Lynne McCrossan: Car-boot sale gems worth haggling over

Published on Monday 23 November 2009 08:39

DEEP below Edinburgh's pavements is a secret society. They assemble at the crack of dawn each Sunday and disappear into the bowels of the city to avoid being seen.

It all begins with the blast of car horns on the fourth floor of the NCP car park at the Omni Centre. Boots are flung open, clothes hung from every available space, tables set up showcasing jewels and bric a brac. This is no style myth, legend or hearsay, my friends, this is a car boot sale.

Hundreds of shoppers cram inside the vast space each week as they root around others people's belongings. From the moment the lift descended into the junk-filled pit I was hooked. A friend of mine had told me all about it over a cuppa one afternoon. To be honest I wasn't that convinced as she waxed lyrical about how good it was. "Look, this little lace top I have on. Two pounds!"

Those apprehensive feelings evaporated the moment we came face to face with a pair of unworn Christian Louboutin's, complete with dust bag and box, marked 30. My shopping partner promptly punched me as I committed the cardinal sin in car boot sale shopping: Never get excited around something you want or you lose your bargaining power. As we flipped the shoes over to inquire about their size, I was devastated to discover they were a 4 – much to my friend's delight as they fitted her like a glove.

Then out of the blue she did something so alien to me all I could do was watch in awe. "Would you give them to me for 25?" I was mortified by her sheer cheek but excited to find out what the seller's answer would be. "Aye, I suppose. They're ma girlfriends and they dinna fit her anyway."

Everyone was fluent in the language of haggle. When did phlegmatic Edinburgers become so good at something we as a nation are renowned for being pants at? That was when I realised the rules of this subculture below our streets. The whole point in car booting is to barter. One woman's tat is indeed another's treasure.