barbkeith
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posted on August 30, 2001 09:38:08 AM
Has anyone ever been to a public auction at one of those self-storage places where if you don't pay your rent they auction your stuff. I've never been but there is one tomorrow in my area and I'm thinking about going. Any advice? Think maybe I'll find a treasure or junk? Barbara
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avaloncourt
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posted on August 30, 2001 09:41:17 AM
I've never been to one but I'd guess if someone was willing to pay $50-100 per month to store something, they must have thought it had some value.
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capotasto
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posted on August 30, 2001 10:02:35 AM
I have been to them.
You have to bid on the whole container, and don't get too much chance to look inside. But this keeps the bids low.
Go, you'll learn something and maybe get a deal.
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AuctionPulse
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posted on August 30, 2001 10:06:06 AM
It is worth the trip! But...you have to bid on the whole unit and bring a flashlight. They usually just give you a quick peek into to unit - you can't go in them. Also they make you clear out the entire contents or they fine you - at least around here. Let us know if you go!
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exexec
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posted on August 30, 2001 10:44:25 AM
Been there...Done that!
They can be a dream come true or your worst nightmare. Be careful of buying a unit with washers/dryers/large appliances. In my area, you have to pay someone to haul them away! As previous posters have already stated, you can't enter the unit or "touch" anything. Bring a good flashlight and try to look over and around to see what is behind what is stacked in front. I have always made money on the units I've bought but have also paid to have a lot of stuff hauled to the dump. I once bought a unit half-filled with neatly stacked U-Haul boxes. They were all empty! I guess the person who defaulted on the unit rent is still having a good laugh over that one.
Good Luck!
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spittingcamel
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posted on August 30, 2001 10:51:37 AM
Also bring a step stool if you have one, it makes it easier to see over the stuff in front. Be prepared to move alot of stuff fast. They usually only give you a few days to get the stuff out before they start charging you.
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rarriffle
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posted on August 30, 2001 11:36:18 AM
I have been to two different types.
One type is how everyone else says, you buy the whole lot with 3 minutes to look and cannot enter the shed or touch any items.
The other type is a regular type auctiona and items are sold a piece or box at a time, my favorite kind.
It really depends on the auctioneer.
You can get some really good deals at this kind of sale. Good luck
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iluvladybugs
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posted on August 30, 2001 12:11:42 PM
I went to one a few weeks ago. TONS of good stuff. I had to make 2 trips to get everything home!
The one I went to they had everything out on tables & sold individually.
There were lots of lamps, beds, desks, sewing machines, and enough Christmas decoration to last a lifetime!
I got a lot of kitchen items.
I was hoping for maybe a new in the box barbie from 20 years ago, or some rare books, but I wasn't THAT lucky. Still its a lot of fun to see what people put in storage.
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MrsSantaClaus
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posted on August 30, 2001 12:47:13 PM
I went to one - I was looking for a couch and a loveseat - so I bought that one locker. For about $100 I got the following:
couch - loveseat - lotsa D&D books - lotsa Star Wars stuff - clothing - stereo system - Super Nintendo system + games -
AND A WHIP 
Becky
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vvalhalla
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posted on August 30, 2001 02:15:56 PM
You can keep all the stuff but would you send me the whip. It has sentimental value to me.(insert smile)
dendude
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sonsie
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posted on August 30, 2001 02:16:31 PM
What's considered a "low bid" on an individual locker full of stuff? I haven't looked into this locally, but I know there are several self-storage places around here with fairly tiny units (5' x 10' or so). I have no idea what would be a reasonable bid on something that size if I had to buy the whole contents.
Also, I wonder if, when you purchase the locker contents, you could just pay a month's rent (which around here is really cheap) and give yourself more time to sort through the stuff?
As you can tell, I am totally uninformed on this and looking forward to learning.
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rarriffle
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posted on August 30, 2001 04:30:17 PM
sonsie,
I went to one where the first locker went for $40.00. looked like nothing but trash to me, been there about 20 years.
Second locker went for $450.00. still looked like trash that had been there about 20 years. 2 dealers were in a cat fight for it because they some very old dressers that I did not evan notice.
third locker went for $185.00. looked as though someone was setting up housekeeping, as clean as a pin.
you just never know.
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buyhigh
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posted on August 30, 2001 04:43:54 PM
I would imagine it would be a crap shoot based on what I have seen at so-called swap meets here where the venders sell storage contents which heve been auctioned off for non-payment of rent. I saw one guy open up a bunch of boxes all of which contained syringes which he was not allowed to sell. I also heard where one individual bought a whole unit for a sizable bit of cash only to find the boxes all contained blank copying paper. Then there are the people who store all their old financial records, letters and family photos and little else of value to anyone else but them. Should think you would also need a cheap site for dumping all the stuff that is not salable.
buyhigh
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hwahwahwahwa
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posted on August 30, 2001 06:36:31 PM
a neighbor of mine who is a junk dealer rented a self storage hoping to get back into action somedat,well he cant come up with the money for rent,so his stuff would be auctioned off.
so figure it could belong to an ebay dealer
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flynlizards
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posted on August 30, 2001 06:46:14 PM
True, you can get some real bargains-- or hazardous waste (partially full paint cans, etc.) Mentioned earlier, take a flashlight to see back into those dark corners. One unit looked like just empty boxes & a kiddie pool to all but the one with a flashlight-- he got a nice rifle sitting back in the corner for a buck!
If there is any way possible to make friends with some of the folks who own the storage buildings earlier, do so. They have a pretty good idea what are in the units and can tip you off to some of the better "hidden" units.
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seyms
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posted on August 30, 2001 07:41:54 PM
2 stories about these auctions. First auction was a large bin of car/truck engines. The only bid was $1. Second story was $200 bid for apx $4,000 worth of photographic stuff.
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finelydone
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posted on August 30, 2001 08:30:36 PM
My sister went to one of these auctions. Paid $16 for one unit, and $150 for another. In the $16 unit was a collection of "Franklin Library" leather/gold books (approx. 35 of them). She put them up as a set and got $475.00 for them. That was great to more than double her cost with just the one item.
I'd like to find a bargain like that!!!
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MrsSantaClaus
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posted on August 30, 2001 08:37:18 PM
Walhalla, hon ~
Your lube bottle was only about 1/4 full ... and although your handcuffs were fine ... one of the leg cuffs seems to be broken.
You got some 'splainin to do
Do they have sentimental value too 
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ttrove
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posted on August 30, 2001 10:31:34 PM
I use to work for a auction which purchased
over a dozen of these a week. There is some great stuff but you would not belive some of what people store. Our dump bill ran over $150 per week hauling the garbage off. True we often got great furniture, jewerly and antiques but we also hauled literal tons of garbage, personal papers, photos, unsellable clothes, dirty dipers and enought porn and sex toys to open a sex store (although this might just make some people rush right out to buy for the toys). As others have stated, it is a crap shoot. You win some and you lose some. If you have a place to store and sort you might do OK, but you have to do much digging to find the hidden gold amongst the junk. All I can say is to be careful, read between the lines. If you see boxes from moving companies it is a good sign, if the boxes are from the corner liquer store figure that they had to get them somehow even if they had to empty them first. Good Luck and happy hunting.
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chococake
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posted on August 31, 2001 10:04:46 AM
This is the only way that I buy. There are several old threads here, and the RT with some good tips about this business.
If you hit a good one cheap when you're just starting out it's mostly luck. Most of the people bidding are professional's and we've been doing it for years, so we know what to look for. You have to be careful if the bidding is very low because we usually have a pretty good feel by what we see in those few minutes. Sometimes if no one is bidding we'll take a shot for a few bucks. Here they go for $200 to $500 on average. We've bid up to $2000.
If you're willing to take a chance, work hard, and get dirty it's a great business! Good luck and have fun with it if you're only going to do it once in awhile. If you want to do it full time like us it will take you about two years to learn the game.
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llama_lady
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posted on August 31, 2001 10:15:18 AM
There is a local auction I attend and they have storage once in a while. I like it that he sells it a piece at a time. What truly amazes me are the contents. Brand new expensive bikes, big screen tvs, collectibles, etc and sometimes junk. If it were my storage and I wasn't going to pay, I would take everything out and then not pay. I work hard for my money and I am not going to give away my things so easily.
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chococake
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posted on August 31, 2001 10:28:51 AM
Most of the owners don't know they will be unable to pay their rent. They can still pay for their unit up until the minute it goes up for auction. Sometimes they're out trying to get the money up until that time.
There are many reasons for non payment. Illness, jail, even death. Last week we bought a unit that belonged to a 24 year old guy that died. His family only wanted personal papers and pictures back, but didn't want any of the other stuff. It was very sad. A lot of people don't like this business because you are gaining on the misfortune of others.
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barbkeith
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posted on August 31, 2001 10:56:13 AM
Well, just wanted to let everyone know that I went and didn't even stay. They were supposed to be auctioning 5 of them and 3 people came up with the money. The remaining 2 had what looked like yard sale stuff to me. No wonder they didn't bother paying for it. The did take the stuff out so you could look through it though. They even opened the sealed boxes so you could look through them. Maybe I'll have better luck next time.
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