The seven secrets of a car-booting guru

Car boot sale season is about to kick off. We've spent the summer amassing a pile of junk in the garage, and we're all set for September, when the season starts in earnest, and we can offload it on someone else.

The question is, how do you make a success of car booting, so you don't end up selling an entire boot load for a few quid - or driving back home again with almost everything you started with.

Kayleigh Hughes has the answer. The PromotionalCodes.org.uk writer is also a couponing expert and a car boot guru. The 28-year-old from Grantham regularly makes a killing at her local car boot sale.

She reveals the seven secrets of making serious cash from your trash.

1. Be prepared
Don't just load up and head off, decide roughly how much you want to sell each item for before you go - and if it helps, write it on a cheat sheet you can keep with you. Also make sure you pack plenty of change, and if you have any carrier bags you're prepared to part with, you can always sell them for 5p.

2. Don't label up your items
Kayleigh says that the cheat sheet is a far better bet, because price labels can actually put people off. If someone wants to buy something, they'll ask the price.

3. Don't overprice
Finding the right price can be tricky, but overpricing is far bigger an error than underpricing. At least if you sell it all too cheap, then you'll get rid of it all. If you set your prices too high, people will just walk away

4. Be prepared to haggle
Kayleigh points out that people will be keen to haggle - even when something is a fantastic deal. Decide some basic rules about how low you are prepared to go, and keep an open mind.

5. Keep an eye on your belongings
It's sad to have to admit, but things can go walkabout in all the excitement of a boot sale. Keep your money in your pockets or a money belt, and take along someone who is assigned to keep their eye on the stall when you're dealing with a customer.

6. Let people rummage
Clothes tend to sell best when they are in a big pile labeled up as 50p or £1 per item. Kayleigh says that for some reason people like to think they've stumbled across a bargain when it comes to clothes.

7. Take a chair
Your time at the sale will be limited in part by how long you can stand to be there. If you take a chair and a flask of tea, you can extend your staying power and make more cash. If you also take plenty of drinks and a packed lunch, you'll avoid spending all your hard-earned cash at a burger van.