This Simple Hack Cleared My Death Pile and Made Me Cash Fast

Ever feel like you’re drowning in low-value items that just won’t move? You list them, relist them, and still, they sit there, taking up space. Today, I’m going to show you one of the simplest tricks that can clear that death pile fast—and help you make better money doing it. This works for eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and even car boots. It’s one of the best tips I’ve ever used.

So, what is this hack? It’s grouping. In today’s article, I’m going to share my tips on how to group items, what items should be grouped, and how to price a group. But before I begin, let me introduce myself.

My name is Walter O’Neill, and if you’re wondering if I know what I’m talking about, I am the founder of antiquesarena.com, a massive website and YouTube channel with millions of views. I have been in the business for almost 30 years and have seen and done pretty much everything—from sleeping in the back of my car, working three-day antique fairs to spending all day at auctions. Why not use my experience to learn the tips in a fraction of the time it took me?

So, let’s jump into today’s article and see if I can help you move some of that death pile.

What Is Grouping?

In simple terms, grouping is just throwing a load of items together to make a larger lot. But it’s not that simple in reality. If you mix in too much low-end stuff, the lots will never sell. Put in too much good stuff, and you’re throwing away profits. The mix has to be just right. I’m going to give you an example in a moment, and at the end of the article, I’m going to share with you real-life examples of groups I actually have for sale or have sold on my website already.Surfer SEO+2Reddit+2HubSpot Community+2

Best Practices for Putting Together Job Lots

First off, try to group similar items. That alone can get you a better price. A box that’s all the same kind of thing just looks more appealing than a random mix. Here’s what I’d call a poor job lot—mixing a pile of artwork with a load of ceramics. Or throwing Pokémon cards in with a box of glass. The buyers for those things aren’t even on the same planet. You might get away with mixing glass and ceramics, maybe—but even then, try to keep it tight. Stick to similar types of items when you can. It just makes the listing look cleaner, more professional, and you’re far more likely to attract the right kind of buyer.

Title Ideas in Job Lots

Using strong keywords in your title can help the listing show up in searches. For example, “10 Vintage Brooches Job Lot – Some Designer” is more effective than “Random Mixed Jewellery.”

The Benefits of Grouping Items

Let’s say you’ve got a bunch of items that aren’t really worth listing on their own. For example, you’ve got 10 brooches—8 are average, worth £2-£3 each, and 2 are pretty nice, worth £10-£15 each. Now, instead of listing 10 separate items, taking 10 sets of photos, writing 10 descriptions, answering 10 messages, packing 10 boxes, paying postage and shipping 10 parcels, and making 10 entries in the accounts, you group them. Boom. One listing, one buyer, one parcel, and potentially a better return. The odds are the 8 brooches worth a couple of pounds each would never sell, but now the two stronger items have dragged the value up on the whole job lot, and instead of selling one here or there, they are all gone in a single shot.Positional

More Pros to Consider

Bigger sales/higher-value sales tend to attract better-quality buyers.
The time saving is huge—you’re doing the work of ten items in one go, so effectively 1/10 the time used, and time is money.

Understanding the Financials of Grouping

Before I explain to you the best way to group items, let’s break down the real money terms for you so you can see it clearly. By grouping, you’re not losing anything; there is no downside. Let’s look at a real example. In this example, I had 10 brooches. Here’s the breakdown:

8 were just OK. Worth about £2 to £3 each.
2 were better. Worth about £10 to £15 each.

If I sold them one at a time, best case, maybe I’d make:

8 x £2.50 = £20
2 x £12.50 = £25
Total = £45

But that means 10 listings, 10 parcels, and 10 times the work. So, I grouped them. One listing. One buyer. One parcel. I would list all 10 together as a job lot worth around £45. That buyer might’ve wanted just the 2 best ones, and they’ll re-sell the others. That’s fine with me—I got the money in one go. So you see, just because you group them doesn’t mean you’re asking any less money for them. Just don’t get greedy with the price. It’s still got to feel like value, especially to dealers.

Deciding What Goes in a Group (continued)

If you have a group of anything, you can have one or two that are totally rubbish and worthless, and you can have a few that are nothing more than average — as long as you’re using a lead item.

Let’s go back to the brooches again. Say:

1 or 2 are rubbish
5 or 6 are just ok
And then 2 or 3 are good, or even very good

That one better piece — maybe a £60 designer brooch — will carry the rest. The others fill out the lot and help it look fuller and better value, but the main item is doing the heavy lifting.

Bear in mind, you set the purchase price, so even if the other bits are low-end, the full group can still be priced properly if you’ve got that key piece in there. That’s the trick to building a job lot that sells — and sells for a fair price.

Why Damage Can Ruin a Whole Lot

When you’re listing low-value items as a group, one very important thing to watch for is damage. Even if it’s only on the £2 item in the lot, it can pull the whole thing down.

Here’s a real example: say you’re listing six Wedgwood jasperware items:

One or two are cheap dishes
A few average pieces
And maybe one nice lidded pot as your lead item

If even one of the cheap dishes has a chip, it puts people off. It doesn’t matter if it’s the cheapest one — the negativity sticks to the whole group.

And here’s why. When someone looks at a job lot, they don’t want to feel like they’re buying someone else’s junk. The second they spot a flaw or chip, it changes how they see the entire lot.

Even if you list it for a fair price — say £25 for all six pieces, knowing the lead pot is worth £10 and the rest about £3 each — the buyer just does the maths.

They go, “Hmm, £4 an item.”
And if they think they wouldn’t pay £4 for the chipped one, they might not buy the lot at all.

So the takeaway here? No damage. Not even on the throwaway bits.

Does Postage Put People Off Buying Job Lots?

Well, it can — but not always in a bad way.

Let’s say you’ve got ceramics. In the UK, postage might be around £6 for a single item. But you can send up to 5 kilos for about a tenner — and that’s a fair bit of stuff. So when you bundle items together, the postage per item goes down, and that makes it a better deal for the right buyer.

Now, if someone’s a collector or a trade buyer, they’ll see that as a win.
They’re getting more for their money and only paying postage once.

But if someone only wants one piece from the lot — and they don’t resell — yeah, the higher postage might put them off. So it really depends on who your buyer is.

In my experience, though, the right person will always see the value.

✅ Conclusion: Why Grouping Works

So that’s it.

Grouping is simple, it saves time, and it helps you shift the stuff that’s just sitting around. You don’t need to waste your day listing £2 items one by one.

Put them together, price them right, and let the better bits carry the rest.

If you found this helpful, feel free to check out more tips right here on the blog or head over to my YouTube channel. And if you want to see real job lots I’ve sold or what’s up for sale now, visit antiquesarena.com.

Thanks for reading, and good luck moving that death pile!

I have done a video on this topic; watch it at the link below.