Storage Auctions
The Storage Locker => New to Storage Auctions? => Topic started by: bruce45564 on December 06, 2011, 02:54:37 PM
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are there any good sites to find listings
auction zip does not have them all
i went to a sale last week and heard all these places they were going but no one will say where they find them
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Also, the answer to your question(s) can be found via the search button. You don't need to "pay" to find all the listings in your area. You just have to do a little work.
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i have done lots of work and still am missing the big listings
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Contact the storage places in your area.You usally can get on a email or mail list.They can also tell you where they list the auctions.Good luck!
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Check Craigslist and your local newspaper.
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I'm a super-newbie and all I can say is research, research, research. And after you've researched, do some more research.
You can't expect people who have been doing this for years to tell a new guy where to go. I know I wouldn't expect it. In fact, I like doing my own research.
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be courteous. That is something that is truly dying in this world. A simple please and thank you can take you much further than the whining or grumping that is so common today.
If you want to be in the 'in' crowd treat others with respect.....that includes your fellow bidders, the facility managers and yes.....the auctioneer. You'd be amazed at what it can net you.
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laugh rockin - now think about it for a min....but how many of the other people you saw your first week or two out or that started with you is sitll doing it?
Even people I only saw at a specific auction or two have started to die away. Of course we have had 30 new more people start to show up.
I ask as when I started back in June there was a good dozen newbies in what I think of as the starting class. Only Two - Three of us are still doing it 7 months later.
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how many of the other people you saw your first week or two out or that started with you is sitll doing it?
Can't think of one. They pretty much all quit.
I went to numerous auctions alone (quite intimidating for a woman, let me tell ya) before I even had an inkling of bidding. Then did so reluctantly, as I was using my husbands money (yes.....it's ours, but I was terrified of making a bad decision and then it would have been his....now on the other hand if I rocked it.....it still would have been his ***sigh***) and didn't like the risk of blowing it.
Fast forward to today and my husband is once again self-employed and able to go to the auctions with me. Money is available without cutting into the 'savings' and I have a bit of a swagger.....ok.....it's more a limp, but you get the gist. :)
This definitely isn't a 'job' for the instant gratification crowd~contrary to what they portray on TV.
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I do agree with a little kindness and manners go's along way unless your on the phone or texting while in line to see a unit than you will get pushed out! ;D
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I do agree with a little kindness and manners go's along way unless your on the phone or texting while in line to see a unit than you will get pushed out! ;D
My mother taught me many moons ago.....
Two wrongs don't make a right. Very few are courteous in this (or any other) business. I have been pushed and shoved and oh don't even get me started on the smell.....try one of these things in Tucson in the summer.....ewwwww.....Can we use a little deodorant people?!
I've told a couple auctioneers here that I'm going to write an auction etiquette pamphlet that they can hand out before the start of each auction. Funny nobody listens to the #1 rule of 'Women and children first'.........luckily I'm long and lean and can outwalk the best of 'em.
I give as good as I get, but when first starting out and not knowing the ropes, it really does help to be polite and yes.....perhaps a bit humble~
Mom lecture over now........
ps....brush your teeth, eat your veggies and by all means.......use the deodorant. :D
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laugh rockin - now think about it for a min....but how many of the other people you saw your first week or two out or that started with you is sitll doing it?
Even people I only saw at a specific auction or two have started to die away. Of course we have had 30 new more people start to show up.
I ask as when I started back in June there was a good dozen newbies in what I think of as the starting class. Only Two - Three of us are still doing it 7 months later.
Nobody from my "starting class" is still around and buying consistently at auctions anymore. I did see one guy last week who had disappeared for a couple of months came back out but he is very timid about bidding on anything. Many of the people who are regulars or who started just before me have gone. I can think of at least six regulars who have dissappeared and 3 others whose buying has decreased tremoundously. There is still a pretty good crowd of summer newbies hanging on, about six or so who come out and actively bid. It will be interesting to see how many of those summer newbies will be around come next spring. Wow, thinking about all those "fast friends" I made last year and the early part of this year and how many of them I don't see anymore is a little depressing.
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Lol - so glad I don't have the pushing and shoving issue in my area. People trip / loose their balance sometimes when trying to stand on toes to look over the top. But always it's "I'm sorry or pardon me".
As for the smell - think I've grown use to it during the summer. 98+ temps and 100% humidity just makes everyone stink after an hour of storage unit sales.
Honestly all - the pay sites can be good info if they specialize to one area. The majority of them are not worth the money. It's for people too lazy to do their own research or make calls.
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Can't blame a gal for trying~
And I pray you didn't take me seriously.......
Funny rockin... We have not found pushing and shoving, Well my husband is 6'2" so nobody really pushes him. And I don't go in with the crowd. Stand on opposite side of unit if there is an incline I can see pretty good, or just wait for the crowd to back away. When I do get in there I usually step on some one when trying to get out of the way. LOL Then Like Craiglstauction said "I'm sorry or pardon me".
On the pay thing I don't, not one that does my area and have found most of them on my own. But with our current prices the search on outside areas and putting them all together to decide where to go gets time consuming. And we are still noobies trying out different places and comparing them to the ones we know.
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Contacting storage facilities in your area sounds like a good plan. They have a vested interest in getting as many bidders as possible so they should be all over themselves to get the word out.
You might also check what the law requires in your state. In Texas, the law clearly states that notice must be posted in a widely circulated newspaper in the county in which the storage facility is located. If there is no widely circulated newspaper, then notice must be posted on the unit itself and in 5 other prominant locations nearby.
If all else fails, you can ask the regulars here. I have no doubt, they'll tell you exactly where to go and what you can do when you get there, ;D
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In each state there should be a website that shows all the auctions being posted under "public notices," since that is the legal requirement necessary. I would never pay anyone to tell me something I can find for free, and neither should you if you are planning on taking this business serious. Go to your state> Press association> Public Notice Search> then hopefully you can usually filter down to auctions/public sales. After all, you aren't going to make any money reading about adoptions. ;)
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Not all states have such a site. Nor do all newspapers report listings in a timely fashion or at all. I never found one for SC but did for GA. Looking at the GA I find a ton of auctions in Atlanta, Savannah, but none of the other large towns, cities, or counties. Your best bet is always your local paper(s) and to call around to the individual facilities.
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I guess I'm lucky I live here! I have at least a dozen auctions within my range over the next couple weeks. I've been googlin' the addresses of the sites and "street viewing" them to get an idea of the areas I'm unsure of whether they're worth my while. There is one in Athens that had a nice number of units, about a dozen. I got a street view of the address but it must be a new facility because all I saw was woods. This one I'm definitely going to on the 23rd. @ 9 am. I'm expecting broke college kids' worthless furniture, books and such, but there's always the possibility of an air hockey or beer pong table so being thirty mins. away-I'm in!
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I have been looking more into S. Carolina. So far I'm not impressed with their PA site. You can't even search their site! I did find another good site for 15/ 50 states. It does not have SC but does have listings for NC and VA. Maybe more looking will be in order. Anyways the site is: mypublicnotices(dot)com
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I guess I'm lucky I live here! I have at least a dozen auctions within my range over the next couple weeks. I've been googlin' the addresses of the sites and "street viewing" them to get an idea of the areas I'm unsure of whether they're worth my while.
im probably going to pop my cherry and buy my first unit this thursday. the good thing is, i live in a upper middle class / lower high class neighborhood (houses range from 350k-1mil) and the first 2 auctions are right down the road :)
come to think of it, those are probably the only 2 ill attend, since the other 8 or so are in less than desirable sections of town that arent known for hoarding cool stuff.
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Yeah just gotta hope at least a few people don't pay in time! good luck!
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If you are in Athens DFFATL you should look into Atlanta. That will keep you busy enough.
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I'm sort of in between near Monroe. I will be working 3 different auctions on the 26th. All of them on the Southside of ATL starting at 10 am 1:30 and 3. The 2nd one I may not attend if the first runs long which is a PODS auction and I'm interested to see what those are like. Hopefully the crowd will have thinned out by the time the third one goes down. I won't get my hopes up though- the listing included " 51" TV, trailor, motorcycle" Really? Did they have to put that. I love the "misc. items" ones so much better.
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im probably going to pop my cherry and buy my first unit this thursday. the good thing is, i live in a upper middle class / lower high class neighborhood (houses range from 350k-1mil) and the first 2 auctions are right down the road :)
come to think of it, those are probably the only 2 ill attend, since the other 8 or so are in less than desirable sections of town that arent known for hoarding cool stuff.
some of the best units we've seen/bought have come from a rough area of town. And likewise some of the trashiest in the 'better' areas. Not always the case, but you really shouldn't judge a book and all......
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im probably going to pop my cherry and buy my first unit this thursday. the good thing is, i live in a upper middle class / lower high class neighborhood (houses range from 350k-1mil) and the first 2 auctions are right down the road :)
come to think of it, those are probably the only 2 ill attend, since the other 8 or so are in less than desirable sections of town that arent known for hoarding cool stuff.
some of the best units we've seen/bought have come from a rough area of town. And likewise some of the trashiest in the 'better' areas. Not always the case, but you really shouldn't judge a book and all......
Will agree the nicer facilities may be full. And if you need to store stuff will find one that has space available. Went to an auction and the owner of the facility had been putting it off but he needed the space for paying customers. His facility was full. "but you really shouldn't judge a book and all......"
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I know this post is a little bit late but this is a common newbie mistake. The company listed above is an aggregator that compiles information from storage facility's websites, newspapers and auctioneer's websites. The sell you the information that you can get for free with minimal effort.
I can't speak for every area, but in Dallas/Fort Worth & Houston, they miss 80% of the auctions. Why do they miss so many? Because it is a lot of work to actually call thousands of storage facilities on a regular basis. Why would they want to pay an employee to to make all of these phone calls when they can just visit a few websites, skim some auctions off the top and hope that nobody notices? ::)
You know there is a problem when you visit their website and the first question in their FAQ is " Q: How often do you update your data? I am finding auctions not on your list!"
The truth is, they don't contact every facility in the country like they claim to. They visit other peoples websites and re-appropriate data that is convenient for them to find. You will never see auctions listed on their website that were published in smaller community newspapers because these auctions take longer to find.
If only you guys who use their service knew how many auctions you were missing, it would make you sick to your stomach.
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I am also a newbie but have been checking this out for years. Way before the shows. I find storagetreasures.com helps some as does calling the storage lots,but another thing that helped was contacting the auctioneers in my area to send me a list of upcoming auctions they would be handling.I learn something new everyday but my daddy always said the day you stop learning is the day they put you in the ground. You must also realize in this world an education costs, if you're lucky it will only cost you money. ;)
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If your in the Atlanta area you can subscribe to Drew's listing. It is pretty accurate from what I can tell and gives # of units, address for facility, and a phone #. Is a great way to pay him back for providing this site to us.
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If your in the Atlanta area you can subscribe to Drew's listing. It is pretty accurate from what I can tell and gives # of units, address for facility, and a phone #. Is a great way to pay him back for providing this site to us.
I have seen Drew's lists and I guarantee you are getting a better quality product with his his service as opposed to using some national auction listing service that delivers half ass results. Why? Because it focuses on a specific city. The other sites try to cover too large of an area and their subscribers are the ones who are obliviously suffering.