posted on August 18, 2004 09:23:38 PM
I bid on and won a lot a few years back. A ham radio buddy of mine was the manager and he tipped me off as to what was in there. I did great. Got a 12' satellite dish, camcorder and a bunch of goodies. A lot of it I kept, sold enough to get my $200.00 bid back and trashed the junk. This was before Ebay. I was mainly after the satellite dish, or I wouldn't have bid. The big problem is, if it's packed tight, you can only see what's next to the door. You have to make a judgement as to the quality of what you can't see, by what you can see. Try to get as much information beforehand from the manager as to why the renter defaulted. Was it a divorce, death, jail sentence, or deadbeat? Did they indicate there was anything of value when they were notified of the default and auction, or did they ignore the final notice? How much of an effort did the renter make to try to prevent the sale? Most of the time, the stuff is junk, but once in awhile due to circumstances beyond the owners control, some real treasures pop up.
The only auctions I'm interested in anymore are unclaimed storage from moving and storage companies. I don't fool with the mini-storage units anymore.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on August 18, 2004 09:23:51 PM
I missed a big sale a couple of weeks ago. A storage company had 8 that were up for sale. But to early for me viewing was between 8:30 & 9:30. I have heard there could be some great things but then again I know there are ones that are a bust.
posted on August 18, 2004 09:26:03 PM
Hello!!!!!!!!! trai! you make me feel like partyin'........you makew me feel like, partyin' wanna party the night away.........Man I remember the BIG Guns,,,hhahahaha. smoke em''''''burn baby burn,,,,disco inferno........
posted on August 18, 2004 09:30:29 PM
Forgot to add, Jack..When you go to one, be sure to take your truck. Even if you don't buy anything, you can make a bundle hauling things for the suckers that show up in a Volkswagen and buy a king size bedroom set
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on August 18, 2004 09:37:29 PM
I've noticed more of these advertised in my area and I'd be interested in going to some.
How much of a viewing do you get and if it's packed full do they put the better stuff up front? Do they have a partial list of what's inside each one to show you?
Do they go through it all first and then start it at a certain bid or how does it work?
posted on August 19, 2004 05:49:42 AM
Oooowhee ... been to several of these and have always really liked them.
The ones we've been to, any units you won, you have to give the office clerk $50 security deposit, and you have 2 or 3 days to completely unload and clean out the storage unit (then they give you your $50 back).
The auctioneer marches to each unit on the 'unpaid units' list, opens up the door, and all of us get to take a quick look-see as to what's inside ... you can poke around inside a little bit IF it's not packed to the gills, (if it IS packed to the max, we all just stand there and LOOK and say 'oh my god' LOL) ... ... and then, with all of us standing outside the door, he auctions it off (not item per item; you bid on the whole contents of the unit) ... it's often a real gamble, because a lot of the stuff packed away inside boxes is just worthless stuff, and if you buy a unit, you HAVE to clear out everything in there ... the bid prices end quite cheap, but it is a task clearing it all out ....
once in great while, but not often, if there looks like several decent and worthwhile things inside, he will ask the crowd if anyone would like to have him pull out just one item to bid on exclusively, then auction the rest of the unit as a whole. ...
Out of all of the estate auctions and sales we've ever gone to, the best (profit wise) auction we ever won, was a storage unit ... we all knew it contained stuff just a bit more 'special' than all the other units that day, with a few so-so antique furniture pieces, and a box of very old, very broken dolls ... i had noticed in one box i'd peeked into, was filled with paper dolls, and that made me want that unit ... i wanted it BAD!! ... i had just heard recently that paper dolls were real collectable ... ... so he tried to start out the unit with a real big number (because of the antique furniture) and he kept touting that we "all know this stuff here is a bit more special than all the other units we just went through ... good money to be made here ..." ... all the units that day so far, had gone for an average of around $30 bid, with bidding starting up at $5 ... well, when his barking on this lot came down to the word "$200", I shot my bidder card up in the air ... i could hear the gasps behind me ... they're all thinkin' 'jeez, no one buys a unit of box lot junk for $200!', and the auctioneer tries to pull more bids out of the group, saying "see? they know this stuff is great ... gimme $250... 225 ... 210?" .... no other takers ... woohoo! ...
Over the next couple months, through ebaying, I sold the paper dolls collection (there were 3 or 4 big boxes of paper dolls) for around $3,500 and the other 'stuff' in there brought us around $1,500. ...
that unit also had a lot of craft supplies, not-special clothing, and a lot of unintersting things, that we took to goodwill ...
Do *we* like storage unit auctions ... yep! ... we only bid on units that we see we can make 'some' money on, when weighing in the factor of the amount of time we're going to spend clearing it out and disposing of the stuff we don't want.
posted on August 19, 2004 06:37:09 AM
Good Morning All,
This thread made me LOL! Just yesterday we went to our storage unit to get the box for a computer printer that we were sending in for some repair. As I stood in the doorway and looked into our unit I remembered a thread about buying storage units. I understood that buyers often got to only look in the door before bidding. The unit was rented to hold some custom built optical equipment that cost us a lot but would be of little use to any one else. This equipment was buried under a mountain of boxes for computers, printers, monitors, collectibles, flat screen TV, electronics, etc. That is what they are BOXES, empty boxes, all of which my husband keeps in case he needs them. If someone bought it based on the boxes it would be a BIG disappointment.
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
posted on August 19, 2004 07:00:18 AM
Over the years I have been to and bought lots and lots of storages, not just through the auction process either. I got to know all the storage managers in my area and sometimes they would just call me and i'd go take a look, give them a price, they'd accept my price and it was mine.
The ones that are auctioned off go through pretty much the same process as Sparkz and Aaintrichyet said but I have learned some things that you should watch out for and be aware of before bidding. I got to know a couple of storage managers very well and one told me one time that as a storage manager after a couple of years on the job if you didn't have every tool that you ever wanted in your own workshop then you weren't paying attention. What he meant was that EVERY storage manager picks through the storages and takes stuff out and keeps it. Yes I know, they aren't supposed to do that and in some areas you will be told it's against the law..... and I have some swamp land in Floriduh I want to sell you.
What you should look for when they throw the door open and just before the auction starts is look at the boxes, bags and all the stuff inside and try to ascertain how much of the dust has been disturbed. This can give you an idea of how much the manager picked through it. Look for footprints in the dust on the floor for the same reason.
When the auction starts the auctioneer will always start out with a high price. Just stay quiet and he will say a lower price if no one speaks up, or you yourself can always say a lower price and then the bidding will start from there.
Bring a couple of locks with you, a broom and a pad of paper and a pen for writing down your won storage units. Also don't forget to ask the manager for a temporary gate code and if you can use theit dumpster for some of the smaller stuff. Think how you are going to haul all that stuff off before you bid. Do I really want to haul 14 mattresses to the dump just for whatever is in 5 boxes.
If you get into it and go regularly you will seem to always see the same people at each auction and learn their bidding habits. Oh yeah one more thing watch out for shills and if they use one I wouldn't bid.
Boy oh boy the stories I could tell about what i've found in storages.
Have fun and good luck but you can probably bet that there won't be any gold doubloons or spanish armor in the storage auctions but then you just never do know.
posted on August 19, 2004 07:15:08 AM
LOL photosen ... yes that WOULD be a shock ... especially if some of the upfront easy to peek into boxes DID have some goods in them ... the bidding might just go crazy if they thought it was a whole bunch of valuable equipment in those boxes in the back!
Hi yellowstone ... you're right, chances are, there won't be terribly rare things inside ... but sometimes, there are! One incredible thing we found literally buried in the paperdoll storage unit, was an oversized book printed when U.S.Grant was finishing his term, which fanfolded out to a 21-foot long colorful timeline of history ... it was awesome. ... we enjoyed looking it over for a couple years, then sold it just recently for $500
{sigh}, this makes me wanna go to some more storage auctions ... SOON! LOL
posted on August 19, 2004 08:03:21 AM
I have purchased 100s of storage units over the years. I no longer go because all of them around me are set up or go so high that you can't make any money off them. There use to be one near me that cut the lock when the auction started and I won one for $200.00 that I made over $5,000.00 on. Sorry to say in my area those days are gone.
Now at the few legit sales all the local auctioneers are there fighting over them and paying way to much for something you have not seen to outbid them. The problem is they have all seen what is in them because they get to come the day before and look. If you are buying quite a few you can get them to let you do this too. It is hard to get on this list unless you buy a lot of units.
The other thing I have seen a lot of is units that are set up to look good. Most sales you can only look but not go inside. A friend of mine won one for $1,200.00 that looked great. Right in front was an antique desk and one drawer was open about 2 inches and you could see it was full of jewlery. A few other nice looking things and then boxes to the roof so you could not see anything inside of this 10'x 20' unit.
When he started to haul out the stuff it was all junk. Even the antique desk had the top destroyed and the jewlery was broken pieces of cheap stuff. Behind the rows of boxes full of clothes was broken junk furniture. He found $200.00 worth of sellable items and had to pay to dump the rest out of the $200.00 He lost about $1,100.00 plus his work on one unit.
My advice would be to go to some sales first and observe before bidding. I know in my area they are a good thing to stay away from.
posted on August 19, 2004 08:12:37 AM
All the talk about cheap auctions makes me wish I lived anywhere but Las Vegas!
I actually got up at 5AM to attend one of the storage unit sales about 3 years ago. The cheapest unit went for $350 and all it had in it was a few boxes in the back with tools.
OK tools may be worth more. I don't know, but they were dirty and heavy and I had no need for them. And, the units with boxes went for $800 and up so I went back home, went to bed and gave up on those type sales!
posted on August 19, 2004 09:01:31 AM
Hello Jack! I'm doing fine and keeping very busy ........ hope all is well with you. This is a good topic.
Thanks for the info everyone, I love reading about others experiences. I was curious as to whether the contents had been picked through so thanks for posting all of that, Yellowstone. I'm sure it would be too good a temptation for any storage manager to pass up.
Since I have dreams of finding treasure I'd like to find a unit previously owned by a lady who collected finer china, dolls, and lots of jewelry but I know that's unrealistic. I've purchased many estates over the years so I know all about how much work it is to get rid of all the junk. With so many people buying and selling nowadays it's getting more difficult to find the good things.
Maybe if I find time I'll go to a few and see if I know any of the crowd or dealers that show up there and I'll observe how they bid.
Edited to add that if you do a search for tips on buying for storage unit auctions you'll find lots of e-books on how to get rich buying and selling all those contents.
posted on August 19, 2004 12:03:31 PM
I have won 3 different storage locker auctions and made out like a bandit each time. Make sure that they are the type where they cut the lock just before the auction for the sneak peek. Had one auction house that went in the day before and took out everything of value and then the next day did the auction. All of the units up for auction had no locks on them and it showed that they were crooked. My favorite was one where I bought the locker and found a box full of purses. I thought "Oh great, more trash!" Then went through them back at my store and found enough cash to cover both the auction and my lunch and still have some left over. I ended up taking the purses to another auction and getting $5 for the box full. I wish you the best of luck, just don't bid more than you can afford to loose.
Kevin
posted on August 19, 2004 05:25:33 PM
Be prepared to be up against heavy hitters with huge wades of cash and have no problem bidding you up and up and up.....
posted on August 21, 2004 12:47:23 PM
I've bought a few in the past. Expect junk, but finding 1 good item makes it worth it. Always lots of unopened boxes that might have something good. Most of the buyers seem to be flea market dealers.
posted on August 21, 2004 02:15:40 PM
Hello
Good thread with lots of good advise. I too have bought storage lockers contents and did well. Try to pick an area where people have a little money and buy stuff not trash. It is fun and additive so go slow.
posted on August 21, 2004 02:22:04 PM
Hello
Another area that may work well for you as it has done for me in the past, is Military base excess property sales. (Anyone can bid)If you live close to a military base, call the base property manager and ask about excess property sales and how to go about it. Some of my lifetime best buys were at those sales....David
posted on August 21, 2004 02:57:17 PM
Uh, maybe, David. Maybe not. The government tends not to let loose of some things until they are absolutely worn out and unfit for anything but scrap.
posted on August 21, 2004 06:21:37 PM
Hello
Yes, need to know what you are biding on, but that is true on everything. Yes items may be junk however there IS gold there once in a while. I have done well but not often at these sales. David
posted on August 21, 2004 06:42:36 PM
David,
Funny you should mention gold. A close friend of mine, who is now deceased, used to actively seek out some of the early mainframe computers from the Univac and early IBM days. Several of these he purchased at Government surplus auctions. You would be surprised at the amount of gold that was used in some of the very early computer circuit boards as well as (even to this day) in some of the high tech medical electronics. He had an acid vat and would mine the gold from this "junk". He did quite well at it. Much better than trekking up to the motherlode and trying to pan it out of the river.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on August 21, 2004 07:57:05 PM
I have taken a chance on 2 or 3 occasions. Never again!!nothing but junk. We have "Lien Sales every 2 weeks with maybe 50 to 75 boxes in stacks of 3 or 4 at so much a box. Anywhere from $3.oo to up to $12.oo a box. The auction house has contracts with several storage cos 7 picks up the stuff & sells it piece meal. Not awhole locker at a time.
Life Is Too Short To Drink Bad Wine
[ edited by sanmar on Aug 21, 2004 08:00 PM ]
[ edited by sanmar on Aug 21, 2004 08:04 PM ]
posted on August 21, 2004 08:40:08 PM
Sanmar,
The situation you describe is not the regular proceedure. Not only is it borderline illegal, it's only a matter of time until they run across a deadbeat renter with half a brain who has a lawyer who will take them to the cleaners, the storage company and the auction company both. And it won't be the first time it has happened.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on August 21, 2004 10:08:55 PM
Where I live the state has a law that governs the sale of property in storage lockers that reads something like this. After 5 days late with the rent the manager can lock out the owner of said storage unit.
After 30 days late the manager sends a certified, return receipt letter informing the owner that their lock will be cut in 15 days and then after 15 days without a response the manager cuts the lock and at that time inventories the contents. However, the inventory does not have to be real thorough, all it has to be is to count the number of boxes/bags, the number of pieces of furniture, Misc. items not boxed/bagged and if there are tools or something like that then they can just be refered to as tools without specifying each one. The contents of the boxes and bags do not have to be on the inventory.
Then nothing happens for 90 days total late days other than continuing to send late fee notice letters and acruing late fees along with the normal monthly rental fees. At 90 days late the manager sends another certified return receipt letter informing them that they have 30 days to pay their rent and all fees acrued or a lien will be placed on the contents and they will sold or otherwise disposed of to satisfy the lien.
The manager must also advertise in the local newspaper for 2 consecutive weeks at this time, the name of the person who's property it is, the unit number, a brief description of the contents and the date and time that the contents will be sold or otherwise disposed of to satisfy the lien.
When that date and time arrives the property then becomes the ownership of the storage facility to do with what they please. If the property is sold, the buyer buys it free of any liens or incumberances. This was written in to the law to protect the buyer from recieving stolen property if the previous owner had engaged in the illegal activity of stealing merchandise.
All in all it is a process that takes anywhere from 4 to 5 months until a sale actually goes through.
At any time during the process up to the sale date and time the owner of the property can stop the sale by paying his/her rent and all the fees incured in the sale process. Another thing that can happen is the owner can pay part of their rent and thus set back but not necessarilly stop the sale process. This can go on for years without ever bringing their account up to balance and the whole time never having access to their property because of the managers overlock.
