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M-Taliesin
01-12-2011, 01:07 PM
Howdy Folks!
Me and Pipster, like many Americans, have watched a couple of tv shows about guys who hunt storage unit lockers. These are units that you rent to store stuff that won't fit in your home or place of business. When the rent isn't paid, they put the entire storage unit up for auction, and whatever is in there goes to the highest bid. They don't let you go inside, don't let you touch anything, but simply look into the unit from the open door, and then you only have a short time to look because there are other folks also wanting to see what's in there.

Anyhow, Pipster and me decided we might give that a shot. Some of those guys on the television make outrageous finds that would be the envy of any metal detector hobbyist.
Except, these finds are what you pay for. Still, in one of the television episodes we saw, one pair of guys found an old military issue Colt Peacemaker from back in the 1800s. They sold that weapon for around $2,000 bucks. Not too shabby, assuming they paid much less for the locker itself. Plus there was other good stuff in there to boot!

The first unit we saw had lots and lots of possibility, and it was huge. Musta been like a 15' by 40' unit. We saw all manner of fishing poles, some likely antique. There was camping gear galore, and toward the back, Lots of boxes neatly stacked. I figured it would be a gold mine, but purely outside what I could spend. That unit went for $1,200 bucks.

Another went higher than we liked, and the third at that location also went too high.

The next location was different. The herd had thinned out from one place to the next, and we saw a unit that Pipster liked. It was jam packed, and Pipster started bidding. He went up to $750, but got upped over his limit. That one sold for $900 bucks.

I got into the action on a unit I figured I might go $200 max. It had some boxes, a couple of gym type bags bulging at the seams, and some other stuff that made me feel we could easily double our money on $200 bucks. I got into the bidding right off, and went back and forth with another particular guy. He upped my bid with his own of $175. I stared at him as the auctioneer tried to get another bid out of him, but he backed down. I thought I had it locked up as mine, but as the auctioneer was bringing the bidding to a close, some yokel behind me kicked it up to $225, and took the unit because I felt the tab was getting out of hand for what I could see.

Eventually we arrived at the last auction at that location, and when the door swung upon, folks toward the front chuckled and walked away. I looked inside and saw a little potential. Very little.

Before the auctioneer started officially taking bids, I shot him mine I go one dollar on that! The guy smiled at me and said Minimum is $5 dollars! &quot:daydream:kay then, I'll go $5.00 on that unit!

Well, he made a perfunctory attempt to draw out other bids. Nobody bid against me, probably figured I'd up 'em. I didn't think I would myself, but they seemed to believe it. So I ended up with a locker for $5.00

In it were a gas powered bar-b-que grill, and I don't know if it works or not. I'd need to get a tank of gas and see if everyting functions. Even if it don't, parts shouldn't be terrible costly, and I can do the work on my own to get it working. Once the smoke clears, I got me a grill that would cost easily more than I paid for that shed! Other things were a set of 4 weights and a bar to stick 'em on, a small kitchen table (in decent shape), Jacks to raise up a car (2 of them), jacks to put under a car so you can get beneath it, an STP oil filter (worth about $3.59 at the local Auto Zone!), a battery that may or may not be useful, but still has recycle value at the local recycling plant, a shelving unit with some junk inside, and a dolly with handle that can be used to move heavy stuff around. Also, there was a hose in there that likely cost much more than $5.00!!!

There were some other things in there not worth mention, but you can see from the photos that I should be able to sell stuff I got and at least double, probably much better than triple, the money I spent on my bid.

This was a first time deal for Pipster and me, and we enjoyed it a whole bunch. We will be doing this again before much longer.

Blessings,
M-Taliesin

coinnut
01-12-2011, 01:21 PM
Worth the 5 bucks for sure. You even got the hand truck to move everything lol I've tried those auctions and I always get over bid.

M-Taliesin
01-12-2011, 01:27 PM
Worth the 5 bucks for sure. You even got the hand truck to move everything lol I've tried those auctions and I always get over bid.


Howdy Pard!
I noticed yesterday there is an aspect to the game that isn't unlike playing poker.
You gotta know how to bluff, and when you're getting bluffed.
Know when to fold your hand and walk away, or when to raise the stakes.
I figure I might have some luck doing this, because I've played plenty of poker
over 61 years!

The trick is to figure how much you're willing to gamble on the front end, and
don't go much beyond your original limit, if at all.

Blessings,
M-Taliesin

Judy
01-13-2011, 01:30 AM
I watch that show occasionally, sometimes pretty cool things are found & sometimes I think why the **** would anyone pay to store that JUNK:huh: lol 8/ :crazy:

You definitely got your 5 bucks worth that day

Evan/tn
01-13-2011, 01:38 AM
I think you do better at the tot lots Mel lol
The jack stands are good,it's fun just to go to the auctions sometimes,even if you don't buy anything thumbsup01

M-Taliesin
01-13-2011, 08:18 AM
I watch that show occasionally, sometimes pretty cool things are found & sometimes I think why the **** would anyone pay to store that JUNK:huh: lol 8/ :crazy:
You definitely got your 5 bucks worth that day


Howdy Judy!
No doubt about it, it is definately a gamble. You might hit the jackpot, or you might just as easily end up paying a whole lot of money for nothing but junk and then pay to dump it at the landfill in the barbain! That's why a person doing that sort of thing really needs to play with caution on storage auctions.

While we were waiting for the first one to begin, Pipster was talking with a small group of folks while I signed in and when I walked over, this one gal told us about a man the previous week who bought a unit for $300. It didn't hold much, but one particular box was filled with old comic books that he sold for $5,000 bucks.

Its a gamble and there is certainly the chance there to lose your shirt. Then again, you could end up with a whole coffee can full of silver coins, like one of those guys on TV did. I almost had a caniption seeing all those great coins somebody just left in a locker and allowed to go to auction! All I could think was.... I want those!

Blessings,
M-Taliesin

wingmaster
01-13-2011, 01:53 PM
I seen the ones on the coins as well, why would you leave those there they don't take up much room you could carry them with you if need be or sell them. When I knew that I couldn't pay the rent I would take out anything of value to sell if nothing else and the coins would never had been there in the first place. I had a storage place once that got broke into they didn't get much they probably just took the boxes without looking in them first but we did lose some stuff that we can't get back some Christmas ornaments that me and the wife made when we were kids in school and some that were gifts from grandma's and grandpa's. I think they might have got some old bottles I had in there because I'm missing some now, they probably just through those in the trash I figure.

M-Taliesin
01-13-2011, 02:05 PM
Howdy Wingmaster!
This whole auction thing to me is new and I'm just learning the whole process.
But when you know that people will leave valuable stuff in those lockers, then fail to collect them when rent is an issue. just boggles the mind.

Guess folks find handguns, old coins, paintings by famous artists, electronic gear, antiques, and the whole range of stuff that can fetch a good price as individual pieces. Of course, I'd love to find one busting with jewelry of the gold and silver variety, but that'll need to be another day. So far I've got a bar-b-que grill, and a few other items that might be worth a couple of bucks here and there, but then again, I'm only out 5 bucks! LOL!

Maybe next time we'll score good. We've about agreed on hitting an auction while down in Texas! So, maybe we might win a bid and collect up something really shpadoinkle!

Blessings,
M-Taliesin

Dimeman
01-13-2011, 04:14 PM
One of the guys on that show did say he get a real good one every once in awhile but most of them he gets, he comes out even.

russellt
01-13-2011, 09:55 PM
my wife would have my head on a plate. paper /plastic doesn t matter ..... :-\

Nitro 54
01-15-2011, 02:55 PM
At least you got a unit M-T.. My wife is a manager of a 800 unit storage place. I go to all the auctions and get registered, but always get out bid.. She tells me it's a good thing as we already have enough JUNK of our own :shocked04: rofl I can't believe how much people pay to store nothing but pure junk.. After a month or two of paying the storage bill, the cost exceeds what the junk is worth..

M-Taliesin
01-15-2011, 04:17 PM
After a month or two of paying the storage bill, the cost exceeds what the junk is worth..


Howdy Pardner!
I don't know about that. The ones we saw had plenty of stuff inside, and looked really tempting.
Pipster bid on one, and somebody out bid him by $150 bucks.
I bid on another and went to what I set as my personal limit.
Both looked like they had terrific potential.

But when I bid, it is because I see the opportunity to double my money.
Yeah, it is blind guessing, but that's the nature of playing poker.
Bidding on storage units is always a gamble, but all you need is one great hand!

Blessings,
M-Taliesin