Jump Start Aug: Holiday Money Week: Day 4
It’s time to try something different again today. The task is to cost up a car boot sale. You don’t have to plan, book and run one today, just work out whether it’s worth your while to do it.
Car boot sales are a great way to offload large amounts of things you don’t want any more that (by and large) have a low resale value. If your items have higher value, sell them as set price listings or on auction sites instead.
Work out your costing as follows:
- The amount your nearest (or best nearby) sale charges for a car pitch
- Petrol costs (or if you don’t have a car, how much you need to bribe your friend with a car to take you)
- Food and drink for the day
- Things you might need to buy (price labels etc)
- How much you’re going to charge for your items (be prepared for haggling)
- The amount you’re likely to sell (on average a quarter or third of your ‘stock’)
Wherever you can, plan to borrow or improvise rather than buying. For example, your items will sell best if you have a trestle table (sometimes provided by the organisers), boxes with big prices written on them etc, and for clothes you might need a clothes rail to show them off at their best.
The two best ways of keeping your costs down are firstly to take your own packed lunch and drinks, and secondly to avoid going shopping at the other stalls at the sale!
After doing your costing, be realistic – how much might you be able to take home in profits for your day’s work?
If you’ve sold at a car boot sale before, please share your tips for making the most from your selling.
