Buyer FAQs

The venue is still being confirmed. The opening date goes on the home page the moment it is signed off, and it will be announced everywhere else at the same time. Nothing gets held back.

Entry pricing is set once the venue is agreed and will be published here before the first sale. Car boots usually charge a small amount for early birds and let everyone else in free later in the morning, and we will say plainly which it is well before the gates open.

If you want the good stuff, be there when the gates open. The dealers will be, and they are quick.

If you want a calmer wander and better haggling, come an hour or two later. Sellers drop their prices as the morning goes on because nobody wants to load it all back into the car.

Yes, bring cash. Most sellers are somebody's mum with a biscuit tin for a till, not a card machine. Small notes and coins go a lot further than a fifty, and nobody at half past seven can change one.

It is the whole sport. Ask politely, offer sensibly, and take a no cheerfully.

The best trick is bundling. Three things for a fiver gets you further than arguing over one of them.

Clothes, toys, books, tools, records, kitchen bits, garden things, retro games, china, bikes, and a great deal of stuff nobody could have predicted. That last part is the point.

Use your judgement. Look at the plug and the cable, ask whether it has been tested, and walk away from anything damaged or missing parts.

Our trading policy requires sellers to say plainly when something is untested or sold for spares. If somebody will not answer straight, do not buy it.

Buying from a private seller is sold as seen, so check things before you hand over the money and take them out of the bag while you are still standing there.

Buying from a trader is different and you have the usual consumer rights. If a trader will not put things right, tell us and we will take it up with them.

Yes, on site, and stewards will point you at a row. Come in slowly and follow them rather than picking your own spot, because there are people and prams between the rows already.

Yes, everyone is welcome. Just remember to bring the essentials for young children, and make sure you bring water and a bowl for your dog, as there is little shade on site.

Dogs on leads and cleaned up after, please. It is a field, so a pram is easier with big wheels than small ones.

Yes. Food sellers will be at the venue selling a different variety and choices, so there is plenty to pick from rather than one van and a queue.

They open early, so sellers setting up can get a bacon roll and a proper tea. It would not be a car boot otherwise.

It goes ahead. It is a field in England, so we would never open otherwise. Wear boots and bring a coat with pockets.

Very bad weather or soft ground can stop a sale. If that happens we post it as early as we can manage, here and on the social pages at the same time, so check before you set off on a rough morning.

Cash in small notes and coins, bags you can carry a lot in, and shoes you do not mind getting wet. Dew soaks through trainers in twenty minutes.

A tape measure if you are after furniture, and more room in the car than you think you need. Everybody underestimates that one.

Then you want tips for sellers, which covers what to bring, how to price it and how to handle the early birds. The rules are on the trading policy page.