Are The Storage Auction Shows Staged?

Are The Storage Auction Shows Staged?

Storage Wars: Yes

Auction Hunters: Yes

Storage Hunters: Yes

Storage Wars Texas & New York: TBD

Yes, the first three storage auction reality shows are a sham. The last two are most likely following similar protocol; however, at this time, there is no conclusive evidence.

The storage auctions reality shows do not depict storage auctions accurately. Keep in mind that these shows must be entertaining otherwise they wouldn’t be on the air for long. If you are new to the storage auction scene, take these shows with a grain of salt.

Auction Hunters is over the top, showing some incredible finds in almost every episode. Not that you couldn’t find items similar to what they have found, it just doesn’t happen quite that often. Most professional storage auction buyers would be happy getting one unit like they show on Auction Hunters in every 50 to 100 units. Each episode of Auction Hunters begins with a disclaimer which states that Allen Haff & Ton Jones purchase hundreds of units each year, and only the rarest and most valuable finds make it on the show. Even this disclaimer is fiction, since we know that Ton & Allen were struggling actors before the being cast on Auction Hunters.

Storage Wars was a little more believable, until Dave Hester revealed that rare items seen on the show were planted inside the units. Until Dave Hester revealed this bombshell, most of us assumed that they were purchasing dozens of units before they found one worthy to be put on television. Apparently, this was not the case. In Storage Wars' defense, all of the cast members were legitimate buyers before participating on the show; except for Barry of course, who got his role by being friends with one of the show's producers.

Storage Hunters is a joke. With all of it’s fights and expletives, it was the most unbelievable depiction of our industry. No auctioneer or storage facility would permit that kind of behavior. Drama and fights are extremely rare and when they occur the participants are usually banned from future auctions. Not only did Storage Hunters display over the top finds like in Auction Hunters, but the auctioneer, a comedian named Sean Kelly, paused the auction to look inside the unit with the winning bidder. This would never happen at a real auction. Not only that, Sean Kelly seemed to know infinite details about every item found in the lockers. We will just add "antique appraiser" to his growing list of credentials. Storage Hunters was like a bad episode of Jerry Springer; except not as entertaining.