Car boot sale: The trendy way to sell

A woman sells decorative pots in Kampala. Such a business can be done from a car boot. PHOTO BY GODFREY LUGAAJU

What you need to know:

Selling items in car boots is increasingly picking up especially in some residential areas. Dorothy Nakaweesi expounds on how you can maximse your profits as a car boot sale retailer.

You might have seen some people selling fruits, vegetables or even household items from the confines of their car boots.
This trade is slowly but surely picking up near some residential areas and some people are actually earning some good money as car boot retailers.
Car boot sales are becoming a popular way of selling items, from fresh produce, to household or fast moving consumer goods.

Starting
But what is required to start and eventually in this business?
For starters you need to have a car with a spacious boot to fit in your items.
“We are talking about a vehicle in the range of Shs3 million. What matters is that it has the capacity to handle your merchandise and can move from one location to another and run short distances,” Ocici says.


Alternatively, if you don’t have a car, they are options such as hiring one at about Shs50,000 per day.
Once you have acquired a vehicle, the next step according to Mr Newton Buteraba, the chief executive officer of House of Wealth – a local firm offering business advisory services-is to always work-backwards, this he mean to go and identify the route, for instance, Banda, Kireka, Bweyogerere and Seeta or you could start with Busega, Bulooba and Bujjuko on Mityana road.
“After identifying the route, you then go and look for retailers on that route, talk to them about the items they would want, the quantities and prices,” Mr Buteraba shares.


Their desired items could form the draft of your shopping list. You will then go to Kikuubo and put those items which could also be fast-moving items, in your boot and start selling.


However, experts say all this might not pay off especially if you just rush to buy items without doing any research. Should you supply what customers are not willing to buy, or charge them exorbitantly, you will have failed in this business.


After getting the information from the retailers, then look for the best suppliers in who will help to you to restock even in instances when you have ran out of cash.
Mr Buterba says: “You have to buy products at prices that will enable you make a profit at the end of the day.”
When all that is done, then allocate particular days to your clients that you will be supplying.

Money
Because the car boot is usually so big, with Shs400,000 to Shs500,000, you can stock items and start earning money. On average, you would expect to reap about 10 to 12 per cent per day which is about Shs40,000. This comes after deducting all expenses. With this kind earning, your monthly profit will be about Shs1.1 million and an annual earning of Shs13 million.
Consider using cars which have the capacity to carry your items. A vehicle which is good on fuel consumption would be an added advantage.