Sourcing smarter: AI at the car boot
You're at a stall with an armful of maybes and two minutes before someone else picks them up. AI on your phone can turn "no idea" into "worth a closer look" — if you use it as a lead, not a verdict.
What to do in the moment
- Photograph the label, the maker's mark and the model number, not just the item
- Ask: what is this, what are the valuable variants, and what should I check to tell them apart?
- Get a rough price range from recent sold listings — the Price check tool is built for exactly this
Red flags that should slow you down
- Designer names at jumble prices. If the AI says it's a luxury watch or bag, the likeliest explanation is that it isn't. Selling fakes is illegal and gets accounts closed — and "I didn't know" doesn't fix it
- Missing parts that make it worthless — the lens cap is fine, the battery door on a vintage camera matters
- Electrical items you can't test
- Anything the stallholder can't explain where it came from, in quantity, cheap
The two-minute rule
If you can't confirm what it is and roughly what it sells for in two minutes, it's a pass or a small punt — never a big one.
After the boot
- Question
- Active discussion
- Answer emerging
- Community solution
- Knowledge article