Loaded with reminiscience of neighborhood: Car boot sale
Every Sunday morning at 7 a.m., Nancy Sheppard (Mamev Smith College, 2) starts off the day preparing for a car boot sale.
As a kid who loved to go to car boot sales, Sheppard’s passion towards second-hand goods never diminished even after she became a college student. Now she works as one of the organizers in the Salusbury Road Car Boot Sale.
“My dad used to take me to car boot sales to pick up some old clothes and toys,” Sheppard said. “There are so many different kinds of items we cannot expect from new goods.”
Having originated in 1990 from America’s garage sale in which neighbors sell the unwanted belongings at a low price, it is one of the most important traditions in the UK.
There are around 600 car boot sales held in different cities. They usually operate during the weekends for local residents to participate.
“Car boot sales are distinctive because they are about individuals selling their goods face-to-face,” professor Gregson said. “Unlike online forms of exchange, you do not know what is for sale. The sea of goods available is immense.”
“I do not mind even if I cannot sell any of my things during car boot sales,” said Jane Maggie, one of the sellers at the Salusbury Road Car Boot Sale. “Earning money is not my main purpose. I have participated in a car boot sale for 15 years to socialize.”
British parents usually take their children to car boot sales from a young age to teach them the value of second-hand.
“I always bring my children, except when they have school works or other businesses,” said Susan Sheppard, a mother of two children including Nancy Sheppard. “They love coming here, since they can find numerous different things.”