What actually sells from John Pye: 30 days of real hammer prices vs eBay

Updated 28 July 2026 · 2 min read · RedGem

Most "what to buy at auction" advice is vibes. This page is measurements. RedGem tracks every John Pye lot, records what each product actually hammers for, and compares it with real eBay sold prices for the same product. Below is a snapshot from the last 30 days: median closing prices across dozens of repeated lots, not one lucky example.

Two health warnings before the table. These are medians at the time of writing, and auction prices move as bidders learn; treat the pattern as the lesson, not the exact pounds. And the all-in cost of winning is roughly 1.5 times the hammer after buyer's premium and VAT, which is the number the verdict column uses.

The last 30 days, measured

Each row is a product that closed many times at John Pye in the last month. Hammer is the median winning bid we recorded; eBay is the median real sold price for that product; the verdict prices in fees and postage.

Product	Typical hammer	Sells on eBay	Closes seen	Verdict at 1.5x
Ninja Perfect Temperature Kettle	£15	≈£78	64	Strong. ≈£23 all-in against a £78 market.
Shark Klik n Flip Smartronic steam mop	£20	≈£50-£65	300+	Good. ≈£30 all-in; sells all year round.
Sony PS5 DualSense controller	£12	≈£40-£55	100+	Good, if tested. Returns can have stick drift; price the risk in.
Ninja Crispi portable cooking system	£26	≈£70	28	Good. ≈£39 all-in, parcel-sized.
Vax Dual Power carpet washer	£12	≈£76	19	Good, but bulky. Margin survives even courier costs.
Ninja dual-zone air fryer (7.6L)	£53	≈£107	19	Thin. ≈£80 all-in plus bulky postage leaves £15-£20.
Ninja Blast Max cordless blender	£95	≈£45	30	Avoid. The room pays double the eBay price.

The £95 blender problem

Look at that last row again. Thirty times in a month, someone at John Pye paid a median of £95 at the hammer, so roughly £145 all-in, for a blender that sells on eBay for about £45. That is not an unlucky bidder; that is a crowd bidding on brand recognition and a high RRP sticker instead of the sold column.

It's the clearest live example of the trap we teach in our Academy: famous is not the same as wanted. The room sees a premium brand and a £250 RRP. The data sees a saturated resale market. The data wins every time, it just wins quietly, a month later, when the listing finally sells.

The pattern behind the winners

The profitable rows share three traits: a brand people search for on eBay, deep sold history (dozens of real sales, not two), and a hammer price the room hasn't caught up with yet. The kettle is the perfect specimen: unglamorous, constantly returned, hammering at £15 against a £78 sold market.

Notice also what the winners are not: they are mostly not the biggest or most exciting items. Fridge-freezers and 9.5L air fryers look impressive and resell thin. Parcel-sized boring appliances are where the reliable margin lives.

How to use this (without waiting for next month's article)

This table is a snapshot of a moving market, generated from the same live data our members see priced on every lot: real eBay sold medians, the safe maximum bid after all fees, and demand signals like "441+ sold on eBay". The free plan unlocks one fully-valued deal every day.

If you'd rather do it by hand: pick a product you see repeatedly at John Pye, check its eBay sold listings (not asking prices), multiply your intended bid by 1.5, and only bid if the gap is still comfortably there. That discipline alone puts you ahead of the £95 blender crowd. RedGem is independent and not affiliated with John Pye.

Quick answers

Is this data real?

Yes. RedGem records the closing price of every John Pye lot it tracks and compares each product against real eBay sold listings. The table shows 30-day medians across repeated closes at the time of writing. Prices move; always check current sold listings before bidding.

What sells best from John Pye?

In our data: parcel-sized, brand-name household items with deep eBay sold history, such as Shark steam mops, Ninja kitchen appliances and games accessories. The best buys are usually the boring ones the room ignores.

What should I avoid at John Pye?

Anything where the room's excitement outruns the eBay sold price. In the last 30 days the clearest example was a premium cordless blender hammering at double its eBay resale value. Check the sold column before the brand name.