Wish you were closer, we're getting 11 1/2 cents a pound now......80 of those would be a fair chunk of change!

Went to an auction at a single facility today.  Close to 50 people, but only about 30 signed in to bid.   Hung out with a few of the regulars and one of the "new regulars" that started buying about two months before the shows started. 

There were 13 lockers up for sale, and the majority of them went in the $250-$500 price range, except one locker that went for $775.  Two regulars got in a bidding war on that one because they saw a case for a french horn.  Horn was in it, but it was kind of corroded, but there was also a brand new looking trumpet in the locker too.  Still, I think the winner is going to be lucky to break even on that one.

I ended up spending $450 on one that I wish was a little better!  One of the items I saw that I thought was gonna get me my money back right away turned out to be something else.....dang!  I've got it all emptied out except for a few Goodwill items and some paperwork, and I'll make a little on it, but it's gonna be a lot of work for not much money! 

One thing I did think was kind of interesting though was the absence of a few key new players.  There's a couple of new guys that have been bidding on and buying a bunch of lockers at every auction......... and paying ridiculously high prices!  Maybe it's a fluke, but they did not show up today and hopefully they have moved on to easier money!

I'm jealous!  We used to have the Puget Park Drive In Swap Meet up in Everett, but they shut it down a couple of years ago and tore it all down and built a medical center.  A few other's have tried to get a swap meet going, but so far, none have had the success that place had. 

The Tulalip Tribes have a promising venue that reopens May 5th.  It's a huge venue, and was starting to draw some big crowds toward the end of last year.  Hopefully this year it will pick up even more.

That's very true, but at the same time markets differ in different parts of the country. What sells in one area can be unsellable garbage in another.

Too bad shipping costs are so high on a lot of that stuff......we could set up an exchange on the board so the right product could get sent to the right area.......that would be awesome! 

Here's some unsolicited advice......DON'T DO IT!!!!

If you have fun buying storage units now, it will ruin the "Fun" aspect.  I always thought it would be fun to have a store to get rid of all the "smalls" and have a place to put the furniture. 

A funny thing happens once you have the store though.  Instead of getting rid of the smalls, you need to keep buying them so you have something to sell!  It's a never ending circle, kind of like the puppy chasing his tail!

And, now that the shows have driven the price of even "average" lockers through the roof, it you plan to buy your inventory at storage auctions, you are going to pay a lot more than you used to, only now, you NEED inventory, or you have nothing to sell in your store! 

And something a lot of people don't think about is that running a thrift store takes a lot of time.  You know how you set up for that big garage sale every once in a while and what a pain in the ass it is?  Imagine setting up for a garage sale EVERY SINGLE DAY!  Some people thrive on it......I'm not one of those people!  It takes a lot of time to clean, price, and stage all that inventory.

Since my store has been open, I have way less time to be hitting the auctions, and as a result (and because of the stupid prices) my locker purchases are way down.  I have been buying a lot of items from estates.  I also have a number of auction buyers who go out and overpay for lockers, and then I go in and pick through their stuff and buy it outright, usually a trailer load at a time.   I get a fair deal, and they get rid of a bunch of inventory in one fell swoop.

I can't speak for every area, but in the last year, over 50 new thrift stores opened up in the county I live in.  Last month, at least seven folded.  I have notice that a lot of them seem to come and go.  One small town had five all open up over a span of a couple months, and I was approached by a former landlord asking me to come set one up there too.  I declined.

I have not decided whether I will stay with mine or not.  My lease is up at the end of this month.  Of all the things I do,  hanging out at the store and pricing each individual item is my least favorite thing to do. 

I know a lot of people that have stores.  I analyze the numbers constantly, and for the life of me don't know how a lot of these people stay in business.  I keep my overhead low, but I see some of these people with two or three employees, big diesel trucks, big trailers, expensive buildings, etc.  I hear what their sales are, then knowing what diesel costs and all the driving they're doing, how much they pay their employees, and their rent, I can't figure out where they are making any money?  Especially since they have to buy product to sell too!

I would say that unless you have a lot of extra time, you like being stuck in one location all the time, you have alternative inventory supply lines, and you are a very motivated person that doesn't mind putting in the 12 hour plus days that owning you're own store takes, it's probably not for you.  Trust me, it is going to be WAY more work than you think, and quite frankly, I don't think the rewards are there for the amount of work involved. 

Also, don't forget, you are also going to be competing with Goodwill, Salvation Army, Value Village, etc, who get their inventory for free from donations, and a large number of auction buyers who saw the shows and decided it would be a great idea to open a store too.   After all, look at Brandi and Jarrod......yeah, look at them.......when the shows started, they were struggling bad......would they still be around if it wasn't for the show money and all the publicity?  I wonder.........

Is he's got too much crap and hasn't gotten rid of it!  LMAO!  This is a current ad I just pulled of CL a couple of minutes ago:


3 storage units in my garage - $1000 (monroe)

Date: 2012-02-20, 9:18AM PST
Reply to: [email protected] [Errors when replying to ads?]

i bought 3 storage units,,my garage is full,,theres no junk at all and money to be made,,u will need a truck,for theresa few loads everything is in boxes,,too much stuff to list,,my garage is 28x48 and one side is full,,all the stuff is nice,,n worth the time n money,,1000.00 firm on my price,,ideal for second hand store,,or garage sale n swap meet,,i race n my rig is buried n race seasons startin up,,i need my rig n garage back,,,425-422-

Tomorrow is another one of the public storage runs.....we'll see what happens.....but after Daryl, Brandy and Jarrod made almost 30K between them the other night, the crowds should be thick!