Plants and bric a brac for sale.
We travelled two and half hours to county Limerick to a carboot sale on Saturday morning.
It was trying to rain and most booters decided to walk backwards and forwards carrying their wares inside a community hall.
We decided to be brave and decided to empty the van and tough it out.
One woman asked me if I would sell a print painting with a neatly carved frame for 3 Euros? I said that I wanted 5 Euros at least and the frame was worth that. The lady said it wasn't worth it would take a lot of cleaning and walked away.
Carbooting reminds me of my old coarse fishing days. Sometimes you catch and some times you don't.
A cheerful man asked me how much my plants were and I told him what species they were and their price. The man bought four off me for twenty Euros. I gave him a plant for free. He was really made up and patted me on my back.
That's all we made: 20 Euros. Then I paid the carboot lady organiser 12 Euros for our pitch and we were left with 8 Euros!
What a waste of time. Perhaps we has tried selling to early in the year?
I won't be going there again.
Last year at a carboot sale a fellow booter told me had done a carboot once and never sold a thing and he paid ten pounds to sit in a carpark for the morning.😄
You need to think about marketing Dave. Have some Irish laments playing over a loudspeaker on a loop. This will soothe away the buyers' resistance. Also you and Jean could dress as jolly leprechauns. I am sure these techniques will see your sales soar. Please note that I am not charging a penny for my professional advice.
ReplyDeleteMaybe YP.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you could label each plant with "Garden Centre price - €10; northsider price - €5 " That'll show them what a bargain they're getting!
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty early on for plants. It amazes me that people will dicker and dicker over the prices of already cheap things. I suppose bawling out, "Take it or Leave it, Missus...just make up your bloody mind!" would be poor customer service.
ReplyDeleteI did in a way JayCee. I told the man that the same Phormiums were 20 Euros in the garden centre and I was selling mine for 5 Euros. He gladly bought four of them.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should mark everything up a couple euros and let yourself be argued down!
DeleteMaybe Debby. Car boot sales in posher areas make more money. A nice day also brings people out to browse and shop. I think it was too early in the year to sell plants.
DeleteI have seen people selling swearing at cheeky would be customers Debby. I often roll my eyes and shake my head. Who said: "The customer is always right?"
ReplyDeleteOh well. You got out and about. I agree with JC. Put up the shop prices too. They'll all think they're getting one helluva bargain. Which are they are of course.
ReplyDeleteExactly what we thought Linda. After covid lockdown just going somewhere is a bonus in itself. People want something for nothing these days at carboot sales.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard on cold or wet days, hopefully as the year progresses your dales will increase.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree Marlene. People often buy plants when they are in flower. Thanks Marlene.
ReplyDeleteThat was a long way to go but I hope there was some good vibes too. Supermarkets and lack of knowledge of the real world outside make people expect to get something and everything more or less for nothing and producing bears no work or overheads. How wrong they are. Better luck as the season progresses into Spring Dave.
ReplyDeleteThankyou Rachel. Rural Ireland takes a long time to find somewhere to sell. I once heard someone from a farming background say: " If a farmer (smallholder) made 50 Pence an hour. They would be doing well". You have your finger on the pulse Rachel.
ReplyDeleteSeems to me a tiresome way to spend a Saturday morning but then you do get to test the market and find some quirk of humanity to blog about.
ReplyDeleteI am sure even big shops in the high streets have days when they sell little or nothing Tigger's Mum. I can always find someone or something to blog about.
DeleteI'm praying for fine weather on the 1st March - that's the date of the first car-boot around here.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get good weather Sue. We have to travel miles at this time of year to find any car boot sales. Roll on Spring.
ReplyDeleteI don't think car booting is for me, as I'd get fed up waiting around all morning. Although I imagine it could be fun on a busier day.
ReplyDeleteIt's still early days, so perhaps trade will pick up in the spring.
It reminds me of my old coarse fishing days Jules. Hoping for that big fish and the one that got away. I prefer browsing and buying than selling. Sometimes I meet fellow gardeners and have good chats about plant propagation. Thanks for your comment Jules.
ReplyDelete