Car Boot Sales

[walpurgis]

I loved bootsales, but unfortunately their heyday has gone.

Yes, they tend to just be rubbish now. The only decent ones left seem to be out in the sticks, there's one in Cornwall that I visit that still has some interesting stuff, but generally they are a dead loss now. Auctions are a better option.

[Macca]

...they seem to be mostly clothes, toys and cheap household tat now.

They were exactly that 30 years ago when I was doing them. Only thing I ever bought was a Marantz amp, and that was faulty.

They occasionally have them in the market square here and the tat level is through the roof. Just stuff that no-one would ever, ever consider buying and taking home. For example what is the size of the global market for a VHS tape of 'Dirty Dancing'?

I reckon I am safe in saying that there is nobody on the entire planet who would want that even if it was free. Yet these people are not only storing this crap in their houses, they are going to the effort of bundling it all into the car, driving to the booty, unloading it, sitting there behind it for 4 hours, and then loading it all back up and taking it home again. I suppose it is one way of passing the time between birth and death but otherwise...

[Pigmy Pony]

Just out of interest what makes the difference between you and a vulture? Do you not try and pick up all the good stuff and instead leave most of it so that others can share in the good fortune?

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Simple - vultures are the ones that beat you to it. And they're usually quite ugly.

[Pigmy Pony]

They were exactly that 30 years ago when I was doing them. Only thing I ever bought was a Marantz amp, and that was faulty.

They occasionally have them in the market square here and the tat level is through the roof. Just stuff that no-one would ever, ever consider buying and taking home. For example what is the size of the global market for a VHS tape of 'Dirty Dancing'?

I reckon I am safe in saying that there is nobody on the entire planet who would want that even if it was free. Yet these people are not only storing this crap in their houses, they are going to the effort of bundling it all into the car, driving to the booty, unloading it, sitting there behind it for 4 hours, and then loading it all back up and taking it home again. I suppose it is one way of passing the time between birth and death but otherwise...

I remember the first time I went to a car boot sale, and I actually bought a VHS copy of Dirty Dancing (for the missus of course). I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, in fact I had the time of my life. Strange really, I'd never felt like this before. My mate who drove me there thought I was taking the piss, but I told him "I swear it's the truth, and I owe it all to you".

I also remember there was one stall selling baby clothes, stuck in the far corner of the field, and no one was buying. But as my mate pointed out, "Nobody puts baby clothes in the corner"

[Macca]

I remember the first time I went to a car boot sale, and I actually bought a VHS copy of Dirty Dancing (for the missus of course). I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, in fact I had the time of my life. Strange really, I'd never felt like this before. My mate who drove me there thought I was taking the piss, but I told him "I swear it's the truth, and I owe it all to you".

I also remember there was one stall selling baby clothes, stuck in the far corner of the field, and no one was buying. But as my mate pointed out, "Nobody puts baby clothes in the corner"

But that was the summer of 1963 - when everybody called you Baby, and it didn't occur to you to mind.

[Marco]

Yes, they tend to just be rubbish now. The only decent ones left seem to be out in the sticks...

Often that's the case. In general. the quality of the items sold in car-boot sales, reflects the 'quality' of the area, thus the people who live there - and of course their possessions... Therefore, if you want to avoid the tat, go to car boots in 'posh' areas, as chances are what they'll be chucking out will be good.

In that respect, I find countryside locations best, where there's a proliferation of 'old money' (and properties to match), as opposed to chavs or the rather vulgar nouveau riche. That's where you'll generally find the gems!

Marco.

[Pigmy Pony]

As stated in a previous thread, I was called "Baby's Arm", and I didn't mind that

[Marco]

Mine's been called that too, only with an apple in its hand.

Marco.

[Pigmy Pony]

Crab apples don't count

[Marco]

Ha - no it was the Hokuto apple: nice and bulbous

Marco.