Abandoned storage units, house clearance finds and mystery lots, sorted and resold piece by piece.
The kit our builder picks for a typical House clearances and storage units seller. Change the answers to fit yours.
Lighting
Large, soft light for clothing and full-body shots.
Microphone
Keeps your voice clear when you turn away from the phone.
Each step in the order you'll need it.
You usually see a unit from the doorway, so look for clues: branded boxes, furniture shapes, sealed plastic tubs. Set a ceiling before the auction opens and stick to it.
Count the cost of emptying it. A van, a helper and tip charges for rubbish can wipe out the profit on a unit that looked cheap.
Set out four zones: sell singly, sell in bundles, donate, and dispose. Move every item once, into a zone, and don't stop to research during the first pass.
Photograph labels, maker's marks and serial numbers as you go. Research the sell singly pile in the evenings with your phone photos instead of handling everything twice.
Look for hallmarks on silver and gold, signatures on art, pottery marks and first edition details in books. These turn a £5 lot into a £100 single sale.
Check sold prices, not asking prices. If you still aren't sure, get a second opinion before you list low.
Unbox on camera with an overhead arm and good light so viewers can see marks and damage. Read out flaws as you hold each piece up.
Start interesting unknowns at a low price and let bidders compete. Plain household items sell better as a bundle than one at a time.
Kit for this step
Clearance stock means china, glass, picture frames and old toys, rarely in their own boxes. Wrap fragile pieces in bubble wrap, fill every gap with paper and use a double wall box for anything breakable.
Do a shake test before you seal it. If anything moves, add more fill.
Describe wear, chips, smells and missing parts in plain words, and photograph them. Clearance buyers accept age and expect you to tell them about it.
Selling regularly makes you a trader, so the item has to match your description and buyers keep their rights. Writing sold as seen doesn't remove them.
Each one costs you money or reviews, and each has a fix.
Complete kits for one kind of seller, costed and laid out.
What most orders like these go by, at today’s published prices. Prices checked 6 October 2026.
Royal Mail Tracked 48 Small ParcelUsual£3.75
Clothing and small boxed items up to 2 kg, with tracking for less than untracked 2nd Class.
Royal Mail Tracked 48 Medium Parcel£5.70 to £12.25
Trainers, homeware and electronics up to 20 kg, tracked and cheaper than untracked 2nd Class.
InPost locker to locker, medium£2.59
Shoe boxes, books and bags up to 19 cm deep, sent between lockers when the buyer picks a locker.
Thin boxes for china and glass. Heavier parcels stacked on top crush them.
One roll covers a few hundred small parcels.
A plastic-free wrap that cushions as well as light bubble wrap.
A cleared unit or a loft full of boxes can hold anything from old vinyl to a broken hoover. You win by sorting fast, researching the few valuable pieces with care, and moving the rest on cheaply.
Live shows suit this stock. Viewers on Whatnot stay to see what you pull out of a crate, and unknown items get a fair market price in the room. Better pieces earn more as careful single listings on eBay, Etsy for vintage, and Vinted or Depop for clothing.
Keep a box for personal papers and photos from the start. They come with most clearances and should never go on sale.
Self storage firms sell the contents of units after the renter stops paying and the firm has followed its own notice process. Sales run through the firm or an auction site, usually as a whole unit seen from the doorway. Read the terms on removal deadlines and deposits before you bid.
Keep passports, bank papers, letters and family photos aside and hand them back to the storage firm or the clearance client. Shred anything they don't want. Never list or show personal details on a stream.
Sell them as untested or for spares or repair unless you have tested them, and say what you checked. Leave out anything with frayed cables, scorch marks or a missing plug. Old mains items can be a fire risk.
Search eBay sold listings with a photo search or the maker's mark. For anything that looks old or unusual, ask on a collector forum or put it in a live auction from a low start and let the room set the price.
If you buy units or clearance jobs to resell, that is trading. Income past the £1,000 trading allowance goes on a Self Assessment return, and you deduct what you paid for the lots along with your other costs.
Give each item one or two chances, then bundle it, donate it or recycle it. A charity shop run and a trip to the tip are part of the job, so budget for the time and the fuel.
