Thread: Went to an auction Saturday.

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Not a car auction, but one at a local self storage facility. I don't know if any of you have seen the two new shows on TV, one is called Storage Wars, and I forget the other name. They both deal with the same subject, people who go to auctions at these storage places and buy the entire contents of units where the renter has defaulted on his storage fees, so the storage place auctions off the contents to get the unit cleaned out and to get some money for the stuff inside.

First off all, let me say I NEVER like profiting at another persons misfortune. I realize someone has lost their possessions here, but if I don't buy it someone else will, and at least I go through their stuff and leave things like pictures and personal items with the owners of the facility, who try to get these back to the renter. This is the 3rd time I have done this. The first time was when I bought the Camaro ex drag car for $ 400 and scored probably $ 4000 worth of drivetrain and name brand racing parts on the 350 Chevy in it. The next time I paid $ 50 and got an electric cement mixer (sold it for $ 60) and 3 chain saws (still have them and need to see if they run so I can sell them)

This week I bid $ 300 and got a unit that contained a lot of household goods, but the reason I bid was I saw one box on the shelf that said "Summit Racing" on it, so I thought there might be some goodies in there. (There wasn't, I guess he kept those parts ) I did score a lot of good stuff that I think I can sell on Ebay and CraigsList. The downside is that you only have a day or two to clean it out completely, so yesterday I hauled 3 loads in my car, and today I rented a U Haul truck and got the rest.

Here is how it works. The place runs ads in the paper (by law) and specifys the time and date of the auction. You show up, sign in, and at the appointed hour everybody who shows up goes from one unit to another and bids on the stuff. The crowd is a mix of dealers and regular folks. They open each unit, one at a time, and you have 5 minutes to look in the door to see if anything catches your eye. You can not enter, or touch any of the stuff, you just look in with your flashlight and then decide if you want to bid.

They close the door and start the bidding right there. If you win, they take your number and at the end you go in and pay them, plus a deposit of something like $ 20-$40 that you get back if you leave the unit clean. They sometimes have cars and boats, and this one did, but they were so bad no one bid. There was one gigantic motor home that went, but it was also a no bid due to being so terrible.

The lady of the house in the unit I bought was evidently a collector of stuff, because lots of stuff was still in boxes, brand new. I am sorting through that right now, and already filled up a dumpster with stuff that was just household garbage. But I did get a nice patio set, some bar stools, fishing equipment, and too much stuff to list. I already had my first customer. My Son Don and his GF Taylor came by the shop and bought a gas weedwacker, some fishing stuff, a cooler, and more. He paid me $ 50 that I didn't want, but he insisted. I'll figure some way to get it back to him.

If you have never done this, try it. It is interesting to do, and you never know when you might score something really profitable in one of the units. In places like California there are so many people who move out of State and simply abandon their units that you can find these sales all over the place. Florida is having that happen too.

Anyway, here are some of the items I scored. I don't know a darned thing about any of them, but wil research them before I put them on Ebay or Craigslist.

Don

And a few more.................

Don,
Interesting post! I have seen that "other" show once (Auction Hunters??) and it is intriquing. I may have to watch the KC Star for details - I assume they list in the "Auctions" section of the want ads?

Yep, Roger, and you can also phone all the storage places in your area and ask if and when they hold these. Some will even put you on a mailing/emailing list to notify you before one happens. That is how I knew this one was coming up this past Saturday.

The last one I went to (where I bought the cement mixer unit) there was one 10 x 20 foot unit that was stacked to the ceiling with all Edsel parts..........fenders, doors, tail lights, dashboards, glass, steering wheels, bumpers, engine parts, and about a zillion pieces of chrome trim. It went for only $ 900 and I really considered buying it and selling the stuff on Ebay. BUT, I know very little about the various years and models of Edsels, so you would have to research and catalog each and every part. It also looked like a Herculean task to get everything out of there, especially in a day or two. I would have had to rerent the same unit from them and work out of there. But a guy could have made some serious money if he took his time and did it right.

Don

I have thought about going to some of those then the Tv shows started so I figured now everyone would start now. you can go to auctionzip dot com and find them there as well as other auctions.

Yep, that is exactly what is going to happen........people watch those shows and see them finding guns, money, cars, etc in there and think "I can do that." The sad truth is, most people who default are just poor working stiffs like you and me, and don't have those kinds of things laying in storage buildings.

True to Hollywood, they are doing the same things to these new shows as they did to American Chopper , American Hot Rod, and all the rest. The Producers get involved and throw in some drama and stuff that never really happens. Last week on Storage Wars, one guy had a Little Person come with him, put him on stilts, with a night vision scope on his head so he could see better into the storage unit.

Don

Now I know what a Rat Rod is!

What do you mean????? That's our Sunday Go to Meeting SUV! It cleans up real purdy like.


Don

Originally Posted by ScooterCO

Now I know what a Rat Rod is!

Man, I wouldn't be surprised if you woke up with a gerbil head in your bed......

Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

Man, I wouldn't be surprised if you woke up with a gerbil head in your bed......

Yeah, I'd send Uncle Clem to pay him a little visit, but Clem doesn't know how to drive.

Don

Don got your message.

so....................where is the million?????????

Don

----and now everyone is off to Hollyweird to film the pilot and make gazillions of $$$$$$$


Oh well, we can all say we knew them when they were jus plaine common folk!!!!!

Don ... I think the cuckoo clock is apropos for your storage find!! I makes you complete.

Great finds Don. Don't feel bad ... someone would end up with it anyway.

REGS

The coocoo clock is now Steves, now that darned chiming bird can drive him nuts instead of me!

Yeah Paul, the human side of you has to feel bad digging through other people's stuff, but someone is going to get it anyway, so it might as well be me. I did leave a big bag of their personal stuff with the storage people, and they will try to get it back to them. The storage guys at this particular place are very good about trying to not have a unit come up for auction, they will work out any payment plan a person can make, but sometimes they have to just make the hard business decision to cut their losses.

BTW, if anyone is thinking about doing this themselves, I can offer some tips:

1) Have a firm price limit in mind before the bidding starts and don't go over that figure, unless you really want that unit.

2) If you win one, have your own padlock(s) so you can secure the unit when the bidding ends.

3) Take a flashlight with you so you can peer into the unit prior to bidding.

4) Say things like "Boy, there sure is a lot of junk in that one that I wouldn't want to haul to the dump" loud enough so the other bidders can hear.

5) Don't say things like "WOW, look at all the good stuff in this one."

6) Take garbage bags, some hand tools (screwdrivers, cresent wrenches, pliers, tape, a knife, etc) with you so you can cut open boxes and take apart any big stuff or shelves. It is best to sort through the stuff right there and put the trash in garbage bags right away. You can do the fine tuning when you get home, but at least the biggest part of the trash will be dealt with. Take gloves too, and a hand truck and small step ladder to reach the tall stuff. (The unit I just bought had a ladder and hand truck inside, and they came in handy.)

7) Take cash. Some places will take credit cards or checks, but most will not.

Oh, and take a broom and dust pan to sweep out the unit when done so you get your deposit back.

Don