Storage Bored

Didn't have anything to do yesterday morning, so I decided to go to one of those stroage locker auctions. It started at 10 AM so I thought I better call them and find out how many they had up for sale. The lady I talked to on the phone said there was a dozen or so. That made me want to go since I thought it would take a little while to go through that many units. I met a friend of mine there about 9:30 or so and there is about four groups of people. By the time the auction starts, there is about 9 or 10.

The guy goes over the rules of the auction (just like on TV) and says there is only six units up for bids. WHAT????? They tell everyone that some people paid off their units and they were pulled out of the sale. One guy drove over from Illionis, (I know where he said he was from and it was about a 50 mile, one way trip) and he was pissed. He said out loud that he was there at 8:30 and didn't see anyone go into the office except the people that were there for the auction. I don't know if the lady lied about the number of units up for sale to drive up the number of people to attend the auction, or if that the units were really paid off. I'll know to take this grain of salt for the next auction.

FIRST UNIT. The door opens and it's....... crap. A big unit with a little bit of junk in it. One half way looking dresser in it but that's about it. Sold... $30. SECOND UNIT. Same thing. Sold $10. This is the stuff they edit out of the program.

THIRD UNIT. Much better (anything had to be better that the first two). Smaller unit but filled with boxes. I see old newspapers inside those ziplock bags with the plastic things across the top. This tells me that there is things this guy collected and wanted to take care of. There was also a large sheet of glass in the front of the unit. I tell my friend that, more that likely there was a table behind the boxes. He asks me how I would know this. I tell him, "Why would you save just a single sheet of glass if it didn't belong with something else". The glass was put in the unit last so it wouldn't break. They start the auction at $200. $150. $100. $50. Finally a guy bids $20 and off we go. Quickly goes back over $100. Now we're at $200. $225. $240. $250. $275 SOLD (Not to me). The one guy that I had been standing next to the entire auction was the last man out of the bidding. I was hoping he would get the unit because I was hoping he would let me see what was in there.

FOURTH UNIT. Back to the crap. An old carpet, a table, a clear storage tub, and a metal box. Well, might as well get my feet wet. He starts the bidding at $100. $75. $50. $25. I say $10 and off we go. I set myself a limit of $40. Someone bids $15. $20 (me) $25. $30 (me). $35. $40 (me). $50. Ok, I'm out. Sold $50.

FIFTH UNIT. Crap again. Old couch, beat up dresser, and other little junk. SOLD $25

SIXTH UNIT (last one)!!!!! The door to this big unit flies open and it's one of those "Little Old Lady" units. Bags and bags and bags and bags and............. Well you get the idea. There was 300+ of these trash bags in the unit. In the front of the unit, off to the sides, were stacks of old phone books, about 30 of them. Everyting in the unit was covered in dust. I get to looking and I see the same thing I saw in the third locker. Newspapers in side the ziplock bags. This tells me that there could be something in there worth some money. The only problem is, you have to empty the unit within three days when you buy it and sweep it out. They won't let you use their dumpster to get rid of the trash either. I have no way in the world to get rid of the junk if I buy this unit so I pass. Now the auctioneer knows that he wasted his time at this place. He isn't making squat, so he starts pumping up the unit REALLY HARD. He starts telling everyone that he bought a locker a long time ago that looked like this one that had a bunch of old coins in it and someone might get lucky if they were to buy this one. Oooooookkkk. He starts the bidding at $250. ??????? You've got to be kidding. $200. $150. $100. $75. Someone shouts $10. He looks dumbfounded. He stops for a few seconds and takes the bid. It goes up $5 at a time and finally sells for $80.

All in all, it was kind of neat. I knew that it would be nothing like the TV show. It's kind of like the poker shows on ESPN. They edit out the uneventful stuff and just show you the highlights.I'll go to another one one of these days, but only if I don't have anything else to do.

Ray

I know you are still wondering what was in those two mysterious units and if you let a fortune slip through your fingers.

I've never understood those storage units because I could buy new crap with the money I'd spend storing my old crap for a few months.

I just wonder, since everyone tries to get the units as cheap as they can, lets say you want to spend, at the most, $200 on a unit. If the auction starts at a certin price, say $300, and starts to drops down to $250, then $200, go ahead and bid $100 or so and see if anyone bids. The lower you let it drop, the more people will chime in later. I noticed it yesterday. People that wouldn't bid at $50 would go over $200 like they did on the third locker. I wonder what would have happened if someone would have bid $125 early, what it would have gone for.

Thats really cool you went to one of those. I've thought about it and even looked up a few auctions happening,never did it tho. I know that me and a few million other people watch one of those shows as well(wife and i like storage wars,one with dave ,darrell and others.),so i never actually got up the gumption to do it altho i still might go to one local to check it out. I need something to get into to.

Thanks for the first hand experience,i really enjoyed it.

JOHN

My friend was buying units when she was unemployed. Almost every unit would require at least one dump run if not more. She quit after a bunch of idiots that watch the shows and think they'll get rich started running the prices up too high. Units she used to get for about 50-75 bucks started going for several hundred dollars. It was a lot of work but she usually doubled her money.

there is a TV show about this stuff?

If there is, some idiot TV exec will screw it up and it will go off the air.

Ray

That TV show has ruined these types of auctions. You used to be able to get good deals and now you have to compete with inexperienced bidders who are paying way too much. I used to go to them and made a meager amout of money but it has gotten out of hand with people who think they are gonna get rich doing it. It is fun but it really has turned into a mess IMO.

I'm not going to go crazy over these things. If and when I go back, I will NOT blow a bunch of money on any of these things. One guy on the show said he already quit his job, and rented a store. Boy, is is he in for a rude awakeining.

Ray

I have a friend that owns a storage company, been to a few auctions. I went to the first one they ever had and bought a unit.

My unit was 1 of 3 that someone defaulted on. I paid $250 for the unit cause it had a brand new, still in the plastic king size bed and box spring. Afterwards when I went through the unit I found another twin size bed in the plastic, some other furniture and a bunch of crap.

My unit had the matching drawers for the dresser in the other 2 boxes that a thrift store guy bought, a mirror for the dresser that was in one of his units and some other stuff that went with his other stuff.

I sold that stuff and the twin size bed to him for $250.

So I kept the bed that was worth $1500+, returned the pictures/crap artwork back to Walmart (they sill had the UPC codes on them) for another $75, a mini fridge sold for $50 on craigslist and i kept all the rest of the stuff that I didn't sell. I even sold my old bed for $150 on Craigslist.

My friend told me that one unit had over $600 in change in one of those 5 gallon water jugs, the guy who defaulted on the unit only owed around $300 on it!

He also told me the guys that go to prison or jail and default on their boxes/units usually have some good shit in them so do a little research. Look up the names of the defaulters and do a little Google searching on them.