Long Island Storage Auctions?

Anyone from Long Island here?

I'd like to take a shot on bidding on a few lockers in the future. However, I attended only one storage auction in Suffolk County. I didn't bid on anything, but I heard from numerous people since that the particular one I went to at this facility is staged. I don't know how exactly, but I think I read the contents either belonged to or where already picked through by the people holding the auction. Oddly, I called the facility the day of the auction and the person who answered said they knew nothing about it and that it was a third party holding it.

I'd like to know which places/people to avoid before I do this.

It's a crap shoot but I wouldn't let it get you down. Most storage facility owners and managers are honest people and they follow the law. Every now and then you will find one that appears to have been gone through or staged; however, if you're only bidding on what you can see from the door, what may or may not have been tampered with will not effect you.