Just think – no more bacon sandwiches (not proper ones anyway). That’s one hell of a sacrifice!

Cool! I’m glad to have seen this post. This month we’re doing a Garage Sale with our neighborhood, a first for my British hubby (and the first I’ve set up since I was like 12).
When we signed up to participate, he told the organizers about the Boot Fairs that he was familiar with, so it’s cool to see the photos and hear you describe the experience, Thanks!

Great post Danny. I always love learning about little cultural differences like this. This is the kind of thing you’d never learn about unless you experienced it directly or someone you read blogs about it

Here in Brooklyn, there’s a whole other variation on the American garage sale, as most people don’t have garages (or cars! so the boot isn’t an option either). Here it’s called the stoop sale. It is most likely to occur spontaneously on a lovely spring or summer day, and you often find out about it via chalk signs (and arrows) on the sidewalk of the more major streets. Or you just can just happen upon one as you walk along from place to place. The variation on this is the stoop non-sale, where people put out (on the stoop or street) books and other objects that they want to get rid of, and passing pedestrians pause to see if it’s worth picking up.

Glad you managed to experience the thrill of selling random crap at a Boot Sale before you leave the country Danny!
Th one thing that you didn’t manage to get into your post however was, after the entry price and the cost of the bacon sarnie – did you end up in profit?
The last time we did one I think we ended up with about £20 for half a days work; it’s hard work when you have to take two kids along with you too!

Nope, you’ve got to take it with you. That meant for me, a stop at the nearby charity shop and then the tip (AKA dump).

I’m not sure what’s more humorous – the amount of stuff you packed into the “boot” of your mini, or the the van. Either way, pretty funny stuff. Like a mobile flea-market. I’m just curious – when you’re done for the day, can you just leave the remaining crap behind for scavengers?