CreditCrunchCollector.com

With all the amazing ‘get rich quick’ schemes flying around the internet, wouldn’t it be great to know that you could make some serious money in a very short time OFFLINE and have fun as well?

Well, I did just that this weekend. £377 worth in fact. Yes! £377 and in only 3 HOURS! 

How?

By doing exactly what I have been banging on about on my blog for weeks. Selling collectibles at car boot sales!

And now you’re going to ask “How do you make £377 in 3 hours by selling worthless junk?”

I suppose that one is simple for me because I have been in the collectibles business for a long time. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t do it too.

Okay, let’s do a little bit of explaining.

The location was a large playing field on the outskirts of town and it was a hot sunny day. My car was parked up along with around 200 other cars and, although the gates weren’t supposed to open to the public until 10am, punters started descending around 9.30am. That meant a quick set up was essential (see my ‘Boot Sale Guide For Sellers’).

Now sale time! And let’s be clear of the objectives of your boot sale. Are you looking to clear some of your unwanteds and create a bit of space in your home and happy to sell your items dirt cheap just to get rid?

Or are you looking at selling within the collectibles market for a tasty profit?

Either way, you’ll find both types of customer at a boot sale, although the true collectibles punter is not always as easy to spot.

Here are a few pointers to help you maximise your selling:

• Keep your junk and your collectibles seperate, at opposite ends of your table. Even better, take 2 tables if you have the space. Your punters will be able to see clearly then that one side is clearance junk and the other is the serious collectible stuff!

• NEVER price up your collectibles. This is too restrictive (see the ‘Boot Sale Guide For Sellers’ for more details). By all means price up an assorted box of junk, for example “ ANY ITEM 50p”, or anything you want rid of at a rock bottom price because this is more convenient for you.

• Try to spot the serious collector and anticipate them visiting your stall. Then prepare yourself. One trick I use is to REMOVE key items from my stall 5 minutes or so before my target gets to me. Then, literally as they arrive, I put the items back out again. This gives the impression that this is the first time I have displayed the item and they are the first people to view it. Often, people like to think they have one over on everyone else and they are then more likely to give these items a serious look to make sure they don’t miss out on a gem.

• Be prepared to barter but NEVER give anything away at a rediculous price. You should have a guide price in your head before you start and, if you are treating this as a business, don’t go below that price. Sure, if you still have the item a year down the line and you haven’t moved it, you may need to reconsider but never panic and sell to the first person who offers to buy but at a seriously reduced price just to make a sale.

A good example of this would be a table lamp that I bought from a flea market around 6 months ago for £8. I knew that I could at least double my money on this but have had it on display at numerous sales and, after seeing similar items, had a starting price of £45 hoping to settle for around £35-40.

I have had many offers but all around the £15-20 mark, which still doubles my money but I knew it could realise a little more. Anyway, at this weekend’s sale I had around a dozen people all hovering around £20 offers and I felt that this could be the time to sell but, again, not to give it away. Several of these punters returned to my stall all making a revised offer until one guy came back a THIRD time. I knew he was my man!

His ‘final’ offer was £25 and we shook on £27. That’s still over 300% profit so you must agree that is not bad for an original £8 investment.

So to finish, here are some of the top performers from my weekend:

• Metal badges featuring Kiss, Rainbow, AC/DC and Whitesnake amongst other rock bands, sold for a minimum of £3 each with the remaining collection of button pin badges selling for £28.

• 2 First Edition Ladybird books bought for £2 each sold for £15 (650% Profit!) and £9 (350% Profit!).

• A complete collection of Wade Whimsies bought for £14 several weeks ago realised £46. That’s over 200% profit!

• A bundle of old jigsaws from the 50’s and 60’s that were bought from a sale last year for a mere £5. Now even though the jigsaws were complete, the boxes had seen better days and 1 didn’t even have a box! Despite the condition, 1 jigsaw fetched £5, while 2 others each raised £3. The remaining 4 pulled in £8 as a bundle giving a total of £19 for a £5 investment.

• 2 spot lamps found at the back of an old garage that were from a MK1 Ford Escort sold for £62.

• And, finally, a box of assorted drill bits that were found in the same garage brought in £8.

And as an added note, a box of 50p junk which contained old toy cars, broken jewellery, plastic Kinder toys and other bits sold enough to cover my £7 pitch fee and the fuel to get there!

So big money is really possible in the collectibles business, if you know what you are looking for and how to sell it. What’s more, it’s fun too.

After all £377 for a morning’s work, or over £125 per hour isn’t bad is it?

Richard

Beta Testers Wanted – Make $13,000 a Month!

Tags: £125 per hour, 300% profit, boot sale, get rich quick, make money, sale, trash