Friday 6 February 2009

Back To The Basics

A lack of money has forced me back into a hobby I had given up for over 12 years - Boot sales.
When you're earning ok the thought of getting up at 5am on a cold frosty Sunday morning doesn't really appeal but faced with a lack of basic necessities like food and electric it sort of forces the hand.
Something that I'd forgotten was how much I actually enjoyed the experience, not the getting up in the dark, or loading my car full of stuff, or the standing around in the freezing cold, and especially not the fact you have to hand over £8-£9 before you've taken a penny to just be there, no it's the meeting people I enjoy talking to complete strangers about everything and anything and seeing people I hadn't met in years.
When I used to do them before I mainly sold vinyl records and assorted junk that I'd polished up and presented in a way that made it appealing to the bargain hunters, this time it seemed like a good way of clearing those hundreds of videos I seem to have collected and never watch plus a large selection of CD's that I never play (most music gets played through the PC these days).
Thought of pricing the vids at 50p each but soon found out the going rate was 10-20p each (they were going for £2-£3 when I was selling before).
The CD's have held their price usually £2-£3 each so as I've ripped them all to my computer and they're not likely to be played again this seems reasonable.
I've been slowly going through my loft for some of the old junk that was left from years back plus being someone that hates to throw anything out if I feel I could make a few pence for it I have a lot to choose from.
Anyway I did my first one just after Christmas on a frost covered car park locally and despite a lack of people I ended up making a profit of just under a hundred quid :)
Back to the same place the following week and the weather was better and more people turned up but this time it was a bit of a disaster as I only made about £30 profit, so the following week it was off to a different place which backfired again as the icy cold morning saw most people staying in bed and I was lucky to make £25 and most of that was after the other 10 sellers had all given up and gone home early.
Last Sunday started out bad as snow was threatened and it was bitterly cold, one of the better boot sales about 20 miles away had advertised they were open so I headed off to get their early but when I arrived I found an empty field, I came back passing all the old boot sale sites I knew and all were closed so I end up back at the local place, so I'm a fivers worth of petrol down and the pitch money as well.
Luckily the few people who'd come out were buying and I made about £25 in the first hour to make it worthwhile but a few snow flurries and a biting wind soon had everyone leaving.
The guy next to me had piles of videos which after I showed an interest he offered to me for a tenner the lot, maybe later I told him.
About eleven and the buyers had all disappeared so he offers me the films again for a fiver and I offer him £3 which he accepts, 50p buys me two large trays full of paperbacks he's struggling to sell and I get a set of golf clubs and some other stuff thrown in.
This little deal has got me right back into the swing and I'm confident that weather permitting things will improve over the coming weeks, I've come home with £30 more than if I'd stayed in bed and twice as much stuff than I'd taken, the additional items although not of a high value tend to attract the punters.