No, not a sale at the unit. A Wigwam unit is for storage only, so it can't host a sale, garage-style or otherwise, and buyers shouldn't come to your unit to browse, view, try out or pay. Clause 22 of our terms says you "will use the Unit solely for the purpose of storage", and our craft-fair guide puts it plainly: "Use the unit as a retail space, meeting room or workshop, no." What you can do is sell from photos, collect the item from your unit yourself, and hand it over somewhere else, such as your home, the buyer's home or a busy public place. Collecting is different. Yes, for an arranged collection: a buyer picking up something you've sold, a clearance firm, or an auction or charity collection. You, or someone you've given access, need to be there to let them in and oversee it, because our sites don't hand goods over for you. What you can't do is run the unit as a shop or regular collection point where buyers turn up to browse or collect.
What our terms say
Clause 22 opens: "You will use the Unit solely for the purpose of storage and shall not (or allow any other person to):" The parts that matter for selling:
| Clause | Exact wording | What it means for a sale |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | "You will use the Unit solely for the purpose of storage" | Storing, loading and collecting your own things is fine. Selling from the unit isn't storage |
| 22(a) | "use the Unit as offices or living accommodation or as a home, business or mailing address" | The unit can't be your shop, office or business address |
| 22(b) | "use or do anything at the Facility or in the Unit which may be a nuisance to Us or any other person (including the escape of any substance or odour from or generation of noise or vibration which may be heard or felt outside the Unit)" | Visitors, cars and noise on site may be a nuisance to other customers. "Facility" covers the whole site, not only your unit |
| 22(g) | "create any obstruction or leave items or refuse in any common space within the Facility" | No laying things out in corridors, yards or car parks to show them |
| 14 | "Only You or Your Agents may access the Unit. You are responsible for and liable to Us and other users of the Facility for Your own actions and those of Your Agents." | Anyone you bring is your responsibility |
| 16 | "You should not leave a key with or permit access to the Unit to any person other than Your own Agent who is responsible to You and subject to Your control. If You do so, it is at Your own risk." | Only let in people you can answer for |
Facebook Marketplace and eBay buyers collecting
You can sell things you've got in storage. The sale just can't happen at the unit. A routine that works within our terms:
- Photograph and measure the item in your unit.
- List it with your home or another handover place as the collection point.
- When it sells, collect the item from your unit yourself, normally between 6am and 10pm (check your site's page and confirm your hours when you book), and take it off site.
- Hand it over at your home, the buyer's home, or a busy public place.
For eBay items that are posted, pack and send them as you normally would. Whether you can pack orders in the unit is a separate question, covered in can I pack orders in my storage unit?
Can the buyer meet me at the site?
Not to browse, view, try out or pay at the unit. Our pick-pack guide says a unit can't be used "as a shopfront where customers come to browse or collect", so routine collections from your unit are out. A one-off collection of something already sold, where you meet the buyer and oversee it, is fine: it's the kind our inherited belongings guide describes for estates (see the executors section below). If you'd like to bring something you've already taken out of your unit to a buyer waiting at the site entrance or car park, our terms don't say either way, so ask us before you arrange it. That is a handover of something already sold, not a viewing or a try-out: clause 22(b) covers the whole site. Until you hear from us, hand over away from the site. If you sell regularly, ask us where a one-off collection ends and a routine one begins; this page doesn't set that line.
Can a courier or man-and-van collect from my unit?
Yes, as an arranged collection, but someone from your side has to be at the unit while a removals crew or courier is loading or unloading: you, or a friend, relative or colleague you've given their own access. Our sites don't take in deliveries, and our guides are clear that "a removals crew cannot be left to load into the unit without you". Anyone you give access to is your responsibility under our terms (clauses 14 and 16). Our guide for executors says the same when a removal firm collects: "someone from your side must be present to let them in and oversee the collection". Ask us about van access at your site too.
Garage sales and clearance sales
No. A garage-style sale, yard sale or "open day" at your unit isn't storage (clause 22), would bring visitors and cars onto the site, which may be a nuisance to other customers (22(b)), and usually means setting things out in shared space (22(g)). Our business guide says the same for any business: "no retail display, no signage at the unit entrance, and no inviting customers or clients to visit."
If you're clearing a house, the unit is a good place to hold things while you decide. When you're ready to sell, bring the sale items back out and sell them from home, at a car boot sale, through an auction house, or online. For deciding what to keep, see should I store furniture, sell it or give it away?
This page doesn't cover selling bulky items after you've moved out, or a friend handing over sold items for you while you're away, so call us on 0800 2545585 before you arrange either.
Traders: showing stock to a client or trade buyer
Our guides are clear that a unit isn't a showroom. The business guide says "If your business model involves customers coming to you, a storage unit is not the right space for that part of the operation", and the craft-fair guide adds "No retail sales from the unit. No card readers taking payments at the door. No conducting client meetings in the space." The business guide also says this reflects the planning use of storage sites; that's the guide's view, not a ruling on your business.
So take samples to the client, and if you think your case is different, ask us first. For the same reason, routine trade collections from your unit are out: our pick-pack guide (quoted above) rules out a "shopfront where customers come to browse or collect". A one-off arranged collection you oversee is fine. Related rules are in can I use my storage unit as a business address? and can I use my storage unit as a workshop?
Executors and house-clearance firms: collecting from a unit
If you're an executor, or selling a relative's things for them, the same rules apply: the unit is in your name, and "or allow any other person to" in clause 22 means you can't let anyone else sell from it either.
Handing items to family isn't a sale. Our guide for executors says that once distribution is properly authorised, "You can meet the beneficiary at the unit at a time that suits a long drive, or release the specific items to them in person", keeping a dated, signed record. Our executors guide says "Nothing gets sold or given away before the Grant is issued." Our inherited belongings guide adds that whether you can sell "depends on your authority as executor and the stage of the administration, and it is one for the estate's solicitor rather than for us".
When items do leave, the same guide says any "buyer, house-clearance firm, or auction collector who needs to take items away has to be met by you or someone you authorise, who opens up with smart entry and oversees the collection." It suggests you "authorise a trusted person on the account if you cannot always be there yourself". Our house clearance guide says a valuer, an auctioneer or a specialist can see the goods in "one secure, dry place that can be visited on a planned date", with the executor or a nominated representative present "to open up and be there during the visit". It also says: "If a clearance firm or removals team is making a delivery to a unit, someone from the customer's side needs to be present". Bring ID for everyone: clause 14 says "We may (but are not obliged to) require proof of identity from You or any other person at any time and, at Our sole discretion, may refuse access to the Facility to any person who is unable to produce satisfactory proof." The same route applies to other sellers: be there or send someone you authorise.
Is it safe to let a buyer onto the site?
Our rules protect you here as well as other customers. A buyer who comes to the site sees where your unit is, what's in it and how the site works. Clause 15 lets us refuse access "if We consider the safety or security of any person, Unit or Goods on or at the Facility has been threatened or may be put at risk". Our terms define an agent as anyone "who you authorise, or who accompany you, to access the Unit", so a buyer who walks in with you would count as yours, and clause 14 makes you liable for what they do.
Never share your smart entry access with a buyer. Access of their own is for people you trust to act for you: see can I share access to my storage unit?
Already arranged a collection at your unit?
If the buyer was coming to view or pay at the unit, change the collection point before the day: bring the item out and meet them elsewhere. If they are collecting something already sold, be there to meet them and oversee it, or send someone you've given access. If a plan does cross the line, clause 41 says: "In the event of illegal or environmentally harmful activities on Your part or a breach of this Agreement (which, if it can be put right, You have failed to put right within 14 days of a request from Us to do so), We may terminate the Agreement immediately by notice." If you're unsure whether a plan counts, call us on 0800 2545585.
Storing what you're selling
A unit works well as a holding room while things are listed. To find a site, see our locations, or get a price online.
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