The temptation is to price a lot for what might be in it. The room will do that for you, and it will do it better.
Start from the visible
Price the lot on what a bidder can see and count. Start there, and let the possibility of more do its own work in the bidding.
A low start on a well-shown lot almost always finishes higher than a high start on a lot nobody can assess.
What moves the number
- How much of it you have checked
- The count and the weight
- Whether there is a theme — one subject, one era, one household
- What is visibly good in it
- Whether it is collection or delivery
Theme beats volume
"A box of forty assorted kitchen items" is a lot. "A box of forty pieces of one dinner service" is a better one, at a better price, with the same contents.
Sorting into themed lots is the single most profitable hour in this category.
Delivery is part of the price
Heavy lots cost real money to send and a bidder who has not thought about it bids as though they do not. Weigh it, say it, and offer collection where it makes sense. How delivery is charged.
Questions people ask
Should I ever set a reserve on a lot?
Rarely. The appeal of a lot is the low entry. If it is worth protecting, it probably should not be in a lot.
Is it worth splitting a big lot?
Usually yes, by theme. Two themed lots beat one mixed one.
What if nobody bids?
Lower the start, improve the photographs, and lay the contents out. Unshown lots are the ones that fail.