If you are not a regular at car boot sales then there are a few essential things you will need plus a few extras that are a nice to have. Car boot sales are a great way to earn some extra cash from unwanted items.

Car boot sales are a great way of making some extra cash by selling some of your unwanted items. Often car boot sales are held at very early times in the morning (why is this?!) at the weekend but there are also plenty that are regularly held during the week too so you should be able to find a suitable one nearby.

Check online as to whether you need to book a pitch in advance (it can sometimes make it cheaper) or whether you can just turn up on the day. Often turning up early gets you the best pitches but when they are already being held at the break of dawn this can sometimes be a struggle!

So, there are a few key things that you should take with you to a car boot sale, particularly if you are not used to doing them and need a few tips on what to take:

1. Spare change – most items for sale at car boot sales are pretty cheap and so if you are selling (or buying for that matter) it can be helpful to have plenty of change to give people when they buy things. This may take some advance planning or perhaps you have a jar of coins that you have been saving up. It can be useful to have a bum bag to hold all of your money in so that it is easy to access and secure. It is too easy to leave a bag or purse lying around where it can get stolen.
2. Table – you will need a table to display your goods on. Many people take pasting tables which are cheap and lightweight but they can be quite unstable. If you have heavier goods then it is worth investing in maybe 2 smaller but more sturdy tables that will hold up much better. These can then be arranged as you like with gaps in between for boxes of items. It is also a good idea to have a large blanket to display goods on the floor where you have space for this.
3. Plastic bags – although a lot of people will bring bags with them to carry their purchases, many people will not and if you have plenty of supermarket plastic bags hanging around then this can be a good way to recycle them while also endearing yourself to your buyers.
4. Newspaper or bubblewrap – if you are selling breakables it is advisable to have something to wrap them in, this will show your buyers that you care about your goods and that they have probably been well looked after.
5. Snacks – there are often vans selling tea, coffee and snacks but if you are trying to make as much money as possible then you want to minimise what you spend so a flask of coffee and a sandwich should tide you through the early morning.

 Car boot sales can be fun as well as a good way of making some money and they are even better if you go prepared! Try not to take too much stuff as it can get confusing and you may not have room to display it all. Plus if you have a lot of items left at the end it just means you have to pack them all up again at the end. If you have a lot of items to sell then maybe group them into similar things to sell at separate fairs.