# House clearances and storage units > Abandoned storage units, house clearance finds and mystery lots, sorted and resold piece by piece. 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. ## How to pack it - Wrap each piece in bubble wrap, with extra round handles and rims. - Pack it in a double wall box and fill every gap with paper. - Shake the box. If anything moves, add more fill. Avoid: Thin boxes for china and glass. Heavier parcels stacked on top crush them. - **[Double-wall boxes, 18 x 12 x 8 in, 15 pack](https://sellersetups.com/product/double-wall-boxes)** (£22 to £34): Double-wall board resists crushing better than single-wall, so your boxed trainers arrive intact. - **[Bubble wrap, 500 mm x 100 m](https://sellersetups.com/product/bubble-wrap-roll)** (£10 to £15): A long roll costs several times less per metre than the small packs sold in shops. - **[Honeycomb paper wrap, 100 m roll](https://sellersetups.com/product/paper-void-fill)** (£18 to £28): Stretches into a cushioned mesh and goes in the paper recycling. Choose it if low-plastic packaging is part of your shop's pitch. - **[100 x 150 mm thermal labels, 500 fanfold](https://sellersetups.com/product/thermal-labels-fanfold)** (£12 to £18): Fanfold stacks feed flat behind the printer and hold more labels than a roll. 100 x 150 mm matches the label size UK couriers and marketplaces print. ## Postage per order - Royal Mail Tracked 48 Small Parcel: £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. ## Bidding on a unit or quoting a clearance 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. ## Sorting a full unit in a weekend 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. ## Researching the pieces worth real money 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. ## Showing mystery finds live 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. ## Packing odd shapes, glass and ornaments 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. ## Honest listings for used and vintage goods 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. ## Common mistakes - Bidding on a unit without counting van hire and tip fees makes a loss look like a bargain, so add disposal to every bid. - Researching every item before you sort the unit wastes the weekend, so sort first and research the shortlist. - Showing a letter or photo with someone's address on a stream exposes them, so clear personal papers before you go live. - Posting china in a thin single wall box ends in a refund, so use double wall and fill every gap. - Keeping slow items for months clogs your space, so set a deadline and donate what hasn't sold. ## Setups - [Clearance lock-up setup for Whatnot, Etsy and eBay](https://sellersetups.com/setups/clearance-lockup-live-and-etsy): Sort a cleared unit into four zones in a weekend, open mystery crates live, and keep the 20 year old pieces back for Etsy. ## Questions ### How do storage unit auctions work in the UK? 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. ### What do I do with personal documents I find? 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. ### Can I sell old electricals from a clearance? 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. ### How do I price things I don't recognise? 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. ### Is clearance income taxable? 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. ### What should I do with things that won't sell? 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.