# Do Car Boot Sales exist in the USA? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 5, 2004, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-car-boot-sales-exist-in-the-usa/222789 "2004-01-05T11:25:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-car-boot-sales-exist-in-the-usa/222789/41 "2012-08-26T04:31:32Z")
> [@clayton\_e](#): > > If a flashlight is a torch what’s a torch called over there? > > I’m seriously wondering. “Car” isn’t confusing, despite being a carry-over from railway cars. I’ve never had to point out what I mean by saying “automobile car.” ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-car-boot-sales-exist-in-the-usa/222789/42 "2012-08-27T02:33:12Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > There’s also estate sales, which seem to vary in popularity from place to place. Basically, the entire house is opened up except for a room or two, and _everything_ that isn’t tacked down is for sale. I’d use “estate sale” to mean “yard/garage sale where the previous owner is now dead.” But it doesn’t have anything to do with the location of the objects being sold (inside or outside of the house), just the reason for the sale. Same with “Moving Sale.” Everything can be in the garage, it’s just the reason that the things are being sold is because the owner is moving and doesn’t want to take the stuff with them. Sometimes community groups (churches or other religious groups, neighborhoods, clubs) have things like the OP mentions, where many people belonging to the group brings their stuff to a place on a designated day. But I don’t think there’s anywhere I could pack up my extra stuff and take it to sell without making a lot of arrangements in advance. Even flea markets have sign ups and space rental rules and regulations. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-car-boot-sales-exist-in-the-usa/222789/43 "2012-08-27T03:50:55Z")
The US version of a boot sale is a flea market. You bring a car or truck load of stuff to sell, and a table to display it on. When you arrive, you pay a fee to the organizer who directs you to a location where you set up your temporary shop. They are usually well organized events. We also have garage- or yard- sales, something I have never seen in the U.K., possibly because we have more cr\*p that we don’t use than you do. Here, we set up our front garden (yard) or garage and driveway with our temporary shop. It’s a great way to get some cash for stuff you don’t use any more that other people might want. It’s a great way for parents to buy children’s clothes. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-car-boot-sales-exist-in-the-usa/222789/44 "2012-08-27T05:59:54Z")
Another variant I haven’t seen mentioned — although **amarinth** came close — is the “rummage sale.” These are commonly held as fundraisers by churches, schools, etc. People donate their unused items, which are semi-organized and sold in the parish hall / school basement / wherever. A subspecies is the “Christmas Bazaar,” which focuses on holiday goods. I seem to recall — possibly from the BBC version of Cash in the Attic — that these are called “jumble sales” in the UK, but I wouldn’t claim any sort of authority on that. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-car-boot-sales-exist-in-the-usa/222789/45 "2012-08-27T12:47:47Z")
While walking through the then-sketchy neighborhood of Powelton Village in Philly (1983), I was offered merch by two guys who pulled up in either a car or small truck. Loudspeakers, IIRC. Growing up in South Jersey, I spent many a Saturday at the Palmyra Drive-in Flea Market. It was held at an old drive-in theater. Mix of house-clearing/jumble, antique/near-antique stuff, new stuff, pirated stuff. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-car-boot-sales-exist-in-the-usa/222789/46 "2012-08-27T13:03:53Z")
1.) As noted, we have \*flea markets \* in the US. 2.) In addition, there are organized places that have even more formal names. In Englishtown, NJ, there still exists Englishtown Auction Market, which started out as a farm auction market (selling fresh produce from the local farms), but which has always sold other random stuff in its permanent buildings. People started driving in and selling thing from their cars (a la “boot sales”), and they soon formalized this by renting tables in what was the parking lot, and moving the actual parking lot farther out. This expansion happened several times over, until the place was huge, and dominated bny the outdoor selling. Unfortunately, internet selling has taken its toll. When last I visited, the tables were far fewer in number. The place is a shadow of its former self. 3.) Nevertheless, Englishtown still functions, as do places like Collingwood Auction Market in NJ (and, I know, other institutions in other states, like Massachusetts where I now live) 3.) When I read the title I had a completely different image in mind. Here in the US, a “Boot” is an immobilizing device placed on illegally parked cars to prevent their moving, forcing the owner to come in and pay his fines to get it released. The only pooint I could see in buying one was to put it on an enemy’s car for revenge. [http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?\_adv\_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-701&va=auto+boot](http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-701&va=auto+boot) ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-car-boot-sales-exist-in-the-usa/222789/47 "2012-08-27T13:44:48Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > There used to be guys in Texas selling shellfish out of the back of trucks. Might as well have had a sign - “Git yer hepatitis A here, dirt cheap!” That’s still better than one guy I saw in China who was selling shellfish out of the gutter! ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-car-boot-sales-exist-in-the-usa/222789/48 "2012-08-27T13:53:40Z")
> [@Mehitabel](#): > > Are stolen items fenced in the UK with the phrase “it fell off the back of a truck?” That shows a bit of a sleaziness associated with such activity here, as if the seller may have a reason to shut the trunk and move along in a hurry any second. I’ve only seen produce and fireworks sold this way. > > We have more houses with driveways, too, and one person selling things scattered around their driveway or yard for a day is called a yard sale; some city people use their stoops if they have them. I’ll second this. Selling items literally out of the back of a truck would be highly suspicious, and most people would assume the goods were stolen. Flea markets (mentioned above) are usually organized events, and the sellers almost always have tables set up in designated “stalls.” ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-car-boot-sales-exist-in-the-usa/222789/49 "2012-08-27T14:04:17Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > Do you really call those tables “wall paper pasting tables?”, because that’s a long way to go to describe a folding table, or portable table…or just table for that matter. The two main types of household folding tables are a card table, which is usually 34x34 or 36x36, or what’s formally called a banquet table, which come in various lengths. [Here’s](http://www.staples.com/Sudden-Solutions-6-Standard-Grade-Resin-Folding-Banquet-Table/product_749944?externalize=certona) one that’s 30x72. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-car-boot-sales-exist-in-the-usa/222789/50 "2012-08-27T15:26:56Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > Another variant I haven’t seen mentioned — although **amarinth** came close — is the “rummage sale.” These are commonly held as fundraisers by churches, schools, etc. People donate their unused items, which are semi-organized and sold in the parish hall / school basement / wherever. A subspecies is the “Christmas Bazaar,” which focuses on holiday goods. > > I seem to recall — possibly from the BBC version of Cash in the Attic — that these are called “jumble sales” in the UK, but I wouldn’t claim any sort of authority on that. Yes, rummage and jumble are the same types of sale, often organized by churches or charities. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-car-boot-sales-exist-in-the-usa/222789/51 "2012-08-27T15:46:32Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > In Englishtown, NJ, there still exists Englishtown Auction Market, which started out as a farm auction market (selling fresh produce from the local farms), but which has always sold other random stuff in its permanent buildings. People started driving in and selling thing from their cars (a la “boot sales”), and they soon formalized this by renting tables in what was the parking lot, and moving the actual parking lot farther out. This expansion happened several times[…] My record meet was in Jersey too (a very good place to collect records, BTW - a lot of great stuff never leaves the state). Hey, I just thought of something: If you sell boots (Timberlands, Fryes, etc etc) out of your car, that too is a car boot sale. ---
**Author:** ![sugaree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@sugaree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugaree)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-car-boot-sales-exist-in-the-usa/222789/52 "2012-08-27T19:02:50Z")
Good thing George Clinton was American, because “Electric Torch” would have been a poor title for a funk song. ---
**Author:** ![Hookit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/71e660/32.png) [@Hookit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hookit)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-car-boot-sales-exist-in-the-usa/222789/53 "2012-08-27T20:37:32Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Selling things out of vehicles in general has a sleazy air. > > There used to be guys in Texas selling shellfish out of the back of trucks. Might as well have had a sign - “Git yer hepatitis A here, dirt cheap!” Translation: My father used to seel shellfish out of the back of trucks in Texas. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-car-boot-sales-exist-in-the-usa/222789/54 "2012-08-27T20:49:10Z")
Many places have a regular place for every-weekend “flea markets” where there is a mix of goods. Also very common are interest specific “swap meets”. I have attended these for vintage motorcycles, ham radio, general aviation, bicycling, etc. Sometimes I have heard this referred to as a “tailgate sale” which is getting pretty close to the “boot sale” idea, the tailgate referring to the fold-down door at the back of a pickup truck. ---
**Author:** ![Hookit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/71e660/32.png) [@Hookit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hookit)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-car-boot-sales-exist-in-the-usa/222789/55 "2012-08-27T21:42:43Z")
> [@Hookit](#): > > Translation: My father used to seel shellfish out of the back of trucks in Texas. EDIT: Should read as “sell”,obviously. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-car-boot-sales-exist-in-the-usa/222789/56 "2012-08-27T22:24:23Z")
One of my hard and fast rules is to never buy food from the trunk of someone’s car. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-car-boot-sales-exist-in-the-usa/222789/57 "2012-08-27T23:05:36Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > One of my hard and fast rules is to never buy food from the trunk of someone’s car. Or electronics. The aftermath is never worth the savings. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-car-boot-sales-exist-in-the-usa/222789/58 "2012-08-27T23:40:53Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > You mean a flaming torch of the sort that the villagers wave when they arrive _en masse_ to destroy the laboratory of the evil scientist? > > We don’t use them anymore. It is also becoming quite uncommon to see people wearing armour. /applause 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-car-boot-sales-exist-in-the-usa/222789/59 "2012-08-28T00:05:09Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > \ > > I live in the rural South. Here, it is still common to see farmers selling vegetables from the back of their pickup trucks parked around the courthouse square in the small towns in the area. Selling produce from a pickup truck, by the way, seems normal and not sleazy at all. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-car-boot-sales-exist-in-the-usa/222789/60 "2012-08-28T15:49:42Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Selling produce from a pickup truck, by the way, seems normal and not sleazy at all. Heh. I guess I wasn’t thinking about farmers selling produce. I was imagining a scenario where some guy opens up the back of his van and it’s full of televisions, computers, iPods, and whatnot. I guarantee you, every single last person who saw him would conclude that he was selling stolen property. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-car-boot-sales-exist-in-the-usa/222789.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-car-boot-sales-exist-in-the-usa/222789.md?page=4)