Box Truck, Bank Roll, Labor, Warehousing & Selling Network

I am new to this biz and to the forum and I am glad I have found it!

I have been in the closeout and liquidation business for a long time and have done a good bit of due diligence on the storage locker buying game and I do think based on all the complaining I hear at auctions and read here about the popularity of Storage Wars and Auction Hunters the game has become significantly more difficult if only because there appear to be many more buyers who are not knowledgeable enough or do not have the discipline to keep emotion out of the equation and stop overbidding and overpaying for lockers.

I realize that many in the big crowds are just tire kickers and will never buy as they simply do not have the resources to pay for, transport and store all the goods ...let alone the network of buyers necessary to move and flip the goods quickly and profitably.  The amount of work, labor and time to win at this game is huge as well and many do not want to dig through dirty things in a hot sweaty environment and make trips to the dump.

I believe that in addition to profiling the demographic areas of the facilities, one must be able to size up competition at the auctions as well as be able to profile the contents of a locker and bid based strictly on business and profit and not emotion.

To me the proper tools and resources of the trade are key to ones success. I understand that not all have the cash or resources to start big but I think long term if you want to succeed, you need a good bit of coin to invest, a truck for moving goods, somewhere to store and sort the goods, labor to assist you in doing this and most importantly, a network of buyers to move your finds to quickly and profitably.

As many have said before, you are simply not going to win on every locker...so you need to be able to stay in the game long enough for the law of averages to work in your favor....and be a very smart and prudent buyer and seller..  I can't help but think that auctions early in the AM or on rainy days or very late in the day after a long scheduled day would have a better chance of dwindling competition and therefore pricing in the right range for profit opportunities.

These are just my initial thoughts and observations and anyone here can feel free to add to them or contact me to collaborate and brainstorm because if we move into this segment of the business....it will be balls deep from the get go.

Thx

That's probably the most well-thought-out and articulate asssesment of this business I've seen on these forums.

If you can state it that well, you will undoubtedly do well in buying lockers and selling the contents.

Welcome to the forum! 

Hey, Thanks Allot Movieman!  I appreciate it

That's probably the most well-thought-out and articulate asssesment of this business I've seen on these forums.

If you can state it that well, you will undoubtedly do well in buying lockers and selling the contents.

Welcome to the forum! 

Hey welcome to the forums!! Great post!

All good points.

I think the main thing is having a network of buyers and knowing how to get rid of stuff.

If your buying a dozen units a day on a consistant basis definately need warehouse, labor, box truck however even just buying several units a week you can generally go without a lot of that stuff at least at the outset.

For trucks I normally go to the same facilities over and over so am cool with the staff and they let me use the facilities trucks for free plus my buddies all got trucks I that aren't their main vehicles that I can borrow anytime.

For warehouse space I'm single and have a 3 bed house so there's my storage spare bedrooms and garage, not ideal but it works until I decide to possibly open a resale shop some day.

I think the main and most important thing is having the network of buyers. Oftentimes at auctions I see people win things and then realize they don't have a clue how to get rid of stuff or at the very least don't know how to get top dollar for their stuff.


You can buy all the best units at great prices but if you don't know how to get rid of the merchandise and get top dollar its pointless

Hey, Thanks for your feedback and input!  I absolutely agree that having a solid network of buyers is the most important part of the game. Knowing who and where to go with specific items as well as what is best on ebay and Craigslist and doing it quickly and efficiently so you are not holding stock for very long.

On the truck I differ a little as I believe if you want to be efficient, you need to be able to load and move lockers and items you are looking to sell on a moments notice and be able to constantly transport big items so you are not limited in which units you can buy.

You can get a very usable box truck or step van for around $3K or less which in the scheme of business start up costs, is very affordable in my opinion as there are very few businesses you can start for around 10K or less and potentially parlay that into a 60K to 80K annual income or more

As far as a warehouse, you can easily start with 1 or 2 10X30's ...they are only $120 each near me
So for about $300 a month, you can have 2 10X30's and a spot to park your truck. 

Now take about 5K to 10K in additional funds for buying your first 10 to 18 units  (average) and if you bought right, you are officially in business!     

I would recommend a start up budget of 10K
$2700 for a truck
$300 for month one of the place to sort and store
$7000 for buying lockers

Then you turn the 7K into at least 11K (conservatively) and you continue buying and flipping units

I realize not everyone can start in the game with 10K and also that it can be done with WAY less using your
own truck or the trunk of your car and your garage or a spare bedroom for storage but in my experience...if you want to be able to make close to 6 figures annually...you will need the resources I mention above

Now, if you just want a little side income for yourself...that is a different story....buy I myself, don't work my tail off doing hard labor for peanuts so I want to have the tools for scalability and success at my disposal.

To each his own I guess

I am far to the other end of the spectrum as I believe that this is a business that can and should cash flow itself from early on.

We didn't start out with a truck.  Instead, we used our SUVs and a small cargo trailer.  It worked a treat and still does.

We didn't rent warehouse space.  Instead, we gave up part of our garage and storage building.  In addition to not having the outlay for a warehouse, this also keeps what we bought 'in our face', incentivising us to get it sold super fast.

The only real cash that we put into this endeavor to start was a few hundred bucks to buy the first units.  Everything else was cash flowed from that.

I am far to the other end of the spectrum as I believe that this is a business that can and should cash flow itself from early on.

We didn't start out with a truck.  Instead, we used our SUVs and a small cargo trailer.  It worked a treat and still does.
We didn't rent warehouse space.  Instead, we gave up part of our garage and storage building.  In addition to not having the outlay for a warehouse, this also keeps what we bought 'in our face', incentivising us to get it sold super fast.
The only real cash that we put into this endeavor to start was a few hundred bucks to buy the first units.  Everything else was cash flowed from that.

That's the way I started too. I worked with everything I already had. The only addition I have made is that of a regular (on-going) storage locker...just like the ones I buy, only I pay my bill!  I also sometimes will rent a one-month special of the auction lkr I just bought...selling the big items right out of it for that month.

I have a full size pick up and an Avalanche along with a 10 foot trailer I have owned for 12 years and thats what I use to haul with. No extra costs except fuel. I used to sell from my house and after a few flakes came out I felt uncomfortable. Not for me (because I'm always carrying and am permitted to do so) but for my family so I rented a 10x15 unit that I sell stuff from that someone wants to pick up. I ship from the house but face to face is either in a parking lot or the storage unit. We put together a couple grand in seed money to start this venture and it has been self supporting since. The newbies and wannabees will get their tax refunds and blow it and hopfuly be gone in another 60 days..........

Your keyboard to God's ear.

The newbies and wannabees will get their tax refunds and blow it and hopfuly be gone in another 60 days..........

I hope what you are saying is true as well...I have heard it from quite a few veterans here that these huge crowds will be long gone come the HOT FL summer and I need them to be if I am going to make any money doing this.

Have you seen this "tax" time spike in years past?  I assume yes?

as I believe that this is a business that can and should cash flow itself from early on.

I absolutely agree with you...I intend for my venture to cash flow from the get go as well...I am just choosing to do it on a slightly larger scale because I am fortunate enough to have the resources to do so.  Again, nothing against the starting small and bootstrapping at all......that is exactly how I started my existing business.  If I invest 10K to start, I don't expect to put any more in after that...I expect to bootstrap the 10 as quickly as possible and continue growing it from there!

I wish you luck.  I wish I could have started out big.

I wish you luck.  I wish I could have started out big.

Hey thanks allot!  I'm being prudent at first here trying not to get burned in this overheated market...I gotta be able to find a good number of solid lockers at the right prices in order to make this work long term....

I'm really hoping I can find some less populated auctions and that some of these people fall out when the summer heat arrives ......It isn't going to happen with 140 people at every auction bidding 4X's what the lockers should be selling for....