The British flea market: addresses, hours and prices — and when it becomes trading

The British flea market runs to a timetable and a price list. Here are the addresses, hours and prices — and the point at which buying up old things turns into trading that HMRC wants to hear about.

The car boot sale: the real thing

This is where people drive up, open the boot and sell their own belongings. The most accessible in central London is the Capital Car Boot Sale in Pimlico.

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The address: The Pimlico Academy, Chichester Street entrance, Lupus St, London SW1V 3AT. It runs every Sunday all year, plus the first two Saturdays of each month.

Now the arithmetic of getting in, which is what really matters here:

Early entry at 10am on an online ticket is £7 (booking closes at 9.45am). On the door: £7 from 10.15 to 11am, £5 from 11 to 11.30, and £1 from 11.30 to 2.30pm. Children under 16 go free.

So waiting an hour and a half makes entry seven times cheaper. The early ticket is worth it only if you are hunting something specific and fear it will go.

If you are selling: a walk-in courtyard pitch is £10 online or £12 cash on the day, two people per pitch. Indoors with a free table, £25. With a car on the ramp, £15; on the courtyard, £25; prime position, £30; a van, £40. An extra table is £10 and a rail £10.

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The rules are short: no dogs, no smoking, no power tools.

The antiques field: Kempton Park

This is a level up, and where dealers and decorators go. Sunbury Antiques Market at Kempton Park racecourse runs twice a month on a Tuesday; the next is 24 November, 6.30am to 2pm.

Entry works as the mirror image of Pimlico: £5 a head from 6.30 to 8am, free from 8am to 2pm. Under-16s go free. Cash or contactless is taken at the gate.

Those ninety early minutes are exactly what the trade pays for — the best is gone before daylight. If you are not a dealer, arrive at eight and pay nothing.

Two practical points. Parking is free, and — important if you are driving — the site is outside the LEZ and ULEZ zones, so there are no London charges to pay. And everything you buy must be taken away on the day; there are shippers and couriers on site.

The same organisers run other venues at their own prices: Sandown £3 cash only, Wimbledon £3 cash only, Sunday Kempton £2, Denbies free.

Charity shops

The most everyday way to buy second-hand is the charity shop. The Charity Retail Association says its members cover over 85% of such shops in the country — around 9,000 of them.

Prices there are below market by definition: the stock cost the shop nothing, because it was donated.

Where the hobby ends and trading begins

This is easy to get wrong, so here is what the tax authority actually says.

Selling personal possessions — clothing, kitchen equipment, jewellery, furniture, computers — does not usually attract Income Tax. HMRC gives the example directly: you are clearing out the attic and selling unwanted things, none worth more than £6,000, and it is unlikely you need to tell them no matter how many items you sell.

But if a single item goes for more than £6,000, Capital Gains Tax may apply. The same threshold covers a set: chess pieces, books by the same author or on the same subject, matching vases or statuettes count as one. A car is outside the rule.

If you buy intending to sell at a profit, or make things to sell, that is trading. There is a £1,000 trading allowance per tax year (6 April to 5 April). Stay under it and you need not tell HMRC, though you must keep records. Go over it and you register for Self Assessment.

And the telling detail: HMRC's own list of examples contains precisely this case. Someone starts by selling unwanted clothes, then begins buying items at car boot sales and charity shops to resell online, regularly. HMRC treats that as trading, without qualification.

A warning when looking up addresses

One caution, checked on 12 November 2026. Two domains that for years ranked first for well-known London markets now carry online casino advertising rather than any trading times. They are portobelloroad.co.uk and bermondseysquare.net.

The lesson is simple: before setting off, check the hours on the borough council's site or the market's own current page — and look at what has actually loaded on your screen.