop properly next as I feel I never really gave it a chance previously.

How do you recycle your goods?