A mixed-crate photo is a puzzle, and most bidders spend four seconds on it. Spend forty and you'll win lots that pay for your whole evening. What our own warehouse team looks for:
Read the edges, not the centre
Whoever staged the crate put the eye-catching item front and centre. The information is at the edges and underneath: the box spine half-visible at the back, the branded cable poking out, the layer you can only infer from how high the contents sit. A crate that's deep is worth more than a crate that's arranged.
Brands hide in typography
You often can't read a label, but you can recognise a font, a colour scheme, a distinctive box shape. Zoom in. That white box with the grey side panel reads as generic at a glance and as a branded appliance at 200%.
Count the categories
A crate that's all one thing (twenty water bottles) is worth what one bidder needs twenty of. A crate spanning categories (electronics + bags + toys) has something for several resale channels, worth more, usually goes cheaper because it's harder to skim.
Weight clues
Size tier is on every listing. A SMALL crate that looks full is dense, dense usually means metal, electronics, or liquid, not textiles. Density is value more often than not.
Then set your ceiling and stop
Decide the number before the countdown gets exciting. Proxy bidding holds your maximum honestly, the mechanics are explained here.
Practice on tonight's crates, every one starts at £1.