How many lockers did you pass on before buying your first?

As a noobie, I have a question for the seasoned veterans.  How many lockers did you look at, maybe bid on, but lost, before you scored your first locker?

I have seen about 25 lockers opened.  I've bid on about 8 of them.  I've come in runner-up about 4 times.  I've yet to win a locker.  I'm not stressing about it.  I'm waiting for the right locker and not getting swept up in the frenzy to buy a locker.  No sense over-paying for a locker, just to say I bought one, right?

I saw one today that has me regretting my decision to pass.  This locker looked like it hadn't been opened since the late 90s.  There was an inch of dust covering everything.  Lots of dust-covered boxes but a whole bunch of furniture that was destined for a dump, somewhere.  I wasn't sure I wanted to deal with the furniture so I passed on the unit.  Sure would have liked to dig through those dusty boxes but oh well.

Won my first locker on the first day I went out! It was a caravan of auctions and was at the last spot crowd had dwindled down from 20ish to 5 people for the last location! This was a few years back though. Hang in there!!!

Took about 30 lockers.I bid on maybe 10-12.Don't bid to high just to get one.Stay with your plan.It'll happen.

I probably saw 50 lockers before winning my first. Be patient you'll get your chance and come back when you need encouragement, it really helped me when I would come home empty handed.

I went to I think it was three auctions 2 silent bid 1 live bid on about 12 then on my 4th auction bid a little high on a silent but still way below retail and won it. Take your time when its your time to get a lkr you will.

My first auction was a saturday circus auction.  Bid on 3 units but was easily outbid.  I prob saw a good 50+ units before I really bit the bullet.  I went to every auction that I could to learn and study.  Did research on all the stuff I saw to get a general price idea, etc.  On a 7 facility caravan I finally bit the bullet only due to my wife being with me and purchasing the locker for a specific item for one of my kids.  I've passed on a few I liked just due to time constraints and such.

Just remember the buying is easy and fun.  Then comes the hard work.

Just remember the buying is easy and fun.  Then comes the hard work.

Probably the single smartest statement that has ever been said or will ever be said on these forums!

I guess I want to piggy-back off this question and ask, are any of you in this full time and still passing on 50 lockers to find the ones you want. If this is the case, how do you manage to not buy a locker for such a long period of time financially?? Have you owned your business that long already that you can pass them up. I am just asking this as a new guy coming into this full time....

Well I'm not in this full time but I may be able to explain.  People like Movieman, Rebecca, and others go to every auction there are.  So they see 100+ lockers a week depending on how big of an area they live in.  So they can find a "good" locker faster.  Also, most of them have a large amount of inventory from previous lockers they are still working to sale.  So even on a slow week you can make money if the sales are there.  Finally, most of them are established and have the expirence to know what they can make off a locker.  So they can gamble a little more then most noobies will.  I may look at a locker and think $150, where they see $200+ and have the time and means to sale.

I guess I want to piggy-back off this question and ask, are any of you in this full time and still passing on 50 lockers to find the ones you want. If this is the case, how do you manage to not buy a locker for such a long period of time financially?? Have you owned your business that long already that you can pass them up. I am just asking this as a new guy coming into this full time....

Yes, I pass on MANY lockers and buy the ones I like (for contents and price). By not buying even SOME of the lkrs I pass on I avoid dump runs, cheap crap I don't want at my sales, work I don't want to do.

By having a backlog of merchandise I can see myself through the slow auction buying time and when inventory gets down then hopefully some good lockers will appear.

I also buy individual items at flea markets, garage/yard sales and other kinds of auctions.  These tend to be items with which I am familiar and which should do well for me from a selling standpoint.

Hopes this answers your questions.

Well I'm not in this full time but I may be able to explain.  People like Movieman, Rebecca, and others go to every auction there are.  So they see 100+ lockers a week depending on how big of an area they live in.  So they can find a "good" locker faster.  Also, most of them have a large amount of inventory from previous lockers they are still working to sale.  So even on a slow week you can make money if the sales are there.  Finally, most of them are established and have the expirence to know what they can make off a locker.  So they can gamble a little more then most noobies will.  I may look at a locker and think $150, where they see $200+ and have the time and means to sale.

Most of that is true except for this...."People like Movieman...go to every auction there is"....nope, not me. I have a database of over 250 auction sites within 90 miles (one way). Several years ago I quit going even 50 miles away and now limit myself to going to about 30 or so sites within 25 miles (one way).  This seems to be enough for me.

I have friends in the biz who make 90 to 120 mile trips (one way) but I can't see it for myself.

Those of us who have been doing it awhile probably do have a better "eye" for a good buy, but we also make mistakes. I have lost money on lkrs and I have broken even on lkrs. Fortunately over any given year's time I am ahead of the game and that's all I can ask.

I guess I want to piggy-back off this question and ask, are any of you in this full time and still passing on 50 lockers to find the ones you want. If this is the case, how do you manage to not buy a locker for such a long period of time financially?? Have you owned your business that long already that you can pass them up. I am just asking this as a new guy coming into this full time....

Just finished tallying today's flea market sales and I see that the last 5 lkrs I bought between June 20, 2011 and September 20th are currently at 2.8 times the money and since I still have a lot of product from the biggest one, this is a good run. For year to date I am at 1.82 times the money...made some buys in the spring which didn't pay back as well as I had hoped.

I passed on at least 40 units at several auctions before I bid and didn't win. A couple days later at a caravan I got my first 2. Have patience and a gameplan and you will do fine. I did not heed my own advice yesterday and learned a tough lesson about the storage auction business.

I guess I want to piggy-back off this question and ask, are any of you in this full time and still passing on 50 lockers to find the ones you want. If this is the case, how do you manage to not buy a locker for such a long period of time financially?? Have you owned your business that long already that you can pass them up. I am just asking this as a new guy coming into this full time....

Movieman & Craiglstauction are touching on some important nuances to this business. I pass on 90-95% of the lockers I see. When I see one I like, I get it! From my limited experience, all the regulars find a niche type of locker they bid on, including myself. It is the noobies/newbies that bid on everything which is completely fine because this is how you find out what is in a locker, what it will sell for, what types of stuff you like to sell, what type of units you don't like dealing with, etc. Once you discover the type of lockers you like, ask yourself these questions. Are you better of spending 20-30% more on the type of locker you have experience with and you like, or let it go and fight over lockers you don't necessarily like but you are hungry cause you have'nt won a unit in a while and you are out of inventory? Is buying lockers you don't like, even when they are in your "budget" a good use of capital?

pretty much any locker under $50 that doesnt look like its gonna cost me $500 in disposal fees ill buy and take a shot on like a lottery ticket probably get my money back at the very least hoping to find that one of a kind item or expensive item.

i actually bought a unit at my first auction every way before the shows were out. hadn't plannedon buying was jut gonna go watch but figurd ill bring a few hundred bucks with me just incase, Id be kicking mysel fif a great unit came along and i had no cash.

wound up buying it and to date it was probably my best unit ever. i agree though i probably pass on about 90% of what i see