How Much Can You Make at a Car Boot Sale?

Most sellers take somewhere between £50 and £150 from a car full of ordinary household clutter at a busy Sunday car boot sale, and £200 to £300 or more is realistic with a van, good stock or a well-chosen sale. Take off your pitch fee and you have your profit. These are typical figures that sellers commonly report rather than a guarantee: a quiet field on a wet morning can bring in £20, and one good piece of furniture or a box of collectable records can double a day.

This guide explains what decides your takings, what the pitch will cost where you live, and the small changes that make the biggest difference.

Typical takings at a UK car boot sale

• A car boot of general clutter (clothes, books, kitchenware, toys): about £50 to £150.
• A packed estate car or small van with some furniture, tools or electricals: about £150 to £300.
• A regular seller with sourced or collectable stock: anything from £200 upwards, but with the cost of buying the stock to take off.

Everything at a car boot sells for pounds, not tens of pounds. Most household items go for 50p to £5 (see our car boot price guide), so your takings come from volume: selling eighty items at £1.50 each is how a £120 day happens.

What decides how much you make

1. The sale you pick. Footfall matters more than anything else. A big weekly Sunday boot with hundreds of stalls puts far more buyers past your pitch than a small village fund-raiser. Use the near-me search to compare local sales by size.
2. What you bring. Children's clothes and toys, tools, garden gear, small furniture, retro homeware and branded clothing sell fast. See what sells best at car boot sales.
3. How you price. Priced items sell; unpriced ones get walked past. Price to clear, not to get top value per item.
4. The weather and the season. A dry, bright Sunday in May or September is the best day of the year. Rain halves the crowd.
5. Arriving early. Dealers and keen buyers come at the start of the seller window. If you are still unpacking at 8am you miss them.

What it costs to sell

Your main cost is the pitch fee, usually paid in cash on the gate. The table below is worked out from every published listing on this site each time the page loads, so it is always current and shows how many sales each figure comes from.

Add fuel, perhaps a parking charge, and a bacon roll and tea, and a first car boot usually costs £15 to £25 all in. The full breakdown is in how much it costs to sell at a car boot sale.

Estimate your own day

Put in roughly how many items you are taking and what you expect them to go for, and the calculator takes off a typical local pitch fee.

Ten ways to make more

1. Price everything the night before, with stickers on anything over £3 and a "£1 box" for the rest.
2. Bring a float of about £20 in coins and small notes. Lost sales for want of change are common in the first hour.
3. Take card payments if you can: a phone card reader or a bank transfer QR code catches buyers who have run out of cash.
4. Put the best things at the front and at eye level. Clothes on a rail sell far better than clothes in a box.
5. Clean and test everything. A working toaster with its plug wiped sells; a dusty one does not.
6. Keep sets together: a matching set of glasses sells where six odd ones do not.
7. Bundle: "three for £2" moves books, DVDs and toys.
8. Expect to haggle and price with a little room. Our haggling guide covers both sides of the table.
9. Drop prices from late morning. Whatever goes home with you is worth nothing today.
10. Go again. Your second car boot is almost always better than your first, once you know what sells.

What not to bring

Some things will not sell, and some are not allowed at all. Leave them at home: see what not to sell at a car boot sale.

Ready to go? The step-by-step selling guide and the printable seller checklist cover the morning itself.

Frequently asked questions

How much money can you make at a car boot sale?

Most sellers take about £50 to £150 from a car load of ordinary household items at a busy sale, and £150 to £300 or more with a van or better stock. Take off a pitch fee of roughly £8 to £15 for a car to get your profit.

Is a car boot sale worth it?

For clearing clutter, usually yes. Even a modest day of £60 to £80, less a £10 pitch, is a good return for a morning, and it empties the loft faster than listing items one by one online. Sell valuable single items online instead, where more buyers will see them.

Do I have to pay tax on car boot sale money?

Not if you are selling your own unwanted belongings occasionally. If you buy items to resell, or sell regularly to make a profit, you may be trading, and HMRC's trading allowance and rules apply. Check the HMRC guidance on selling online and at car boot sales if you are unsure.

What time of year makes the most money?

Spring and early autumn. Late April to June and September bring the biggest crowds; the height of summer can be quieter when people are away, and most field sales close for the winter.