General Discussion

I have just returned from the Wednesday car boot and market where I attended as a trader.

I should have known I was about to go the loser when my pitch fee was asked for before I had even unloaded

To say it was poorly attended would be an understatement.   The traders all looked bored to tears.  It was poorly laid out meaning some people didn't even bother to walk up to the end of the row where the car booters were.

The advertising must be inadequate,  and the field is big enough to accommodate traders and booters all day.  Why make the booters wait until the afternoon? 

I did a car boot to sell some of my mother's plants as she finds gardening therapeutic.   I didn't' expect to makes lots of money but I didn't expect it to cost me money.

PLEASE either put on a decent car boot or don't bother.   All you are doing at the moment is wasting your time and our money. 

Where Dawlish Warren???????

The Wednesday market and car boot is held in the field opposite the bungalows in Mount Pleasant Road.

@ 'Ol Lady Biker: Try the Thursday afternoon car boot that gets held at Warren Farm. That gets more sellers and more buyers. I shall deffo be there tomorrow - buying - and am presently on the look out for summer plants.......... 

The best time though is during the school holidays - that is when the Thursday boot fair is at its busiest.

See you tomorrow? 

Aren't the two car boots organised by the same people? Both of them are poorly attended outside of the school holidays though. 

No - the two are organised by two different people.

The Thursday one has been going since 2009/10, fellow who runs it is called Mark. I think he lives in Exmouth and he also runs the carboot  at Lympstone.

The one on Wednesday afternoon only started last year. I think, but I am not 100% certain, that it is run by the person who owns the field.

I wouldn't say that the Thursday one is poorly attended outside of the school holidays rather that it is very busy when it is the school holidays.  

The market held in the field on Mount Pleasant Road has been going on for far longer than the Thursday carboot, and isn't the signage the same as that for the Warren Road and Exmouth carboots? It's the consistent signage that made me think that they're run by the same organisation. 

Up until about 2009/10 there was a car boot sale every Tuesday morning in the field on Mount Pleasant Road.

Then it stopped and the open air market replaced it - but on a Wednesday. But no car booters as I got told  (whether true or not, I don't know) that the market traders didn't want the competition.

However, something must have changed as the car boot bit of the Wednesday market in the field on Mount Pleasant Road started up last year.

The car boot bit of the Wednesday market is what gets me to go along (although I didn't go yesterday). I have to say that I have more than once heard visitors say "not a lot here is there?" and words to that effect of both the market and the boot fair.

The Tuesday car boot was always a good one so it might be that the Wednesday one needs to run a while for it to pick up. But at the moment I would recommend the Thursday car boot at Warren Farm as the best one in the immediate locality for both sellers and buyers, although the one held in Sainsburys car park on some Sundays during the summer is also quite good.

As you may have gathered - I love boot fairs. Hence my knowledge of the local ones.  

I  can remember  six years ago , when I  was a grockle ,  the market was combined with the car boot and the field was full. Parking then was in the field just down the road and you had to walk up the road a bit. 

In that field on Sunday mornings there  was a car boot, if memory serves, organised by the Rotary  Club.

Sadly, those days are gone, although I'm  not sure if  I  could manage the walk these days.

Yes - I agree the Tuesday market/car boot was good. There was always an AA man (or was it RAC?) at the entrance trying to recruit new members. Do you remember that? And a local on one of the stalls who sold amongst other things, eggs. But not your run of the mill eggs. Oh no! These were double yokers (as the man would call out to passing punters).

The same man used to sell his double yokers at the Starcross boot fair on Saturday mornings as well. Believe that bootfair ceased about 2011 or so.   

Can't  recall if it was AA or RAC , perhaps they took it in turns and yes I remember the double yoker man,  perhaps he had x ray vision. It also sported 2 catering units , a bouncy castle , an engraver and a large stall selling household goods. Where it all go wrong? 

Well, I tell you what I was told at the time (2010?) about why this Tuesday market/car boot stopped. This is what was told to me by some of the regular car boot sellers.

They said that the person who ran this (succesful!) Tuesday morning market/car boot had been priced out by another, open market only, outfit and that the owner of the field had followed the money and gone with the Wednesday open market only concern.  I do need to put the word 'allegedly' around all that because I have no idea if it is true or not.

Also, the car booter sellers had been told that the new (Wednesday) open market operators did not wish there to be any car booters on the site as this was seen as unwanted competition.

Don't know if the people behind the present Wednesday open market are the same as those who started it off in 2011(ish) but wef last year there is now a boot fair as well although the boot fair sellers aren't allowed to set up stall until 1.00pm.

I'm off up the Warren Farm car boot shortly. Wonder if I'll find any bargains?