ever go to a storage auction?

[bettydaw1970]

how'd it go?
one down the street from me every month..tempted..

[TrueNE_09]

Nope - but I'd like to hit one up. I think a few people around here may have before, not sure though...

[Nicnac]

I've heard they are brutal. A bunch of arses, and you usually get junk. Also, you have to clean out the units you buy really quickly.

[Andrew Jones]

I've heard similar things to what Nicnac posted and I'm also willing to bet nobody there looks like Brandi either.

[harryhudini]

I have been and got lucky on a few from time to time. Mostly crap. The wife and I go around a time we are doing a yardsale so we can add some more stuff. Have found some old cards in them before.

[TheHeel]

Originally Posted by harryhudini

I have been and got lucky on a few from time to time. Mostly crap. The wife and I go around a time we are doing a yardsale so we can add some more stuff. Have found some old cards in them before.

Any good cards?

[matt6822]

Me and a few guys from work were going to some auctions. We would go to about 5 or 6 in a month. It was so stupid. The show has made everyone think they will find Gold or something worth thousands of dollars. Everyone pays 4 or 5 times what it's worth. I have seen units sell for 2 grand and it's all junk. Every unit is almost the same, too.

Mattress, furniture(cheap worthless kind) trash.

[bettydaw1970]

Originally Posted by matt6822

Me and a few guys from work were going to some auctions. We would go to about 5 or 6 in a month. It was so stupid. The show has made everyone think they will find Gold or something worth thousands of dollars. Everyone pays 4 or 5 times what it's worth. I have seen units sell for 2 grand and it's all junk. Every unit is almost the same, too.

Mattress, furniture(cheap worthless kind) trash.

thanks bro...

[wee111]

Been to one got s=tons of good stuff got griffey jr autps for 50 each and TONs of Rafeal Palmero for $75 each only was great.

[nuccionino]

I prefer garage sales. Found more great things there, plus I don't need to guess, I see the items before I buy

[CARDGUY123]

the shows do make it look better than it is but that is what they do for a living sothey are more into it. if you decide to do it let me know who it turns out. its all a gamble the point is to not over pay and have fun.

[GoJays]

A buddy of mine was a regular on the Ontario auction circuit for a while. He quit about a year ago. Once the whole Storage Wars craze began people started paying 10x more than before. He waited it out but just quit after a while.

I went to one with him and it was brutal. 95% of the buyers were there for the first time and were going all out. Teddy would say $350, it'd end up going for $1500. At least the "newbies" lost out on money, but my friend lost out on just as much money from not buying. Really a shame what has happened.

[matt6822]

All the local ones I go to around my house has the same guy or 2. They will bid $800 on everything. They will throw out the first bid at $800. I have seen him buy 6 units for a total of 3 or 4 grand one day alone! He is paying way too much for everything and losing money, and ruining it for everyone else. So there will always be that one guy.

[mikejones]

Ok. Didn't feel like starting a new thread. So I bought my first storage. It was a pretty small one with only a few things. Got it for $80. It came with a snowboard, skis, and a golf bag carrier. There was other things in there that if I sold, I'd be in the plus already. Here's what I learned so far.

1. If there's a lock in the pictures, chances are the owner prevented it from going to auction and picked out the valuable stuff to him or her.
2. The dirty ones with spider webs will probably be a good buy? I'm currently bidding on one that looks like it hasn't been touched for 10+ years.
3. Avoid the units with mattress unless you have help.
4. You will hardly find sports cards.
5. Avoid private seller auctions because chances are, it is staged.
6. Don't bid on units you won't be able to clear out in time.

Any other tips? Who's on blowout is doing this or has done this. Thanks.

[jlzinck]

Originally Posted by TrueNE_09

Nope - but I'd like to hit one up. I think a few people around here may have before, not sure though...

I miss Dennis. He was a good dude. Seems like he fell off the face of the earth

[sthoemke]

Originally Posted by mikejones

Ok. Didn't feel like starting a new thread. So I bought my first storage. It was a pretty small one with only a few things. Got it for $80. It came with a snowboard, skis, and a golf bag carrier. There was other things in there that if I sold, I'd be in the plus already. Here's what I learned so far.

1. If there's a lock in the pictures, chances are the owner prevented it from going to auction and picked out the valuable stuff to him or her.
2. The dirty ones with spider webs will probably be a good buy? I'm currently bidding on one that looks like it hasn't been touched for 10+ years.
3. Avoid the units with mattress unless you have help.
4. You will hardly find sports cards.
5. Avoid private seller auctions because chances are, it is staged.
6. Don't bid on units you won't be able to clear out in time.

Any other tips? Who's on blowout is doing this or has done this. Thanks.

I went to a few back in the early 90's, and bought a few units. It was fun. Some of the auctioneers go really fast, so you need to be on your toes.

I suggest if the type of items suits you (or you know you can resell easily), bid full price for what you can see, and the hidden/unseen/boxed items can be considered a bonus.

Don't over buy quantity, if you can't transport easily or have adequate storage. Have advance plans to discard/donate/giveaway/trash for most of what you buy. Be prepaired to transport big/heavy items.

[jkampis]

Originally Posted by sthoemke

I went to a few back in the early 90's, and bought a few units. It was fun. Some of the auctioneers go really fast, so you need to be on your toes.

I suggest if the type of items suits you (or you know you can resell easily), bid full price for what you can see, and the hidden/unseen/boxed items can be considered a bonus.

Don't over buy quantity, if you can't transport easily or have adequate storage. Have advance plans to discard/donate/giveaway/trash for most of what you buy. Be prepaired to transport big/heavy items.

I’ve thought of trying to get lucky on cards at storage auctions, but then I think about the soiled mattresses and busted washing machines I’d have to deal with in the process.

[budd2222]

You may want to look into a lost or unclaimed freight auction. A friend has a small secondhand shop that we would help out with. At a airline auction she would pick up suitcases or boxes that had everything from expensive clothing, electronics, and jewelry. Or they could be loaded with used sex toys and a lot of cheap clothing. At freight auctions they had lots of tools, furniture, toys, and just about everything under the sun. We went to one that had a pallet of sports cards the was covered in torn plastic, spider webs and some water damage. At $2 it went unsold. You may be better off at a freight sale as you will less likely to end up with broken mattresses and worthless appliances.

[quackhead]

Originally Posted by sthoemke

I went to a few back in the early 90's, and bought a few units. It was fun. Some of the auctioneers go really fast, so you need to be on your toes.

I suggest if the type of items suits you (or you know you can resell easily), bid full price for what you can see, and the hidden/unseen/boxed items can be considered a bonus.

Don't over buy quantity, if you can't transport easily or have adequate storage. Have advance plans to discard/donate/giveaway/trash for most of what you buy. Be prepaired to transport big/heavy items.