# Clearance lock-up setup for Whatnot, Etsy and eBay > Sort a cleared unit into four zones in a weekend, open mystery crates live, and keep the 20 year old pieces back for Etsy. - Built for: You win storage unit auctions and take on house clearance jobs, empty them into a rented lock-up or a double garage, and sell 30 to 120 items a week: mixed crates live on Whatnot, vintage pieces on Etsy, and branded or technical finds on eBay. - Platforms: Whatnot, Etsy, eBay - Orders a week: 30–120 - Space: Garage or unit - Kit total: £549 to £893 - Running cost: £197 to £316 (Consumables at 75 orders a week) - Updated 6 October 2026 A cleared unit fills a garage in one van trip. You move each item once: off the van, into a zone, and onto a coded shelf or into a show crate. You research later from phone photos, so the floor clears in a weekend. You split the stock across three platforms by type. Unknown odds and ends sell live on Whatnot, where viewers' bids set the price. Anything made 20 or more years ago that a collector would search for goes to Etsy, and branded tools, cameras and electricals go to eBay with a full description. ## The kit - ×3 **[5-tier steel shelving, 180 cm](https://sellersetups.com/product/shelving-unit)** (£40 to £70): Floor space runs out before height does. Number the shelves and each item gets an address you can pick from. - ×4 **[Clear stackable 32 L tubs, 4 pack](https://sellersetups.com/product/clear-storage-tubs)** (£30 to £45): Label each tub with a shelf code and record the code against the listing. A sale then tells you which tub to open. - **[180 cm folding table](https://sellersetups.com/product/folding-work-table)** (£40 to £65): Packing on the bed or the kitchen table means setting up and clearing down every session. A table that stays up lets you leave your supplies where you need them. - **[40 kg digital parcel scale](https://sellersetups.com/product/parcel-scale-40kg)** (£15 to £25): A wrong weight costs you surcharges or overpaid postage. A flat platform scale with a separate display stays readable when a box covers the top. - **[MUNBYN thermal label printer](https://sellersetups.com/product/munbyn-thermal-printer)** (£55 to £85): It takes the standard 100 x 150 mm labels that eBay, Vinted and Whatnot all generate, and generic labels work, so the running cost stays low. - ×2 **[100 x 150 mm thermal labels, 250 roll](https://sellersetups.com/product/thermal-labels-roll)** (£8 to £13): Put a roll on a holder or inside a printer with a roll bay to save space on a crowded desk. Each label costs about 3p to 5p, a little more than fanfold. - **[40 x 30 mm thermal labels, 1,000 roll](https://sellersetups.com/product/thermal-labels-sku)** (£8 to £12): Prints a stock code or a short note on a bag, a bin or a toploader sleeve. It needs a printer that accepts narrow rolls, so check the minimum label width before you buy. - **[Gooseneck phone holder](https://sellersetups.com/product/gooseneck-phone-holder)** (£12 to £20): Bends to any angle for an overhead or side shot. It wobbles more than a jointed arm when you bump the desk, so it suits short shows and listing photos. - **[Two LED video panels with stands](https://sellersetups.com/product/led-panel-pair)** (£45 to £75): Holo cards, foiled boxes and glossy packaging reflect a ring light straight back at the camera. With two panels angled in from each side, the glare falls outside the frame. - **[Clip-on wireless phone mic](https://sellersetups.com/product/wireless-phone-mic)** (£25 to £45): Viewers leave a show when they can't hear you. A clip-on mic keeps your voice level while you reach for stock. - **[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. - ×2 **[Small single-wall boxes, 25 pack](https://sellersetups.com/product/single-wall-boxes)** (£8 to £14): Use these for boxed toys and beauty sets that a padded bag would crush, when double-wall board costs more than you need. - **[Kraft padded envelopes, D/1, 100 pack](https://sellersetups.com/product/padded-envelopes)** (£14 to £22): Enough padding for a lipstick, a small figure or a sealed booster pack, with no box to fold. - **[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. - **[Tape dispenser gun](https://sellersetups.com/product/tape-gun)** (£8 to £14): Once you ship more than a handful of boxes a week, a tape gun saves minutes on every session and stops tape ends sticking to themselves. - **[Brown packing tape, 48 mm x 66 m, 6 rolls](https://sellersetups.com/product/brown-packing-tape)** (£5 to £9): 48 mm is the width tape guns take. Six rolls last a shop sending a few boxes a week for a few months. ## How to lay it out ### Four zones on the floor Mark four squares on the floor with tape: sell singly, show crates, donate and tip. Carry each item from the van into one square, and leave research until day two. ### Coded shelves along the back Three steel units with a code on every shelf. Put a small thermal label with the code on each single item and the same code in the listing, so a sale on any platform points to one shelf. ### Show table at the front One folding table with the gooseneck phone holder clamped to it, LED panels either side and the clip mic. Four tubs hold the next show's crates, each one a theme: kitchenalia, tools, toys or smalls. ### Personal papers box A lidded box by the door for passports, letters, photos and bank papers. Return them to the storage firm or the client, and keep them off camera. ## Unloading a unit in a weekend Back the van up to the door and carry each item into one of the four floor zones. Photograph maker's marks, labels and serial numbers with your phone as you go, and keep moving. Aim for four sorted squares and a full tip run by Sunday evening. Book the tip slot or skip before the auction, because a van full of rubbish blocks the lock-up for days. ## Researching the sell singly pile Work through the phone photos in the evenings. Search sold listings for each maker's mark or model and write a price range on a sticky note on the item. A hallmark on silver, a signature on pottery or first edition details in a book earn an item a single listing. Check age for any Etsy candidate before it goes to that shelf. ## Building and running a Whatnot show Build each crate around one theme so viewers know what's coming. Pull every item out on camera, show the base or label and say any fault before the auction starts. Pack show sales the next day in batches: small items in padded envelopes, glass and ceramics in boxes with wrap and paper. Print labels in the order of the crate list. ## Listing on Etsy and eBay Etsy buyers search by era and style, so write the decade, the maker and the material near the start. eBay buyers search by brand and model, so give tools, cameras and audio kit the exact model number. Put the shelf code on the item and in the listing's SKU field. When a piece sells on one platform, take it down from the other the same day. ## Packing glass, ceramics and odd shapes Wrap each piece in bubble wrap, fill the box with paper so nothing moves, and leave space between the item and every wall of the box. Double-box anything fragile and valuable. Couriers handle large or heavy items, with Evri as the cheaper option for small boxes that fit its rules. Weigh each parcel on the floor scale before printing. ## Keeping score on each unit Write down what each unit or job cost, including van hire, tip charges and fuel. Add each sale against the unit it came from. After three months you will know which auction sites and unit sizes pay, and you can stop bidding on the rest. ## Common mistakes - Researching items during the unload, so the weekend ends with a half-empty van and a full floor. - Listing a 1990s piece as vintage on Etsy when it is under 20 years old. - Showing a letter or photo with a name on stream while digging through a crate. - Putting aerosols and paint tins on a shelf in the lock-up instead of taking them to the tip. - Losing track of which unit each item came from, so you cannot tell which auctions made money. ## When to upgrade At 80 items a week, an inventory app with barcode labels tracks what came from which unit, so you know which auctions paid. At 110, a heavier-duty label printer copes with shelf codes and shipping labels on the same day. - 80+ orders a week: **[Sortly](https://sellersetups.com/product/sortly-inventory)**: Suits you if you keep hundreds of items in tubs and lose time hunting for the one that sold. Scan a QR label on a box with your phone to see what is inside, then update counts as you go. - 110+ orders a week: **[Zebra ZD421d](https://sellersetups.com/product/zebra-zd421)** (£200 to £260): Once you print hundreds of labels a week, the faster prints and fewer jams are worth the higher price. ## Questions ### Can I sell everything in a unit I won? Read the storage firm's terms first. You buy the contents under those terms, and most firms ask you to return personal documents and photos. Keep those aside from the first box you open. ### Can I list clearance finds as vintage on Etsy? Only if the item is at least 20 years old, which is Etsy's rule for vintage. Look for date marks, old packaging and maker's stamps. Anything newer belongs on eBay or in a show crate. ### Do I count as a trader? Buying units or clearance jobs to resell is trading. You take on a trader's duties under consumer law, including the right of most online buyers to cancel, and you report profit past the trading allowance on a Self Assessment return. ### Can I sell untested electricals from a unit? Describe what you tested and sell anything else as untested or for spares or repair. Leave out items with frayed cables, scorched plugs or missing covers. Second-hand electricals sold by a trader still need to be safe. ### What should I do with aerosols, paint and gas bottles? Take them to the household waste site. Royal Mail prohibits aerosols and flammable gas, and old tins of paint or solvent leak in transit. ### How do I run a fair mystery crate show? Show each item before you sell it and name any damage on camera. A lot that turns out to hold a chipped cup the buyer never saw ends in a refund. ### How long should I keep stock that does not sell? Give each item two chances: a single listing, then a show crate. After that, bundle it, donate it or recycle it. Shelf space in a lock-up costs rent every month.