Car boot seller checklist
A printable run through the night before, the morning of, the pitch, pricing, money and packing up — with the pitch fees you will actually be asked for, computed from our listings.
The night before
Twenty minutes now saves an hour in a dark car park.
Weather cancellations are common. Our listing pages show when each sale was last checked and against what source.
Sellers are usually let in before buyers; the listing shows both times where the organiser publishes them.
Most gates take cash on arrival. The median fees by region are in the table below.
Table and tarpaulin last in, first out.
Pricing at the pitch in the dark is the slowest way to do it.
Queues at popular sales form well before the gate opens.
Morning of the sale
Arrive in the first half of the seller window if you can.
A tarpaulin over the stock beats packing up wet.
You want to work from the boot without blocking the aisle.
You do not have to sell before you are ready; see our etiquette guide.
Setting up the pitch
Height, light and a clear path in front of the table sell more than a bigger pile does.
Boxes on the floor are the last thing a buyer looks at.
Tools, kitchen, kids, media — buyers scan by category.
Pricing on the day
Decide your floor before anyone asks, then stop doing arithmetic under pressure.
50p, £1, £2 — it keeps change simple and queues short.
"Any three for £1" moves a box that ones and twos will not.
Handling money
Cash is still the default at UK car boot sales; card is a convenience, not a plan.
Rural sites often have none; our listings flag the sales that say they take cards.
If you buy stock to resell, check the HMRC trading allowance guidance linked below.
Packing up
The last half hour decides whether you do this again next month.
Charity shop, recycling centre or the sale's own skip if it has one.
Sites lose their licence over litter; organisers remember who left a clean pitch.
It is the only reliable guide to what to bring next time.
What to take
- Folding table (and a second one if you have it)
- Tarpaulin or old sheet to cover stock
- Float: £20 in coins and small notes
- Bum bag or money belt
- Carrier bags and a roll of bin bags
- Marker pen, price stickers and a few signs
- Tape, string and scissors
- Warm layers, waterproof, gloves
- Flask, water and something to eat
- Phone power bank
- Wet wipes and hand gel
- Cardboard boxes for what comes home
Work out what a pitch could leave you
This uses your own estimates for items and prices; we do not collect sellers' takings. The pitch fee is the median for the region you pick, computed from our listings.
An estimate, not a forecast: what a pitch takes depends on the sale, the weather and what you bring. Selling your own unwanted things is not trading, but if you buy to resell, read the HMRC guidance on the £1,000 trading allowance and our rules, tax and permission guide.
Pitch fees used by this calculator
| Region | Car pitch | Van pitch |
|---|---|---|
| UK median | £10 | £15 |
| East Midlands | £7.50 | £10 |
| East of England | £10 | £15 |
| Greater London | £13.50 | £16 |
| North East | £12 | £16 |
| North West | £10 | £15 |
| Scotland | £14.50 | £22 |
| South East | £10 | £15 |
| South West | £8 | £10 |
| Wales | £7 | £10 |
| West Midlands | £10 | £15 |
| Yorkshire | £9 | £14 |
Computed from 380 published listings, September 2026. Medians, not averages: half the sales in each row charge less. Each cell shows how many listings published that price.
Before you go
- What pitches and entry cost across the UK — the full price data, region by region.
- How to sell at a car boot sale — the step-by-step version of this checklist.
- What sells best, and what does not.
- Rules, tax and permission — what you may not sell, and when selling becomes trading.
- How we verify listings — where the times and fees on this site come from.
- Sales this weekend and sales near you.