Aaah Sunday mornings. Nothing better than a lie-in, followed by a leisurely and drawn-out breakfast, reading the papers. Nooooo, not me. I often choose to spring out of bed at 7.30 and jump in the car to go to my nearest boot sale. As long as I haven't rolled in at 2.30am from the After Dark (80s club in Reading) the previous evening - those kind of nights definitely aren't conducive with early-morning boot sale action.
I've been going to boot sales for years, since my first boyfriend used to drag me round them to find items of wonder to sell through his collectables business (pre-Ebay, that's how long ago it was!). One person's tat is definitely another person's treasure. However, in many cases, one person's tat is definitely just tat! But if you read a lot of books, you can pick them up for around 20p-50p each - many in mint un-dribbled-on condition and the latest titles/authors. DVDs are about a quid each - some sellers have them at more, but no-one buys them unless they're really hard-to-find ones or box sets. I've bought loads of brand new toiletries and makeup at boot sales (Philosophy, Paul & Joe, Bliss, Benefit, OPI, Lush etc) for no more than one or two pounds each. Nowt wrong with that! Cookbooks are another good buy - a couple of quid for last year's Jamie Oliver or Nigella Lawson is a bargain to my mind. I even got a Panasonic breadmaker for £12 once which has been a brilliant addition to our kitchen, along with less useful but pretty to look at items such as poncey scented candles, picture frames and other objets d'art that would cost 10 times the price on the high street.
Today's bargains were limited, as I got a bit hot and bothered by 10am (I got there just gone 8, the sun was blazing, and I wasn't really appropriately dressed), so I gave up about halfway round the bootsale. However, I did get a very cute gold-plated bracelet with enamel Beatrix Potter charms, for my 3-year old niece, which was a princely £2 (negotiated down from £3), and was the best purchase of the day really. I also got some bedtime reading books (Noddy and Little Bear) for her, some Lush shower gel (unused of course) for 50p, a cute skirt with an owl on (also for my niece!), The Sound of Music on doovde (£1) and a Star Trek book for Mr G's inner geek. Total spend £4.90.
What was I thinking - The Sound of Music? Well I haven't seen it for years, and it was only a quid :-)
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| Today's boot sale bargains |
There was a load of other
All in all, not the most amazing haul, but it's got me out of bed and making the most of the day - considering my slovenly 3.30pm house departure yesterday, that's got to be a good thing?
I'll do some blog posts with tips for buying and selling at boot sales soon. They're fun if you embrace the experience and come prepared!
Any other car boot sale fans with bargains to share?
J bought a high chair for £6 last week. He wouldn't talk them down though. Unfortunately it also stinks of smoke. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteOh no that's a shame - suppose a good Febrezing and an afternoon in the garden won't solve it?
ReplyDeleteMr G hates negotiating too, I do it but never take the pee, I just have a price in my head of what I want to pay for something. I'm often speechless at other people's nerve/rudeness!
We're going to stick it outside and see how it goes with a good airing. Otherwise it can stay at the in laws' as a spare for when she's there.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to tips on selling, we really need to clear out a lot of stuff and it seems like a good option :)