Tell Me About Car Boot Sales?

[HelloGoodbye]

I'm going to be studying abroad at Oxford this Summer, and since I'm going to be separated from my beloved ponies, I may as well try and find some new members for my herd while I'm there 

I've heard a lot about car boot sales from the UK members on the Arena, and I've been curious about them.  So I guess I was just wondering about how you find out about them.  Is it like Yard Sales in the US where people put up posters advertising their sales?  Are there certain days of the week where I'd have the most luck finding them?  Also please tell me if you have any car boot sale tips (or tell about your best finds to give me some inspiration)!

Thanks all! 

[Juliepants]

Sunday mornings are the traditional carbooting time, and bank holidays. They tend to be early in the morning, to get the good stuff you'll need to get there around 7am, maybe even 6am depending! They generally stop over winter, it's very much a seasonal thing. March- October. They are usually held in big fields, so look for signposts for the regular ones and some one-offs. It's really good fun!

Jules x

[mopthebunny]

Sunday mornings are the traditional carbooting time, and bank holidays. They tend to be early in the morning, to get the good stuff you'll need to get there around 7am, maybe even 6am depending! They generally stop over winter, it's very much a seasonal thing. March- October. They are usually held in big fields, so look for signposts for the regular ones and some one-offs. It's really good fun!

Jules x

Exactly what I was going to say     HelloGoodbye, Juliepants knows what she's talking about

[CupidStrikes]

Hello! *waves* You're coming to my neck of the woods  I'm not sure about Oxford city itself, as there are not a great many fields suitable for car boots, but if you go a little outside to Abingdon and the surrounding towns then you'll find some (Peachcroft and Drayton are probably the most busy). I will forewarn you, though, in my times carbooting I have only ever found a couple of G3s. I hope you have more luck than I have, though!

My advice would be to go to any pitches where the seller has toys or children's clothing. Normally they'll be in big boxes (bring ALL the hand sanitiser because most people don't bother to clean these before taking them out  ) and you'll have to dig around. It might be worth asking but it could give someone the wrong idea and they might charge more  Near Swindon there is a huge indoor carboot sale that is VERY good (not for ponies necessarily, but I found a Hasbro Pokemon plush brand new with tags for 30p there) but you'd need a car to get to it.

[Taffeta]

Carbooting is awesome! It might be worth doing some searches online and seeing if there are any toy fairs in the Oxfordshire area during the time you're over here. G1 are rare at carboots now, but I've seen G2, 3 and G4 in the few sales I've been to last summer.

The name comes from the fact people sell stuff out of the boots (our word for trunks) of cars, so it's not quite like a yard sale, more like a giant second hand market. I've noticed in London, though, that several sellers don't have vehicles and bring items in cases instead. Outside of London, it's definitely car-related!

Summer is the best time for sales as well. But yes, be prepared to travel outside of the city. In my experience the one advantage to being outside of a city is that country carboot sales tend to be bigger.

If you're here for all of August, definitely look into whether there are any special big one off Bank Holiday sales on the August Bank Holiday, too. They tend to be big where they run. And Oxfordshire as a county has a lot of green areas, so I'm sure you'll find something!

(P.S Some places have sales on a Saturday not a Sunday. It can depend on what other uses the field has. In recent years when we've gone to sell at a boot sale, it;s been one on a Saturday morning, rather than a Sunday one, so it's worth checking the papers or online for those too).

Digging through stuff is good, but I suggest that, on some occasions, it's a good idea to start at the back and work to the front. Reason being that the most recent cars arrive at the back and therefore you're in a competition from the start with the dealers. Having sold stuff in recent years, what I find usually happens is that people descend on you as you unpack, and often that;s when a seller sells the most stuff - because people are converging on the stall not wanting to miss out.

As for asking, it's all right to ask, but be general. For example, ask if they have any girl's toys, or any dolls, or any plastic animals, or anything for a little girl...stuff that's not specific to a brand. If someone is selling MLP, it's always worth asking if they have others. I've done this before and been presented with a box that was still in the car that they hadn't had a chance to put out yet.

My other secret weapon was my sister, who would dive on top of stuff to prevent other people buying. It might be a good idea if you have friends you can take with you to help you hunt. I don't know if you know people in Oxford, but it does help to have multiple pairs of eyes on the scene, and people who can hold onto something while you're fumbling for cash.

Ah yes. Final warning - take cash, but be careful. People can steal stuff in crowds at carboot sales, so it might be worth having a separate cash purse for the sale. Also take your own carrier bags, and take change. Sellers don't often have change for £20 notes, and they can get grumpy if you offer one for a £1 item xD.

[HelloGoodbye]

Thanks for the advice, everybody!  You all have really great tips so I'm very excited to give car boot sales a try now!  I'll be there for all of July and about half of August,  so it looks like I won't be there for the bank holiday (I just googled it) but hopefully I'll be able to find some good car boot sales regardless! 

[Chrissytree]

There's this website that shows you lot of ones throughout the country. It might help you to find some you can visit You might need to google the locations. I live right down in the South of Oxfordshire so I don't know any of the ones closer to the city.
http://www.carbootjunction.com/car-boot-by-county.php

[HelloGoodbye]

Thanks for that link, Chrissytree!  I have it bookmarked now!