Carbooting Advice?

[Yukiru]

Hello there everyone!

The middle of next month my parents are heading to England to visit some relatives in the Worcester area and do the tourist thing in London so I'm having them do a little pony hunting while they're across the pond I was wondering where there might be some good spots to go carbooting or maybe check out some secondhand/thrift stores in those areas, or if anyone has any other local tips and tricks? I don't think they'll have access to a car when they're in London, but they should be able to run around when in Worcester. They'll be visiting for about 10 days, so they should have time to explore :3 Thanks a bunch!

[Nappercasper]

Not sure boot fairs don't generally start again Til Easter near me x

[Mlp Sunsparkle]

They don't start till around Easter for me either, but here are some tips:
Get there early, as there can sometimes be toy dealers who snatch toys up and sell them for high prices >
Rummage in any boxes of toys ect as these sometimes have hidden treasures in!
If somebody has a pony, or some other toys, it never hurts to ask if they have any or anymore.
For secondhand stores, I don't know about where your parents are going, but where I live the toy sections are fairly small, unless you find one that has toys and kids stuff only.

I hope this helped a little! I'm sure some other people will be more knowledgeable on that particular place
Mlp Sunsoarkle xx

[pilarsworld]

Get them to try the charity shops in Worcester...you never know.

[applejackbunny]

Get there really early! Ideally you want to be one of the first there (while the sellers are still setting up) because others will definitely be there early too and will snap up all the best things.

As for charity shops, scour the high streets and side streets of Worcester - there are bound to be lots there. Don't be afraid to really rummage through the boxes of toys. As for London, there must be literally thousands of charity shops there so it will depend where you are going. Typically the very touristy areas won't have any, but if you go down the side streets you might find some...

Best of luck - hope you find something exciting! Do share it with us when you do!

[Yukiru]

Thanks everyone!! 

I'll definitely pass on all this info to my parents They're not afraid of heading off the beaten path and now that I think about it, the relatives they're visiting would probably know some good charity shops out their way. And don't worry, I'll be sure to post, especially if my parents happen upon G1 or G2 since I've never really seen them in real life (except for maybe in TRU in the 90's when I probably said ew and wandered off to the Power Rangers )!

[Taffeta]

Fifteen years ago I'd have said you'd do well out of it, but these days the boot sales are a bit on the lean side, at least for G1. If G3 are ok, they can show up...

Erm, I know there's a carboot in Pimlico on a Sunday morning. It runs all year round and is half indoor. Pimlico is London - it's near Victoria, one stop on the tube. I've only been once, but it was quite big, even if there weren't many ponies.

Second hand shops...meh, any charity shop I guess? I would still instinctively think Worcester is a better bet than London though, for second hand pony stuff. My experience with 'charity' shops etc in London is that they're more sporadic than they seem, but I would suggest the trick is to use the buses. Reason being, if you're not driving, you can see what's going on, and buses go out of the tourist centre and into residential areas or small town centre clusters. Sometimes then you'll see signs for shops or second hand stalls. It is a big city, though. It might be worth googling before hand where you want them to go. You don't have to go as far as zone 2, 3 or beyond for charity shops and markets and things but further out might be a better yield in terms of second hand shops.

Mind you, I've a shop here near me that I haven't ventured into yet and that's zone 1 so it's probably worth looking anywhere that isn't a tourist hotspot.

[Rhubarbpie]

Hi I live quite close to Worcester

The Ketch is the main boot sale and is looking to open up over the Easter weekend.  Other than that, you can try Gloucester car boot sale, or Southam in Bishops Cleeve which are both fairly close by.

For actual carbooting tips, bring plenty of change and bags. Also toilet roll - these places tend to run out of that fairly quickly and are slow to replenish their stocks 

[applejackbunny]

Hi I live quite close to Worcester

The Ketch is the main boot sale and is looking to open up over the Easter weekend.  Other than that, you can try Gloucester car boot sale, or Southam in Bishops Cleeve which are both fairly close by.

For actual carbooting tips, bring plenty of change and bags. Also toilet roll - these places tend to run out of that fairly quickly and are slow to replenish their stocks 

That's good info Rhubarbpie - I may try out one of those given that I live near here too but have never actually tried out a car boot sale yet! Maybe we will all bump into one another!

[SnorkMaiden]

This car boot sale is held on Sunday afternoons in South-West London:

http://www.batterseaboot.com/

I've been there a couple of times, and it's quite fun. I've found ponies there, though not G1s. If your parents decide to go there, advise them to go early, as the queue to get in can be very long.

As for charity shops, Taffeta's advice to use buses is good. You won't find many charity shops in central London (and if you do, they're hopelessly overpriced), but outside the centre, you can find a few on nearly every high street. Tell them to keep an eye open for FARA Kids, a chain of charity shops that specialises in children's items: clothes, books and of course toys. Most other charity shops will have a small toy section, and they may or may not find ponies there. It all comes down to luck.

If your parents don't have the time to get out of central London, Portobello Road Market has one or two stalls with vintage toys. There's also a vintage toy store in the road leading up to the market. Bear in mind, though, that both the stalls and the toy store are rather expensive, so make sure your parents have a general idea of which prices to expect.

[Galactica]

Wow I would like SO MUCH to visit England or London and go carbooting!!!!!!

[applejackbunny]

Do you have similar in the States? What do you call them? Car Trunk sales? Lol! I know you have yard sales/garage sales - is that more or less the same thing or do you have the car boot thing but just call it something else?

I know it's probably in the hope of finding some of the ponies that were only sold over here but I just was wondering what your equivalent would be...just curious! 

Post Merge: February 29, 2016, 02:50:57 PM

I just remembered probably the single most important piece of car booting advice in the UK - bring a brolly and some wellies! Just in case : ) It may be muddy underfoot and wet overhead!

[Galactica]

Do you have similar in the States? What do you call them? Car Trunk sales? Lol! I know you have yard sales/garage sales - is that more or less the same thing or do you have the car boot thing but just call it something else?

I know it's probably in the hope of finding some of the ponies that were only sold over here but I just was wondering what your equivalent would be...just curious! 

Post Merge: February 29, 2016, 02:50:57 PM

I just remembered probably the single most important piece of car booting advice in the UK - bring a brolly and some wellies! Just in case : ) It may be muddy underfoot and wet overhead!

Actually we do have something similar- depending on which state you live in they are called "Flea Markets" or "Swap Meets"  -  when I lived in California there were a lot of them, basically every weekend at the local fair grounds. They are huge.  Now I live in Seattle, Washington where it rains, or is chilly or misty a lot of the year- so I don't know of any outdoor swap meets.  I did find a few so-called "flea markets" that are held indoors- but it is mostly antique stuff or cheap commercial stuff.  I like the ones in California better since it is mostly just regular people selling the junk out of their storage/garage/house.  FAR more likely to find vintage toys...

[Yukiru]

You are all very lovely! I appreciate the insider scoop! 

I'll pass this link on to my mom so she can scour through all this info ^^ It's been pretty warm here in Virginia this winter thus flea markets and yard sales have been happening frequently, so it's good to know that most carbooting won't be happening till around Easter over there in England. It's been a about ten years, but I've visited England (and France) during the month of July and when it wasn't sweltering it was freezing, so I can't imagine it would be fun to be outside trying to sell anything in the winter

[Taffeta]

When there are ponies at stake, you do what you gotta do.

Although the carboot sale in the area my family live in got closed and they built on the land some ten years ago, which was too sad  It was an awesome carboot sale, I swear I had 3 or 400 ponies from it alone over the years before. Sigh. (And yes, I would trek up there in the rain and in the cold and yes, sometimes it was cancelled but sometimes ponies appeared!)

Sunshine is more conducive to good sales, admittedly...BUT the ground can still be muddy underfoot even if the sky is clear, so the advice about wellies etc is good Often sales are held on farming fields, too - on occasion I've been to ones where cows have definitely been in the parking field...