Narrabeen Boot Sale markets

There’s some truth in the saying that the wares for sale at markets, like op shops reflect the area. So as a beach loving family we were pretty excited to find a second-hand market on Sydney’s northern beaches. We’ve been to a few markets along this stretch of the coast but never one selling pre-loved goods before. We heard about this Boot Sale via word of mouth from a stallholder at another second hand market. It’s not very well advertised and you won’t find much info about it online. A boot sale or a car boot sale is slang for a second-hand goods market. Stallholders are able to drive their cars onto the grounds to unload the contents of their car boot to sell. Simple enough.

We visited the November market on a very hot day. So hot that by lunchtime many of the stallholders were trying to flog off their wares cheaply in order to leave early. We persisted in the heat, protecting ourselves with umbrellas and layers of sunscreen and discovered that it is very difficult not to poke someone’s eye out with an umbrella whilst trying to pay for your purchase. Eye injuries aside others looked enviously at our brollies. There were quite a lot of stalls spread across the oval and most of them were local people trying to off load the result of their spring clean. As a buyer, the great thing about this type of stallholder is that they are open to negotiation. These people don’t want to lug all their stuff back home again. They have come to the boot sale in hope of clearing the lot. Often they are selling their items at a great price but if you feel the asking price is more than you are willing to pay, speak up. Make them an offer. I’m not suggesting you haggle like you did in Bali though. Keep it light-hearted and friendly, engage in conversation with the seller and you’ll be surprised how often you’ll get your way.

Usually at second-hand markets my man is only interested in hunting down CDs to download onto his ginormous iTunes account but as it turned out this was his sort of market. On arrival his eyes widened at the number of surfboards and wetsuits within sight. He completely outdid me on the purchasing tally buying a full wetsuit for only $5, an ipod dock in perfect working order for $2, Dvds and CDs for $2 each. Sadly he missed out on a great surfboard for only $20. Our water babies fared well also with a $5 foam surfboard, a ton of Littlest Pet Shop toys for $15 (we must own millions of them now!), magic wands for 50 cents with free tattoos, 3 (brand new still wrapped in plastic) artists canvases for $5, ballet slippers and 2 pairs of ballet tights for $10, an apple slinky machine $10 and metal detector that the stall holder gave them for free as she wasn’t sure if it still worked. Well guess what? It works perfectly and the beeping noise is doing my head in!

There is lots of surf branded fashion for sale here alongside Australian designer labels. I saw many beautiful things but the heat must have subdued my impulse shopping mode. Still I came home with some summery Von Zipper pants, 2 Billabong tops and a few other random tops for myself & the teen for a total of $11. I also picked up some sterling silver jewellery – a twisted chain necklace with matching bracelet and 2 unusual rings all for $7.

Seasoned Hunter Gatherers lugging their spoils back to the car.

There is not much on offer if you’re hungry. A lone sausage sizzle stand also selling cans of drink was the only official food stall. A couple of stalls were selling home-made cupcakes or biscuits along with their preloved clothes & bric-a-brac. There is a food court in the shopping centre just across the road if you’re desperate.

The market is advertised as being at Narrabeen Sports High School but in fact it is held at grounds on Jacksons rd opposite the Warriwood Centro shopping centre. Map here. This is a quarterly market held on the last Sunday of February, May, August & November from 7.30am-3.30pm.

If you love the surf lifestyle then you should defiantly mark the next date for this market. We will. The Boy is dying to snatch up cheap surfboard for his collection.

We will be at the Boot Sale this Sunday, 24th Feb. See if you can spot us!