Yeah, that's kind of what I thought too. The auction results were limited in my area so I figured that would be consistent throughout the country. I think the storage facility has to pay Storage Treasures to list their auction on their site. I don't think many storage facilities will be willing to pay them. I think the business model needs rethinking.

Not true, storage facilities have a free option. Remember one check on the site and you will see the ST is owned by the storage industry. If you think the others will win in the long run, you will run out of bids before then...

ST

Wow people. Kinda sorry I started this thread.
Was just asking if anyone signed with ST and then got a sh*t load of emails.
I don't really care. Reason I use a dump mail acct in the first place.

And it all turns into this....?

Really, does any of it matter at this point? It is what it is.

If you can't change your circumstances, change your attitude.

Just set up the first this morning - will do one a day to cover a time span. The profile is Test Junk for #1.

Nothing yet - all clean.

Lance



So.....lance?  What's up with your test emails?

Yes, it's reality TV, but it's not reality as anyone who has bought 10 or more lockers knows.

I won't deny the entertainment aspect though...it's hilarious....so is a road-runner cartoon.

I thought it would fail in the first season - no one is more surprised than me of the popularity.

I think I will make a fishing show for you guys where I never catch or kill anything - at least I know you guys will be watching.

LOL

Lance…

Below is a link from a “Dave Hester” thread from May, 2011

http://storageauctionforums.com//index.php?action=profile;u=884;sa=showPosts;start=15

In this post the sections below which are in BLUE are from you. The sections in RED are from me.

I will only speak for the auctions that have been filmed at my stores, bc i have been there for every second. The units are real. There are 47 state laws we as storage owners have to live within and breaking the laws has substantial liability. I would never risk my core business or subject my investors to liability for a few hits on our website.

Those of you on this site that are Pros know that the Tenant can come in and pay for the unit up until the auction has started. We (storage outlet) and any operator following CA law have taken possession of the property between the time we cut the lock and take the inventory (state law) (all done video camera and a witness).

Now lets get to the conspiracy theories I keep hearing. I have the key to the door and a seal on the auction unit and I am going to give it to (OP) and let them into the unit before the auction so they can stack gold bars in there to make it interesting? ...lest go down that path and say I do? what happens when the tenant sees their unit on tv and says wow "I had gold bars in my unit" maybe I should get an attorney? Or if OP put the Gold Bars in there and the tenant came and paid the bill just before the auction starts? Demands control of the unit - which they would get. Do we sneak in in front of 200 people and get the Gold Bars? BTW im using "Gold Bars" substitute anything you want.

If you have any questions I will try to answer...
SW is now starting to film in other markets
Lance Watkins
storageoutlet.net
storagetreasures.com

In the eight years I have been buying lockers (almost 400 bought so far) I have seen a lot of goods come and go.
I have seen honest facilities and dishonest facilities.

While I understand what you have said in regard to your experience with the Storage Wars filming group, I would like to ask you a question which I FEEL can be answered with a YES or NO and I hope you will do that.  I also understand that either a YES or NO answer would need some further explanation, and that will be great to. Here is my question:

IS IT POSSIBLE THAT AFTER A LOCKER IS PURCHASED by one of the SW buyers that the show producers COULD THEN put a FANTASTIC item inside the locker for the buyer to later "find"?  Please remember, answer YES or NO first, then explain your answer.

YES

But think about this:
This will come out in the long run - They have filmed about 70 episodes on SW alone. The other shows I dont count... Those 70 shows have been seen 100's of millions of times. Somebody should have jumped up and said "Hey that is my unit and I did not have a (whatever) stored in my unit"... Than comes "gee the storage facility miss advertised my unit and the buyer made all this money - maybe I should sue the facility, auctioneer and whoever else my attorney wants"

You can be sure that is in my mind when allowing OP to film. We do not make money from the producers, so liability is considered.

Guys this is reality TV - its entertainment. They have a hit show and it is not perfect. You are correct the auctioneers and storage facilities are doing well. However the good auctioneers hate the show. They know in the long run this is tough on them. It used to be only the really well organized auctioneer could get the good bidders to an auction with a fist full of cash. Now any auctioneer can get a crowd. Something to think about.... There is a lot in that message.

ST

ST

Btw, this is part of the email I speak off(part of a donation email)

So you’ve won your first storage unit for $200 and start digging in. First you find a few fly rods you know are worth a couple hundred bucks. Then you find an old silver watch and cufflinks that will bring a few bucks. The rest you decide to dump ... other than a few odd trinkets you’ll get appraised later on. You start gathering up piles of clothes, kitchenware, and a baby stroller to throw away at home.

I have problems with this email. We live off of clothes, nic nacs and kitchenware. This email implies alot that this is easy work.  And who the hell gets shid appraised? It's called ebay dude.  Your driving up prices by fabricating a once in every 50 or 100 units and trying to pass it as norm.

Well you got us - we tried to help charity and used an example of a GREAT unit. Here is the whole message:
So you’ve won your first storage unit for $200 and start digging in. First you find a few fly rods you know are worth a couple hundred bucks. Then you find an old silver watch and cufflinks that will bring a few bucks. The rest you decide to dump ... other than a few odd trinkets you’ll get appraised later on. You start gathering up piles of clothes, kitchenware, and a baby stroller to throw away at home.
STOP! Why dump these items when they could help someone else and you can receive a tax deduction in the process? Everyone benefits when you drop those items off at an organization who can get them in the hands of someone in need.
Here are some tips on tax deductions:

When documenting and claiming your tax deduction there several approaches to valuing the donated items. It’s important to be reasonable and consistent. For some help in this area, click here for IRS guidelines as well as input from the Salvation Army.
Here are some charities that accept donated goods:
   Charity Storage
Storage Treasures has teamed up with storage operators to found the first national storage charity. After you buy a unit, ask the facility manager if they participate in Charity Storage, where facilities designate a storage unit as a donation point, and later auction the unit off to raise money for local and national charities.
   
Salvation Army
Salvation Army can send a truck to your home to pick up your items, which may help someone across town or at the site of a natural disaster.

   
Goodwill
Goodwill has over 150 stores throughout the US and Canada as well as a wide network of donation points to help get your used goods to someone in need.


Stop by our forum and let us know how you, or your fellow auction hunters have made a difference and to let us know what organizations can accept goods in your area.

Happy Donating,
Your Storage Treasures Team

I find it a pretty hard core coincidence that I go from 3-4 a month to over 100 with in 24hrs after signing up. But I've delt with more bizarre situations, so its possible.

I havent used that email for anything else so 2+2=??

I've deleted the emails and haven't checked it since. But message me a contact email and if it has continued I'll let you know the source.

Like I said before, don't want to bash your site, just seemed a little odd.

We are setting up 5 aliases today and reregistering with virgin email to check ST. If we find any truth to this will will first kill the hole in the system and second report, third apologize!

We dont believe this is happening.

ST

Exactly! I knew that, that's why I said that. it just gets old when they jam it down your throat on a website. it's one thing to produce the shows for entertainment value it's another to potentially mislead people to bidding on unit when all the producers say there is good stuff there and great stuff that and never about crap units.

acman,

You have not spent one second looking at who is behind ST. Sure there are ties to the show, however the owners of the site are the top storage operators in the country and the top lien law attorneys in the storage industry. ST has not sensationalized anything and is still in its early development. The main goal of the site is to make an equal playing field for all.

If you are a true auction hunter you know how the industry works, or more accurately does not work regarding storage auctions. We will have systems in place soon to maximize accuracy, however you are well aware that sometimes just getting a storage facility to answer a phone is challenging, much less update auction hunters.

The site will continue to get better and there are many new tools and resources close to release.

We will continue to work hard for the Auction Hunters,  Auctioneers, Storage Facilities and the Tenant who in in lien. We work to protect all.

ST

Lance Watkins