What else does USA stand for ?
2. Ugly Stupid Automobile
The queue at the Dollar car rental was pretty short, albeit still slow and somewhat irritating, but there was no major hitch. As usual, they tried to suggest we upgrade from our already large vehicle and as always we declined.
Our vehicle was a "full size saloon". This turned out to be a Mercury Grand Marquis. I have to assume that this model was manufactured specifically to sell to hire companies so that they could benefit from stupendous discounts for buying up cars that no one else would buy.
The thing is astonishingly unattractive. It is easy to understand why European or Japanese cars are seen as so stylish by the more sophisticated US buyer.
The car was undoubtedly modern in some respects, but in looks and layout it made you wonder if it can been deliberately designed to be bad. On the plus side, it was indeed comfortable (as you would expect when sitting in seats the size of a sofa).
We did grow used to it, and if one didn't know better then it would seem perfectly normal for the "gas" to be guzzled at a rate so fast that the needle moved towards empty at a speed that was discernible to the naked eye.
As for the chioce of colour - no doubt dreary beige was specified by Dollar to achieve maximum price discounts.
3. Unusual: Service Absent
Something that one can usually count on in America is excellent service (even if it is a little sickly). Disappointingly, we were let down time after time in restaurants (with just a couple of welcome exceptions).
We're at a bit of a loss to explain this, except for the fact that it must be difficult to find enough good quality staff for the vast number of places where they're needed.
4. Upcoming: Scary Action
Harry loves rollercoasters and is now big enough to try any that he wants to. Even he balked at one or two of them - especially the one in Busch Gardens with two vertical drops.
One that seemed scary last time but felt more benign, now that we have been immunised by trips to Alton Towers and previous visits to Orlando, was Return to Atlantis at Seaworld.
This is a log-flume type of ride and is unusual in that instead of having one large drop, it actually has one large drop on display and another one hidden on the blind side.
In a log flume, the usual set-up is that there are lots of fake drops along the way - Disney's Splash Mountain is the classic. By the time we come to the real drop we've had some extra fun along the way.
Well in Return to Atlantis, there won't so many false alarms but the real peculiarity was that before each slide there was LITERALLY a big sign warning us of the upcoming drop and in case we had our eyes closed, there was a voice recording to the same effect !
I am perplexed by this. Why would they do it ? There can't be a law requiring it (such a law would really spoil a lot of rides) and if there were, then such notices would be in place on all the other rides surely ?
5. Unhelpfully Signposted Attraction
Dollar offered us a SatNav ($13 a day, plus tax). This would have been spectactularly unnecessary - partly because we had brought our own TomTom but also because the roads around the Disney/Universal/I-Drive area are really easy to work with. Not only are they quite logical, but the signposting to the attractions is so thorough that any wrong turns are easily corrected by following the next sign.
So, I was surprised by the completely different scenario when Harry and I drove to Tampa to visit Busch Gardens (highly recommended by the way). I had a look on the map and could see it should be very easy - drive South on the I4 for about 80 miles then follow signs.
Well, this was basically correct but the signs took me completely by surprise - there were hardly any !
There was one sign about 12 miles from the Jct between the I4 and the I75 indicating that I need to take the I75 North. There was no repeater sign, not even right at the junction, nor when I turned off. On the I75 itself, there was no indication that we were going in the right direction until there was just one small sign at the required junction. Even on the final approach roads, there was one sign and one only for each turning.
Luckily we had been before a few years ago so I was somewhat prepared.
I am puzzled by this, given the size and economic importance of the attraction. I can only assume there must be local by-laws preventing them from "advertising" with roadsigns.
Meanwhile the signage inside the park was first rate. If the poor directions kept a few people away, then I guess we benefitted from that !
Monday, 4 January 2010
Friday, 1 January 2010
Happy Binary Day !
The 1st January 2010, and I couldn't help noticing that the date 01/01/10 can be written with just ones and zeros - a binary date of a sort.
It's quite a while since this happened before - November 2001. After November next year, it will be a very long time until it happens again (another 90 years or so).
11:11 on Armistice Day this year will be a pretty significant moment numerologically speaking, I suppose.
Of course, we could argue that this year and (20)00 and (20)01 etc don't really count if we want to use the full year. In that case we need to go back to around the time of the Battle of Hastings - the start of the 2nd millennium was of course rich in binary dates. And we will have to wait another 8,000 years or so to get the next occurrences.
I wondered whether anyone else was having these thoughts and a quick web search revealed that apparently there is much chatter about it in the Twittersphere. Likewise there's the debate about what to call this new decade. My vote would go to "the twenty tens".
Happy Twenty Ten !
It's quite a while since this happened before - November 2001. After November next year, it will be a very long time until it happens again (another 90 years or so).
11:11 on Armistice Day this year will be a pretty significant moment numerologically speaking, I suppose.
Of course, we could argue that this year and (20)00 and (20)01 etc don't really count if we want to use the full year. In that case we need to go back to around the time of the Battle of Hastings - the start of the 2nd millennium was of course rich in binary dates. And we will have to wait another 8,000 years or so to get the next occurrences.
I wondered whether anyone else was having these thoughts and a quick web search revealed that apparently there is much chatter about it in the Twittersphere. Likewise there's the debate about what to call this new decade. My vote would go to "the twenty tens".
Happy Twenty Ten !
Monday, 28 December 2009
U-S-A part1
We were in Florida for 2 weeks up to and just after Christmas. We had a good time (it's hard not to in Orlando) but a few things about the US of A struck as as odd, irritating or downright bizarre. So what does USA stand for ?
1. Unbelievably Slow Admission
When we arrived at Orlando International, we were quick off the plane and so faced only a short queue at immigration. Officials at the holiday airports always seem friendlier than those I remember at JFK. Or maybe it's just that I was exposed to a very fierce agent once in the past and they all seem benign by comparison.
In any case, with just 2 groups ahead of us (and one of those groups only had 1 person), I assumed we would be through in no time.
Not so. The official in our line ("Colon" was his name) was quite outstandingly slow. It actually took us just short of an hour to emerge. Truly remarkable.
Mind you, the US have their entry procedures in quite a pickle in my opinion. It seems to me they are actually pretty disorganized.
I assume that behind it all, the CIA/NSA/FBI are actually doing a good job tracking those who really need to be tracked and traced but for the average traveller their procedures look a mess.
I have been to the US dozens of times, and the green I94 visa waiver form is still with us, but they have added to it without ever streamlining it.
So now we have to fill in our vacation address before we leave the UK and the airline have to provide that to the US authorities in electronic form but we STILL have to write it on the form (and all this despite the fact that they can't very well check we have given a genuine address).
They added finger printing (which they keep a record of, but which we still have to complete from scratch each time) and then they introduced electronic visa waivers (ESTA) BUT they did not phase out any of the paper forms. You need to do both, for further duplication, so the paperwork just grows and grows.
Not that they have left the I-94W totally un-updated. No, they have now added fields for phone number and email - neither of which they are conceivably going to use. You would think that when they modify the form (understandably they so not wish to do so too often) they would correct the more obvious failings and inconsistencies.
For example: they use a grid format on the form despite the fact that many names, addresses and even country names will not fit in the number of spaces provided. But on the back of the form, they don't. And on the customs forms, they don't.
On the I-94W itself, there are 4 places to put your country - all the fields have different lengths. There is little enough room for names that many people will have an issue, but they allow 6 spaces to denote sex (M/F).
The new and pointless email field is ridiculously short - if you allow 11 or 12 spaces for "@hotmail.com" (hardly the longest domain name) there are 7 spaces left for the rest of the address. It would not take a genius to realise that this will be sufficient for almost no-one.
The entry procedure itself consists of presumably high-tech finger-printing and photo-recognition with an extraordinary amount of stapling and rubber-stamping.
In fact, on reflection, one hour wasn't bad just based on the number of staples and stamps that our agent had to process.
Unhelpful, Stupid, Annoying
1. Unbelievably Slow Admission
When we arrived at Orlando International, we were quick off the plane and so faced only a short queue at immigration. Officials at the holiday airports always seem friendlier than those I remember at JFK. Or maybe it's just that I was exposed to a very fierce agent once in the past and they all seem benign by comparison.
In any case, with just 2 groups ahead of us (and one of those groups only had 1 person), I assumed we would be through in no time.
Not so. The official in our line ("Colon" was his name) was quite outstandingly slow. It actually took us just short of an hour to emerge. Truly remarkable.
Mind you, the US have their entry procedures in quite a pickle in my opinion. It seems to me they are actually pretty disorganized.
I assume that behind it all, the CIA/NSA/FBI are actually doing a good job tracking those who really need to be tracked and traced but for the average traveller their procedures look a mess.
I have been to the US dozens of times, and the green I94 visa waiver form is still with us, but they have added to it without ever streamlining it.
So now we have to fill in our vacation address before we leave the UK and the airline have to provide that to the US authorities in electronic form but we STILL have to write it on the form (and all this despite the fact that they can't very well check we have given a genuine address).
They added finger printing (which they keep a record of, but which we still have to complete from scratch each time) and then they introduced electronic visa waivers (ESTA) BUT they did not phase out any of the paper forms. You need to do both, for further duplication, so the paperwork just grows and grows.
Not that they have left the I-94W totally un-updated. No, they have now added fields for phone number and email - neither of which they are conceivably going to use. You would think that when they modify the form (understandably they so not wish to do so too often) they would correct the more obvious failings and inconsistencies.
For example: they use a grid format on the form despite the fact that many names, addresses and even country names will not fit in the number of spaces provided. But on the back of the form, they don't. And on the customs forms, they don't.
On the I-94W itself, there are 4 places to put your country - all the fields have different lengths. There is little enough room for names that many people will have an issue, but they allow 6 spaces to denote sex (M/F).
The new and pointless email field is ridiculously short - if you allow 11 or 12 spaces for "@hotmail.com" (hardly the longest domain name) there are 7 spaces left for the rest of the address. It would not take a genius to realise that this will be sufficient for almost no-one.
The entry procedure itself consists of presumably high-tech finger-printing and photo-recognition with an extraordinary amount of stapling and rubber-stamping.
In fact, on reflection, one hour wasn't bad just based on the number of staples and stamps that our agent had to process.
Unhelpful, Stupid, Annoying
Monday, 30 November 2009
Tuesday, 20 October 2009
A bid of fun
Ever since I came back from the local auction house with tales of "Guitar Hero: Rock Band" selling for £20, the boys have said they wanted to go and pick up such legendary bargains.
This Friday, I remembered to go to the viewing. Matt was away at a friend's and Karen didn't fancy the outing. Harry also wasn't keen but once he got there he was very taken with ... many things, mostly entirely impractical.
Amongst more realistic options, I decided we could look out for a toaster for Matt (apparently the boathouse needs one), a backpack for Harry and perhaps a new breadmaker for Karen.
On the morning of the auction, we all went down although the boys lacked patience to stand around and wait for the auction to reach the required stage.
Karen agreed to keep me company. For the most part we were simply watching. Over time, you understand the protocols and the subtleties of the format.
We were a bit reluctant to bid for anything, and of course were careful not to scratch our noses or point at things !
Eventually, the sale came around to the section where our target items were on display but before we could get to that, we suddenly found ourselves bidding for some BT cordless phones. Karen is always on the lookout for the perfect handsets.
£18 seemed a relative bargain. In fact I decided to bid and buy a second set of phones although, when some other phone lots went for as little as £6, they didn't seem quite as cheap.
Having overcome the initial anxiety about bidding, it seemed rather easier to get involved with other lots.
In due course, we landed a huge glass vase, a hoover, a juicer, 2 breadmakers and a draining board ! We failed to secure any of the toasters or the bag that we came for.
Although we started tentatively, by the end the auctioneer knew our bidding number and we were known as "in the hat". Our bidding signals - very bold in the early rounds - became more subtle as we were acknowledged as serial buyers !
So, in the end we had committed to about £100 of hammer-price items and had of course mentally forgotten about 15%+VAT premium and 15% of VAT.
Still, the checkout process was very efficient: we couldn't even remember what we'd bought but 10 minutes after we had left the floor we had an itemised bill and were all sorted.
Of course I had to go and get the car and a boy to help with the loading. The roads were somewhat chaotic around the auction site - we took the safe option of parking a distance away so as not to add a £60 parking ticket to the auction costs.
On the face of it, our items were bargains. £135 all in for face-value of about £500+ and it all looked in good order.
We have become more aware of what caveat emptor means though as most of the boxed items that looked new have revealed themselves to be probably returned stock with some faults.
In the case of the juicer, the fault is remedied by a quick tweak here and there. In the case of the £12 hoover (RRP: £99) it seems it may be going straight to the tip - no signs of life in it !
Karen is cooking test loaves today in the breadmakers and the phones are on charge. The vase definitely works although it turns out to be more of a bargain than we bargained for: it is HUGE !
The Simple Human draining system was probably the biggest disappointment: they retail at over £50 and Karen wants a new one. This one was ours for just £4 (plus 15% and 15% of 15% and another 15% of course !) but on purchase it turns out to be a well-used one in a brand new box - a bit sneaky that one.
Perhaps we should stick to towels, flowers and chairs next time but it was good fun I think !
This Friday, I remembered to go to the viewing. Matt was away at a friend's and Karen didn't fancy the outing. Harry also wasn't keen but once he got there he was very taken with ... many things, mostly entirely impractical.
Amongst more realistic options, I decided we could look out for a toaster for Matt (apparently the boathouse needs one), a backpack for Harry and perhaps a new breadmaker for Karen.
On the morning of the auction, we all went down although the boys lacked patience to stand around and wait for the auction to reach the required stage.
Karen agreed to keep me company. For the most part we were simply watching. Over time, you understand the protocols and the subtleties of the format.
We were a bit reluctant to bid for anything, and of course were careful not to scratch our noses or point at things !
Eventually, the sale came around to the section where our target items were on display but before we could get to that, we suddenly found ourselves bidding for some BT cordless phones. Karen is always on the lookout for the perfect handsets.
£18 seemed a relative bargain. In fact I decided to bid and buy a second set of phones although, when some other phone lots went for as little as £6, they didn't seem quite as cheap.
Having overcome the initial anxiety about bidding, it seemed rather easier to get involved with other lots.
In due course, we landed a huge glass vase, a hoover, a juicer, 2 breadmakers and a draining board ! We failed to secure any of the toasters or the bag that we came for.
Although we started tentatively, by the end the auctioneer knew our bidding number and we were known as "in the hat". Our bidding signals - very bold in the early rounds - became more subtle as we were acknowledged as serial buyers !
So, in the end we had committed to about £100 of hammer-price items and had of course mentally forgotten about 15%+VAT premium and 15% of VAT.
Still, the checkout process was very efficient: we couldn't even remember what we'd bought but 10 minutes after we had left the floor we had an itemised bill and were all sorted.
Of course I had to go and get the car and a boy to help with the loading. The roads were somewhat chaotic around the auction site - we took the safe option of parking a distance away so as not to add a £60 parking ticket to the auction costs.
On the face of it, our items were bargains. £135 all in for face-value of about £500+ and it all looked in good order.
We have become more aware of what caveat emptor means though as most of the boxed items that looked new have revealed themselves to be probably returned stock with some faults.
In the case of the juicer, the fault is remedied by a quick tweak here and there. In the case of the £12 hoover (RRP: £99) it seems it may be going straight to the tip - no signs of life in it !
Karen is cooking test loaves today in the breadmakers and the phones are on charge. The vase definitely works although it turns out to be more of a bargain than we bargained for: it is HUGE !
The Simple Human draining system was probably the biggest disappointment: they retail at over £50 and Karen wants a new one. This one was ours for just £4 (plus 15% and 15% of 15% and another 15% of course !) but on purchase it turns out to be a well-used one in a brand new box - a bit sneaky that one.
Perhaps we should stick to towels, flowers and chairs next time but it was good fun I think !
Thursday, 1 October 2009
The eX-files
Recently I have been sorting out paperwork in my office. This can be quite a big task, as I like to do a very thorough job – looking at every piece of paper in each file to see if it should be kept. I keep all kinds of documents, and “paperwork” in this sense also includes the folders full of instructions manuals, and boxes of “memories”.
I try to be reasonable about what I hold onto, but a lot would fail the “if you haven’t used/needed it for X years” test. Of course some has to be kept by law (for tax), and some other material is plainly useful or sensible to retain.
But a lot of it is just “interesting” – like documents for the sale & purchase of our 3-ago house, statements for accounts closed in 2001, University notes, O-level papers, or someone else’s school tie.
We’re not short of space, so I could keep even more stuff in theory but I enjoy the actual process of sifting through the files. On each round of processing (every couple of years, maybe) each file is reduced a little more. What I retain becomes more and more the “core” documents even though some interesting context is lost each time.
The process of checking through each file also reminds me of what’s there, and brings back memories.
Sometimes I do think it would be interesting to keep EVERYTHING. Yesterday for example, I threw out notebooks from my time on sabbatical from Bear. This was the period when I was still employed, but was taking a 3-month break. As we now know, this time was the start of the credit crisis and there were some rocky times for the business.
I had to make some calls during that time and my notes were scrawled in these books. They were not much more than phone doodles to be fair although there was enough there (names, dates, specifics of deals and so on) for me to recall the events. Actually finding the notes (in this case, at the back of what looked like an empty notebook) was in reality more interesting than the notes themselves. No one else would have been able to make anything of them.
It’s also good in these filing exercises to check that certain “important” items are still in my possession. I was able to find my 23-day plan for example. This was a single page of A4 notepad on which my revision plan for degree finals was scrawled. 23 days was all there was left by the time I realised that I was really running out of time to get the work done. It turned out to be just enough, history tells us.
The files themselves are interesting in some cases. Most of the actual documents have been re-filed a few times over the years and original envelopes, say, have for the most part been dispensed with at some point. But many of folders are still Oxford University folders that I vividly remember buying at the student union shop.
I seem to have retained exam papers from all the important milestones. I have most of the O level, A level and degree papers as well as scholarship exams for Oakham and Oxford entrance papers. I even have the ones from the banking exams. In all these cases I can recall the events of those times fairly clearly. In some cases, I still remember some of the questions (although not the answers).
Looking through them made me recall very fondly my time at school and University. Clearly these items are not “necessary” in any way but I could never get rid of them now.
Some other documents from that time are even less important, yet more interesting. I have, for example, a TELEX exchange between me and Jack Sakkab from Oakham (he’d gone back to Jordan by then) in which we let each other know our A-level results. Hard for the iPhone generation to understand that !
I wonder if the TELEX network still operates ? Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised. There was a TELEX machine chattering away at Bear Stearns for years after it was really needed for anything.
Also from the TELEX era, I have a timestamped page from the TELEX room to prove that I made it onto the FX trading floor at Natwest earlier than anyone else after a late night out other dealers, leading to a bet that I couldn’t do it. “Tweedie” still hasn’t paid up. 18 years later I haven’t forgotten (although I have written the £50 off !).
Looking through does also make me think of a number of items that I wish I had kept but I will need to be satisfied with just the memories of those !
I try to be reasonable about what I hold onto, but a lot would fail the “if you haven’t used/needed it for X years” test. Of course some has to be kept by law (for tax), and some other material is plainly useful or sensible to retain.
But a lot of it is just “interesting” – like documents for the sale & purchase of our 3-ago house, statements for accounts closed in 2001, University notes, O-level papers, or someone else’s school tie.
We’re not short of space, so I could keep even more stuff in theory but I enjoy the actual process of sifting through the files. On each round of processing (every couple of years, maybe) each file is reduced a little more. What I retain becomes more and more the “core” documents even though some interesting context is lost each time.
The process of checking through each file also reminds me of what’s there, and brings back memories.
Sometimes I do think it would be interesting to keep EVERYTHING. Yesterday for example, I threw out notebooks from my time on sabbatical from Bear. This was the period when I was still employed, but was taking a 3-month break. As we now know, this time was the start of the credit crisis and there were some rocky times for the business.
I had to make some calls during that time and my notes were scrawled in these books. They were not much more than phone doodles to be fair although there was enough there (names, dates, specifics of deals and so on) for me to recall the events. Actually finding the notes (in this case, at the back of what looked like an empty notebook) was in reality more interesting than the notes themselves. No one else would have been able to make anything of them.
It’s also good in these filing exercises to check that certain “important” items are still in my possession. I was able to find my 23-day plan for example. This was a single page of A4 notepad on which my revision plan for degree finals was scrawled. 23 days was all there was left by the time I realised that I was really running out of time to get the work done. It turned out to be just enough, history tells us.
The files themselves are interesting in some cases. Most of the actual documents have been re-filed a few times over the years and original envelopes, say, have for the most part been dispensed with at some point. But many of folders are still Oxford University folders that I vividly remember buying at the student union shop.
I seem to have retained exam papers from all the important milestones. I have most of the O level, A level and degree papers as well as scholarship exams for Oakham and Oxford entrance papers. I even have the ones from the banking exams. In all these cases I can recall the events of those times fairly clearly. In some cases, I still remember some of the questions (although not the answers).
Looking through them made me recall very fondly my time at school and University. Clearly these items are not “necessary” in any way but I could never get rid of them now.
Some other documents from that time are even less important, yet more interesting. I have, for example, a TELEX exchange between me and Jack Sakkab from Oakham (he’d gone back to Jordan by then) in which we let each other know our A-level results. Hard for the iPhone generation to understand that !
I wonder if the TELEX network still operates ? Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised. There was a TELEX machine chattering away at Bear Stearns for years after it was really needed for anything.
Also from the TELEX era, I have a timestamped page from the TELEX room to prove that I made it onto the FX trading floor at Natwest earlier than anyone else after a late night out other dealers, leading to a bet that I couldn’t do it. “Tweedie” still hasn’t paid up. 18 years later I haven’t forgotten (although I have written the £50 off !).
Looking through does also make me think of a number of items that I wish I had kept but I will need to be satisfied with just the memories of those !
Friday, 4 September 2009
Boot Drive
During a long-overdue sort-out in my office, I turned up some items that seemed too good to throw away, too large to eBay, too obscure to keep and equally unlikely to find a home with immediate neighbours or friends.
For some reason, my thoughts turned to a car boot sale. I have literally never been to one, either as buyer or seller. I always felt I could understand why so many people apparently enjoy these events but I had never personally felt a great urge to give it a try.
However, with Harry as a willing accomplice, I decided to give it a whirl. Starting with literally two or three items, I soon found that we had a whole car full. Once you start looking, car boot fodder is everywhere.
A quick google revealed a venue at Bedford hospital. However, when I called the organizer I discovered they were not running till September. Next stop, the local newspaper (I rarely read it, but I found plenty of sites). We settled on one near Barton.
Up at 6 on Saturday morning, we ventured out and found ourselves in a queue at the gate for the opening at 7am.
Before making the trip, I had done a little research online and picked up some advice from those with more care boot experience (that is, everyone).
We were warned about the dangers of being swarmed by expert buyers, and the risk of theft and so on.
In the event, the site at Barton turned out to be quite a small affair. There were only 25 cars or so selling, and almost all the buyers consisted of other sellers ! Chatting with our neighbouring booters, it seemed that this particular event was very new on the circuit and not established with the regulars.
Still, this was possibly a good thing as it gave us an easy ride for our first outing. Despite the lack of customers, we actually had a very good day, taking over £120. I think we may have sold more than all of the other pitches combined !
I’ve heard it said many times that “it’s incredible what sells at a car boot” and now I believe it ! There was literally rubbish for sale on many of the stalls.
We had the benefit of having a lot of high quality items to shift. The regulars, one feels, will find it tough to continuously source desirable items for low enough cost.
As far as pricing goes, I think I benefitted from having extremely low expectations. We had padded our stall with lots of books (which usually we send straight to the charity shops) and also over 100 DVDs that the boys never watch. Books, in particular, I did not expect to sell at all given the ubiquity of second hand booksellers.
So, each time we actually sold a book for 50p, I was quite pleasantly surprised !
We really did not have any “tat” on offer but it was surprising what items created interest, and which did not merit a first look.
Pricing wise, I can see that there are norms that operate. DVDs, for example, have a market-clearing price that is probably quite well established. However, even for such commodities and especially for other items, the real skill (I suspect) is to “play the player”.
One tip I picked up before going was NOT to put price labels on. This allows you to engage the potential buyer who has to enquire about price. It also allows you to change pricing according to time of day and other conditions.
The fact seems to be that many items will not sell at any price until you find the right buyer.
The right buyer, however, can be fairly indifferent to price (within reason). We also came to see that certain types of buyer are particularly valuable. For example, children who have been given £5 to shut them up feel a great need to spend it all as soon as possible !
Harry was a natural. He was genuinely helpful in seeking out “stock” at home, setting up the stall and in dealing with the customers. This was pleasing since he can be quite shy.
I was comfortable leaving him on his own at the stall for a while. I came back after a survey of the site to find Harry pointing out a couple of sales he had made. He also joked that he was sorry he had sold my stereo (one of our best items) for £3 by mistake. I knew he was joking (a) because even at a car boot it was obviously worth a lot more and (b) it was still sitting there on the table.
Five minutes later, the buyers came back to collect it as agreed !
Oh well. I was as guilty as Harry for under-selling over the weekend. And a happy customer is a valuable asset. Maybe the buyer felt bad about her coup, and she bought another £15 of stuff as much fuller prices.
We seemed to sell a good amount of stuff, but still had ¾ of a car full at the end. We decided to try again the next morning. We had been tipped off about a much busier site near Leighton Buzzard.
Our experience on the first day taught us that anything is worth trying to sell, so we easily used up the spare space in the car with more books, more toys and some highly speculative items: I filled up a box with left over mobile phone chargers, obsolete computer mice and freebie headphones etc. On Day 2, nearly all of these sold !
Billington car boot was more like what I imagined – well over 200 cars. We still did not suffer too much from vulture-experts or thieves. The only mishap we experienced was taking in a counterfeit £2 coin. It was a poor copy (obviously fake) so I have to suspect it was knowingly used. Still, one more lesson learned, quite cheaply.
After a second successful day (over £250 taken over the weekend), Harry and I are sufficiently hooked to want to try again in a few weeks. Now, I see bootable items everywhere. Nail it down, or else I am likely to try to sell it !
For some reason, my thoughts turned to a car boot sale. I have literally never been to one, either as buyer or seller. I always felt I could understand why so many people apparently enjoy these events but I had never personally felt a great urge to give it a try.
However, with Harry as a willing accomplice, I decided to give it a whirl. Starting with literally two or three items, I soon found that we had a whole car full. Once you start looking, car boot fodder is everywhere.
A quick google revealed a venue at Bedford hospital. However, when I called the organizer I discovered they were not running till September. Next stop, the local newspaper (I rarely read it, but I found plenty of sites). We settled on one near Barton.
Up at 6 on Saturday morning, we ventured out and found ourselves in a queue at the gate for the opening at 7am.
Before making the trip, I had done a little research online and picked up some advice from those with more care boot experience (that is, everyone).
We were warned about the dangers of being swarmed by expert buyers, and the risk of theft and so on.
In the event, the site at Barton turned out to be quite a small affair. There were only 25 cars or so selling, and almost all the buyers consisted of other sellers ! Chatting with our neighbouring booters, it seemed that this particular event was very new on the circuit and not established with the regulars.
Still, this was possibly a good thing as it gave us an easy ride for our first outing. Despite the lack of customers, we actually had a very good day, taking over £120. I think we may have sold more than all of the other pitches combined !
I’ve heard it said many times that “it’s incredible what sells at a car boot” and now I believe it ! There was literally rubbish for sale on many of the stalls.
We had the benefit of having a lot of high quality items to shift. The regulars, one feels, will find it tough to continuously source desirable items for low enough cost.
As far as pricing goes, I think I benefitted from having extremely low expectations. We had padded our stall with lots of books (which usually we send straight to the charity shops) and also over 100 DVDs that the boys never watch. Books, in particular, I did not expect to sell at all given the ubiquity of second hand booksellers.
So, each time we actually sold a book for 50p, I was quite pleasantly surprised !
We really did not have any “tat” on offer but it was surprising what items created interest, and which did not merit a first look.
Pricing wise, I can see that there are norms that operate. DVDs, for example, have a market-clearing price that is probably quite well established. However, even for such commodities and especially for other items, the real skill (I suspect) is to “play the player”.
One tip I picked up before going was NOT to put price labels on. This allows you to engage the potential buyer who has to enquire about price. It also allows you to change pricing according to time of day and other conditions.
The fact seems to be that many items will not sell at any price until you find the right buyer.
The right buyer, however, can be fairly indifferent to price (within reason). We also came to see that certain types of buyer are particularly valuable. For example, children who have been given £5 to shut them up feel a great need to spend it all as soon as possible !
Harry was a natural. He was genuinely helpful in seeking out “stock” at home, setting up the stall and in dealing with the customers. This was pleasing since he can be quite shy.
I was comfortable leaving him on his own at the stall for a while. I came back after a survey of the site to find Harry pointing out a couple of sales he had made. He also joked that he was sorry he had sold my stereo (one of our best items) for £3 by mistake. I knew he was joking (a) because even at a car boot it was obviously worth a lot more and (b) it was still sitting there on the table.
Five minutes later, the buyers came back to collect it as agreed !
Oh well. I was as guilty as Harry for under-selling over the weekend. And a happy customer is a valuable asset. Maybe the buyer felt bad about her coup, and she bought another £15 of stuff as much fuller prices.
We seemed to sell a good amount of stuff, but still had ¾ of a car full at the end. We decided to try again the next morning. We had been tipped off about a much busier site near Leighton Buzzard.
Our experience on the first day taught us that anything is worth trying to sell, so we easily used up the spare space in the car with more books, more toys and some highly speculative items: I filled up a box with left over mobile phone chargers, obsolete computer mice and freebie headphones etc. On Day 2, nearly all of these sold !
Billington car boot was more like what I imagined – well over 200 cars. We still did not suffer too much from vulture-experts or thieves. The only mishap we experienced was taking in a counterfeit £2 coin. It was a poor copy (obviously fake) so I have to suspect it was knowingly used. Still, one more lesson learned, quite cheaply.
After a second successful day (over £250 taken over the weekend), Harry and I are sufficiently hooked to want to try again in a few weeks. Now, I see bootable items everywhere. Nail it down, or else I am likely to try to sell it !
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