Storage Auctions

New to auctions in Maryland but jumping in headfirst!!

New to auctions in Maryland but jumping in headfirst!!
« on: February 01, 2013, 02:21:12 PM »
Hey guys, been lurking here for a few weeks and thought I should jump in and start contributing instead of just leaching info  :)

My wife and I have started doing this to earn extra money (newborn's aren't cheap!!) and so far have bought 4 units over the last 2 1/2 weeks.

Unit #1 $45 - By far the best so far in terms of quick payout. 10x30 maybe 1/5 full.
-Big Oak entertainment center (for old school deep TV) SOLD on CL for $160
-90 Gallon Fish Tank w/Wooden Stand SOLD on CL for $125
-Complete p90x DVD set SOLD on eBay for $98
-Big bin of wooden african masks SOLD at Pawn Shop for $50 (wish I had kept this as I'm sure I could have netted more)
-Old (late 70's) Shure PA head unit SOLD at Pawn Shop for $20 (pretty gross case)
-Matching Shure PA speakers SOLD at Pawn Shop for $5 (pity buy as it was a huge pain to drag them down there but they were pretty much shot)
-Used Magna Bike that will probably sell for $30
-Camping equipment that we're hanging onto until camping weather for better prices
-Bunch of other small odds and ends that were hanging on to until garage sale / community flea market season

Unit #2 $100 - 5x10 packed with nice looking bins (most empty) and high end labeled boxes in rear. Learning opportunity but I'm pretty sure we'll eventually break even.
- Bunch (more than 10) of Coach shoe and purse boxes that had nothing but family photos in them
- Prada purse FAKE
- LV purse FAKE
- Lots of shoes and clothes that will eventually sell during garage sale season
- TI-84 Calculator SOLD on eBay for $51
- about 15 nice Rubbermaid bins which I think make up for some of the cost as we use them to organize our inventory
- ALOT of trash
- Hundreds of dead stinkbugs (anyone know where I can sell?  :) )

Unit #3 $25 - Almost empty 5x5 that had some black plastic bags and 3 sealed Rubbermaid bins as well as mostly hidden shiny metal 3x2 "mystery box"
- Broken iPod SOLD on eBay for $11
- Dozen college textbooks SOLD 1/2 to online book buyer for $65
- "Mystery Box" turned out to be a mini fridge in like new condition (Gave to mother in law)
- Like new pair of Ugg boots size 8 (my wife's size so she kept them)
- Bunch of clothes/shoes/odds and ends for garage sale season

Unit #4 $225 - 5x10 PACKED (had trouble opening door). Would NOT have bid this much but wifey was quite insistent that she saw a bunch of stuff that had value. VERY glad I listened as this one has the potential to pay out BIG over the long run. Unfortunately, this was also an outdoor unit that mice got into so We'd be doing even better if we didn't have to throw 1/3 of it out.
- two 12 packs of toilet paper that was chewed up and I continued to find in nest form throughout the rest of the unit.
- (3) LV handbags in fair to great shape (REAL) - should triple my money just right here!!
- 4 large plastic totes FULL of brand new high end clothing w/tags (Calvin Klein, New Religion jeans, Ann Taylor, Nautica, Ralph Lauren, etc..)
- Nice Guess leather jacket for women
- about 30 pairs of brand name shoes (Nike, Timberland, Puma, Adidas, etc..) most in brand new condition including 3 pairs of vintage Jordans
- 1 large plastic tote full of new jewelry in boxes and hang tags (mostly fashion jewelry but a few sterling silver pieces)
- Weird 60's camera equipment that I'm going to have checked out (I'm guessing worthless but you never know)
- A LOT of trash
- 3 dead mice
- about a dozen dead stinkbugs
- some live roaches

The last unit I think has great potential but I still need to figure out what goes on eBay and what I'll try to sell locally.  The stuff i threw out was also nice but was way too gross to save. The clothes I did save went straight from the plastic bins to the washing machine as I don't want even the slightest hint of mouse poop/pee in and around my house.

Anyhow, we're both loving this so far and I think stand to make at least a small dent in our expenses this way. I'd love some suggestions if anyone has any on how to sell nice quality clothing other than eBay for the really nice stuff and garage sale / flea market for the rest.

Thanks for reading!
Mike

Offline Travis

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Re: New to auctions in Maryland but jumping in headfirst!!
« Reply #1 on: February 01, 2013, 02:47:31 PM »
Welcome to the forum Mike, glad you decided to participate. The more people like you who quit looking and start engaging in the conversation, the more fun the forum will be.

I always sold the clothing that I got out of storage units at garage sales. I never washed it or folded it (we couldn't because we bought and sold in volume and didn't have time), I would just have my workers lay blankets on the ground and just pile the clothes on top. People love to dig!


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