Storage Facilities Using Proxy Bidders

Have you been to an auction and felt like the storage facility was using a proxy bidder to run prices up or to keep the good units for themselves? If so, what gave you that feeling?

Ive been to some backwoods country auctions where they've had a bidder over the phone, or even another instance where the auctioneer claimed they let someone look the units over the day before and start with a 'minimum bid' that this no show stranger provided.

The whole thing is, at least in my state, there is no one policing these facilities to make sure stuff is being sold the right way at auction. I have a few places myself where I just go out and make the guy an offer on his units, with no kind of auction process at all. Facility owners can pretty much do whatever they want around here once a unit falls into debt.

No.  But there is one auctioneer that his son comes and bids.
He is a serious buyer but I've always felt its wrong, conflict-of-interest.

It's a win-win.    Either he gets the locker or runs up the price so his company makes more.

They seem legit and are nice guys but just doesn't sit well with me....

I had a facility owner outbid me on a unit at his facility. It was a HVAC contractor's unit with a bunch of unopened boxes inside. I overheard him talking a little while later claiming there were 60K in new commercial AC compressors inside the boxes. (Like he didn't already know)

Really wouldnt sit well with me if owner or emloyees were bidding.
Anyone with access to unit before auction shouldn't be allowed. 

I thought agents of facilities weren't allowed by law to bid?   But maybe that's just a rule at some bigger facilities.  Facilities don't HAVE to hold an auction, do they?   Cant they just keep the stuff and write off the persons debt? 

Yea, it happens from time to time. I go to auctions in three different states with different auction laws. In one state the facility doesn't even have to hold an auction, so I laugh whenever a facility is having an auction in this state and they actually bid on their own units (to win). Then again how do you pay yourself the winning bid amount? It's just a waste of time for everybody. The facility for running the ad and taking the time and money to do it, then actually bidding on their own units; and all the auction attendees who came out thinking it was a fair public auction.

Yeah ever since the begininng I've always seen auctioneers or facility owners on the phone with "proxy bidders" no way to really know if there's anyone on the other end of the line, i dont know how anyone could bid sight unseen.