What we do when an order goes wrong, told through 50 abandoned parcels, one set of false teeth and a customer called Karen.

Things go wrong sometimes. It’s what you do next that counts. This is the story of what we did next, featuring a lot of 50 abandoned envelopes, a TikTok review, two full refunds and one very determined reseller.

The abandoned parcels unboxing

Back in March, a customer filmed herself opening one of our job lots of 50 abandoned envelopes. These are genuine undelivered parcels, still sealed and sent exactly as we get them from a UK fulfilment centre. Nobody, us included, knows what’s inside.

The first thing out was a set of false teeth. Then came personalised Christmas decorations with other people’s names on, a penguin keyring, a cat keyring, pumpkin seed oil, vitamins, stickers, an Italian charm bracelet and a keyring that had something to do with protein. After a dozen or so items, she’d had enough.

Honestly? Fair enough. We’d have wobbled at the teeth.

Two days later

We messaged her. Not to argue: we’d watched the video too, and we weren’t impressed either.

There was a reason for all the Christmas stuff. Undelivered parcels take six to eight weeks to find their way back to the fulfilment centre, so her batch was basically a time capsule of the nation’s missing Christmas presents. Abandoned parcels have seasons, and in March it’s still Christmas.

We gave her three options: a full refund once the lot came back, a replacement lot from the next batch, or keeping it with half her money back. She went for the refund, so we sorted the return and paid her postage.

She had a point

She also had a fair point about our listing. Our website has a box that works out “potential profit” automatically from the RRP. On a pallet of branded trainers, that’s handy. On 50 sealed envelopes that nobody on Earth has looked inside, it’s about as reliable as a horoscope. It said £175.

So the same day we messaged her, we changed it. Our website insists on showing that box, so on sealed mystery lots it now says £0.00. That’s not because there’s no profit to be had. It’s because £0.00 is the only number nobody can argue with. What we do know is that most envelopes land somewhere between 10p and £30 at retail, and the fun is in finding out which.

The comment section

Her comment section had opinions too. A few people reckoned we open the parcels first and keep the good stuff. (We don’t. Keep reading.) And one sharp-eyed viewer spotted that the protein keyring is really a protein-powder funnel that sells for £7 or more. Even the comment section found value in that box. We love the comment section.

What was really in the abandoned parcels

When the envelopes came back, we went through every item and sent her the breakdown. We agreed it wasn’t our best lot, and that the personalised bits made it look worse than it was. But here’s what else was in there:

• NFC smart ring
• Rechargeable RGB LED light kit
• Qi wireless charging pad
• Tactical MOLLE dump pouch
• Dog training collar
• Balaclava
• Magnetic strategy game
• Canvas wall art
• Titanium body jewellery
• One hippo ornament that someone, somewhere, is presumably still waiting for

At the low end, it added up to about £442 at retail, with a realistic resale value of around £238 if you put the time in. The full contents list is still on the listing.

And to anyone who thinks we keep the good stuff: if we did, an NFC smart ring wouldn’t have been sitting in that box.

The £150 abandoned parcels challenge

So we relisted that exact lot, fully opened, with every item listed, for £75 + VAT. Then we added one rule our accountant still hasn’t forgiven us for:

Sell £150 or more from this lot, show us the proof, and we’ll refund you in full.

Genuine completed sales only, screenshots required. No selling the lot to your nan.

Enter Karen

Karen took us on. She listed the items across different selling platforms and chipped away at it.

On 4 July, her email landed: “I have finally sold just over £150”. Her total was £150.13. She still had stock left, and she sent 34 images to prove it.

Thirteen pence. We have never been so pleased to be proved right by 13p.

Did she make £175? No, and we’re not going to pretend otherwise. But she turned a £75 + VAT box into £150.13 of sales, with stock to spare. Then we refunded her in full, exactly as promised. Karen’s a repeat customer too, which we’re choosing to read as a review in itself.

That’s two full refunds on one box of envelopes. Our accountant would like a word.

The point of all this

Abandoned parcels are a lucky dip, and we’ll never pretend otherwise. Some envelopes hold a smart ring and some hold somebody’s teeth.

But if something goes wrong with your order, tell us. We’ll look at it properly, be honest about what we find and sort it out. That might be a refund, a replacement or something we haven’t thought of yet. There’s always a way to put it right.

Fancy your chances?

Our sealed lots of 50 abandoned envelopes are on the site now, and you can watch us open parcels on TikTok at @wholesaleclearanceuk. Found something brilliant (or a hippo)? We’d love to hear about it.

Karl, Wholesale Clearance UK