Can I sell unwanted stuff on the towpath?

[Nunovyrbizz]

I've been having a bit of a spring clean and found I have lots of items ( duplicate hand tools, power tools, boating equipment, smartphones,dvds, books etc) that I no longer feel a need to keep hold of. Some of them are brand new or with minimal usage but have been sat around for a while so it seems a good idea to free up some space and earn a couple of quid in petty cash.

Because there is so much stuff, some of which are quite weighty items,  I can't be bothered to list on e bay and have to deal with the hassle of posting etc.

I understand that you need a trader's licence to run a business on the cut but are there any rules that would prohibit me from holding something akin to a garage sale from my boat for a couple of days?

 

[dmr]

Quite a few people do trade without a trading licence and appear to get away with its usually only other traders who object to this because they have gone to the expense and trouble of getting a licence.  As you are only selling your own possessions and its a one-off I really don't see how anybody can object but best not to set up right next to a proper trader without talking to them first. 

Towpath trading is not easy and you can likely spend a whole day sat outside your boat and sell nothing. You need a suitable safe bank to moor against and plenty of passing customers with money to spend (loads of dog walkers etc go out with no cash) and able to carry their purchases home. Several days in the same spot helps as people can look, go home to get cash and return the next day.

A lot of roving traders also sell via eBay etc to supplement their towpath trading so eBay might still be a better option for you.

............Dave

[Nunovyrbizz]

Cheers Dave, am heading to a town with 14 day VMs and it had lots of passing foot traffic last time I was there so i'll give it a whirl for a few days and see how I get on. I'm not sure if e bay would be any good for a lot of the stuff I want to get rid of e.g a chainsaw I want 20 quid for or nice boxed cutlery sets, they just wouldn't be worth trying to mail out.

[Catnip King]

A trader license to me implies a Business so selling some personal stuff to me means you should be ok.

[Bee]

Oh its bound to be illegal on half a dozen counts. Carry on.

[Muddy Ditch Rich]

Only a breach of bylaw if you obstruct the towpath, or use your boat as a clubhouse, shop, store, workshop, dwelling or houseboat without the permission of CaRT.

Its only if you are selling as part of a business that CaRT will attempt to illegally, and fraudulently demand that you obtain a trading licence, you are not obliged to as there is no legislation that requires you to. CaRT have been asked to provide any such legislation and they cannot.

[Tonka]

If it is unwanted who is going to buy it?

[b0atman]

Chainsaw equals less trees so more sun for my solar panels

[WotEver]

37 minutes ago, b0atman said:

Chainsaw equals less trees so more sun for my solar panels

And less oxygen for me to breath

[Taslim]

1 hour ago, WotEver said:

And less oxygen for me to breath

Use the solar panels to power the water electrolysis module on your respirator.

ETA.  Use the surplus Hydrogen to run the chain saw.

Edited May 7, 2017 by Taslim
Pushed the wrong button..NO Mr President! Not the red one!!!

[WotEver]

2 hours ago, Taslim said:

Pushed the wrong button..NO Mr President! Not the red one!!!

S'okay, they've fixed it so he can't get to it 

[Muddy Ditch Rich]

Put the stuff on Gumtree, no postage required. 

[Taslim]

40 minutes ago, WotEver said:

S'okay, they've fixed it so he can't get to it 

Nice work.

[Horace42]

If it was me, I would put up a table and try to sell something. If there is a law, then someone will soon tell you.

It is much like a 'boat-boot' sale. Give it a go. Good luck.

 

[cuthound]

10 hours ago, Horace42 said:

If it was me, I would put up a table and try to sell something. If there is a law, then someone will soon tell you.

It is much like a 'boat-boot' sale. Give it a go. Good luck.

 

Saw Willpower come past our mooring the day before yesterday.  Was that you steering Horace?

[Nunovyrbizz]

I'm not sure if anyone is interested but I thought I would post the results of my attempted sales on the towpath.

I set up for two days from around 11am to 5pm each day. I tried to keep a rough ongoing count of people passing by and stopping to look but it's not entirely accurate due to ale intake!

Saturday- approx 350-400 passers by. Around 40 or so of these stopped to look at my wares. I sold 9 items totalling  £32

Sunday- approx 650-700 passers by. Around 75 people stopped to inspect my wares. I sold 17 items totalling  £55

Saturday was a bit overcast and Sunday was quite sunny which may account for the disparity in numbers of people using the towpath.

I found most people passed by without giving so much as a glance. My stuff was laid out on the floor on blankets and had to be wiped down a few times due to the dust thrown up by passing cyclists. I got the feeling that if I had some tables to display everything more people would have stopped to look. I also had a few books ruined by a dog cocking his leg on them! The owner was mortified but I refused the offer of recompense because I found it pretty amusing tbh!  I had a few people that said they wanted something but had no money on them and would come back. I didn't see any of them again.

By contrast I also spent the time photographing many of the items and putting them on Gumtree as advised by Muddy Ditch Rich. This resulted in sales of 26 items totalling £375.

So Gumtree is the way to go when  trying to get rid of unwanted stuff but beware of people trying to knock you down by silly amounts or agreeing a price then turning up with less money than agreed, "I've only got £X on me" They got short shrift and were then somehow able to conjure up the agreed amount! Bloomin' chancers! 

I did really enjoy the days sat outside and consider them worthwhile purely due to the fact that I had some great conversations with interesting people, enjoyed an ale or five and even got a little bit of colour to my skin!