Would you disagree with this article or more agree on this? I agree on this part of the article 100% " People are using the last of their money to buy up units hoping to find that one miracle item only to find they have now thrown away their cash on a unit full of trash and are worse off then when they started. "
The REALITY of Storage Unit Auctions
Being that I have been to many of these auctions myself prior to this show being aired, there are some things that the shows producers choose not to show you.
Yes it is a great that one unit in a few thousand (if your lucky) has that great turn over item in it, in all reality, you are lucky to break even on most units. By the time you pay for the unit, clean out it our or pay the clean out fee, transport the stuff to your location, invest the time and money into the items you found to clean them, sort them and sell them, you are luck enough to not be in the red when it is all said and done. Unless you have an outlet to already sell or auction these items off, to randomly purchase units is only going to loose you money.
What the show needs to show you is the units where the furniture is tarped and looks like new, only to finally be able to get into the paid unit to find pieces are actually busted-up, vermin/insect infested or water/smoke damaged. Boxes full of junk that cost you more to dispose of them to buy the unit.
Another key point is the illegal issues of some of the items you find. Stolen items, drugs, fire arms, etc are all over the place in many of these units and if you as the buyer does not know what to do about them can end up with yourself in a lot of hot water.
Finally, while this makes competition hard for those who are actually established in the industry, my concern is more for the people who are watching the show and being mislead into believing there is a quick buck to be made in these storage units. People are using the last of their money to buy up units hoping to find that one miracle item only to find they have now thrown away their cash on a unit full of trash and are worse off then when they started. These storage unit shows are making these units out to be pots of gold sitting at the end of rainbows when in reality most are filled with personal memorabilia that is worthless to those who didn't own it originally or boxes and bags of trash that the owner decided wasn't worth paying on anymore.
P.S. For those of you concerned about the personal items like tax papers and baby pictures, a lot of the people who do this for a living and have for years do make an honest effort to contact original owners whenever possible. These items are of no use to the buyers and they would rather see you get your grandma's wedding picture back then throw it in a dumpster.
A little short on reality, but fun
As a former storage manager, I enjoy watching this, but for those who want to try to make a quick buck, this is what I found out:
Don't always believe what you see. Maybe I was just unfortunate to manage (aka be an underpaid employee of) two facilities - one in So. Cal, one in No. Cal. - all that ceremonial lock-cutting may not be what it seems.
The first facility I worked for would go into the unit after hours and remove anything of real value. Once there was just a hot-tub (value around $5000) and they were stuck with auction, but had a shill bidder there who outbid everyone on purpose. The facility owner then paid the auctioneer his cut and got back the remaining bid amount. And the hot tub was his to install at his house.
The second facility would also go into the units beforehand and shuffle contents around, making one or two high-end units out of five or six smaller ones, and let the amateurs bid on the remaining junk units that had been pilfered.
It would be fun if the facility owners can be trusted, but better ask around. The storage laws are too easily broken, and even though in a lot of states the owners can only keep the rental amount due and the expenses of auction, who is going to argue about whether this or that object was really in the unit or not? The cops/district attorneys have better things to do.
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April 29, 2012, 10:01:44 PM