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Messages - aftermath

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Was in Marshals the other day and they had a ton of Nike and Adidas backpacks for $20 each. They were all brand new and still had the Manufacture Tags on them. I bought one for a recent trip and when I got home I realized they go for $40-$100!!! With them being new and tagged they should bring in a pretty penny.

Has anybody here picked at these stores?

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Let me explain a little more, Im 34 now and when I was looking I was 19. After High School I went to college and took some business classes one in which we had to write a paper. The big things that people were talking about at the time was owning Storage Auction Facilities so I decided to write my paper on that. After interviewing an actual facility manager I learned it wasn't as low maintenance that was going around in the media. The Storage Facility manager was working on setting up a Auction for that week so I was lucky to find out about it.

Well at 19 getting a few hundred grand to get a storage unit was a pipe dream but the Auctions could of been a little in my price range hahahahaha.

Well my first auction I guess I was too stereotypical. The units looked like junk and the people looked like junkers. At 19 trying to look at it like a business it didnt look like I would get wealthy off of it.

I should of kept going but I got married and changed my educational goals and forgot about it

Now skip 5 years and I heard a crazy story about a guy who found a Harley Davidson in a storage locker and I saw dollar signs and went to a few auctions.

Well I ended up in a divorce, never bought a unit, met someone new, moved to brazil for a year, got married and returned to the states.

Now what do I see on TV? Storage Auctions shows!! I started connecting the dots. It was all the small junk that made a steady paycheck not the WOW factor!

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Well i think that we can ask everyone in here what got them started.

What made you start with storage auctions, what made you jump in the car and go to your first auction?  For the one of us who started this before the TV show's, it can be interesting to see how and why people started with this.

For the ones who started after November last year, it is easy, you saw the show and wanted to do it. LOL

So this is more towards us oldtimers.

Not necessarily! Im one of those who started after November but have an interesting journey!  ;D

About 10-15 years ago the big thing in real estate was owning storage unit facilities. Long story short, I had looked into it and the investment was more than I could afford.

All the literature read: Low Maintenance, easy set up, people drop there stuff off and pay you monthly. It was almost like a 50 unit facility would net me a monthly income and I had to do very little

Yeah Right!!!

All the research had uncovered Facility managers complaining about tenants not paying and holding auctions trying to get a fraction of the cost back. What was being said as easy money seemed like a huge headache and loads of paperwork. Even though i was being turned off about owning a facility, it made me curious about these auctions.

I actually only went to one local auction at this time and it was all garbage lockers and turned me off quickly.

Fast forward a couple of years and I went to a few more and could never commit my money to it. I didn't really see at the time how id make my money back at all.

All of a sudden these shows started popping up on TV and I started connecting the dots and kicking my own ass for not committing to it 10-15 years ago!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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New to Storage Auctions? / all cash sale but what about deposit?
« on: May 17, 2011, 10:27:37 AM »
I have been trying to count the cleaning deposit in with my bids which has never gave me much to work with.

Do you need to have the cleaning deposit in cash at the time of sale? Ive always heard you need the amount that you bid the minute you win but nothing about the cleaning deposit. Can you use credit for deposit or run to the atm?

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Reality Shows about Storage Auctions / Re: Dave Hester Auctions
« on: May 09, 2011, 02:40:47 AM »

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.





I understand before and during the auction But what about hours after the auction is over and they are unloading the unit? Is it possible they could put the gold bars in "later in the day" to make it more interesting?

Hell a lot of the "finds" are back at the store when they process it. How does anyone know that Brandy didnt slip that money in the book at the store? Yes, the painting Darell found was in the unit when he bought it But was the money planted there while they were going through this unit?

I don't mean to criticize I just know a guy....... how do i say......

I helped a guy unload a unit and there was nothing there but garbage. At the next auction I hear him gloating about his finds to the guy who lost the unit by a dollar.

 He out bid the guy by a dollar for a garbage Locker and then flat out made a story up to poke the other guy!!!!

So when I hear people making great finds at every locker they buy im very critical.







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Reality Shows about Storage Auctions / Re: Dave Hester Auctions
« on: May 06, 2011, 02:04:57 AM »
And you have heard this from who?

It will be alot of fun in the comming months, as i am going to CA on a trip, i will then make sure i attend auctions as much as i can. I will time it so i can be at one of the auctions run by Laura and Don, as i have talked to them a few times.  Don is the man behind it all. I doubt he is willing to loose his license over fake auctions.


I never said the Auctions or Bidding was faked or staged. I was saying that after the units are bought and are in the the hands of the buyers.

How would Laura and Don be involved If I pay for a locker and when everyone moves on to the next locker I throw something valuable in the locker I just bought and say "Hey look what I found in this locker"?


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General Storage Auction Talk / Gas Prices
« on: May 05, 2011, 11:25:33 AM »
How have Gas Prices effected your storage auction business?


Ive noticed a lot of "out of towners" haven't show up to the last couple of Auctions here in my town. Also, I haven't left town for an Auction in 2 months!

I figure with so many locals showing up to these Auctions, added with the local whale, it has deterred some people from spending gas money for their gas guzzling trucks to travel for auctions

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New to Storage Auctions? / Re: Sales Tax Question from a noob
« on: May 05, 2011, 11:16:05 AM »
Ive only bought two units this year and had three garage sales that have made 200-300 dollars each. Not to mention that these garage sales have included my own stuff.

Im just wondering how much can I make before I go through the process of paying taxes on it? I dont want to spend money getting all the paperwork and buying a cash register when I haven't  even made a grand yet.

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Reality Shows about Storage Auctions / Re: Dave Hester Auctions
« on: May 05, 2011, 02:27:10 AM »
The Stories are 100% real, The Auctions are 100% real, but the items are 100% Fake!


Here's what Ive heard is the Process of the Show.


1) They interview these guys about some of their greatest "Finds"

2) They look for a Real Auction and everyone agrees to be there that day

3) The Show then provides a mock up of an item from one of their real stories and they plant it in the locker they won.


For example.....

Darrel tells the producer about money he found behind a picture frame years ago, The Show then provides a picture with hidden money, and then they plant the painting in one of the lockers Darrel won that day at a real auction.


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Well in my area there where a lot of drug raids and a lot of people started hiding stuff in storage lockers. Now the list of "your screwed because" was that I did do quite a bit of research. This is why I got a P.O. Box, started using my middle name as my first name at the auctions, and learned how to make things disapear!

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New to Storage Auctions? / Sales Tax Question from a noob
« on: May 04, 2011, 02:50:10 PM »
I buy storage units and pay the taxes on the unit itself. I then hold garage sales and do craigslist to sell the merchandise.

Now I understand the importance of reporting everything you make to the IRS but I have never been to a garage sale where receipts are given and tax is charged. The same thing with craigslist.

Now I am a noob somewhat and I dont want to get in trouble but i am confused because im not running a business im just doing this as a hobby.

Just a little confusing




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Actually if you found drugs and money all you can do is pray because no matter what you do your screwed!!!!


1) If you Turn it over to the police then they will take a statement and you will be part of the investigation. Now you run the risk of the wrong people finding out who you are be it Drug Lords, Gangbangers, or the mob. Your running the risk of being on the front news of the paper or even worse being put on the stand.

2) You can not leave the facility with any of it! The cops will wonder why you didnt call the police immediately and decided to keep it. This could happen if police investigation leads them to the storage locker you bought, you get pulled over by cops upon leaving the facility, or simply someone turns you in to the cops.

3) The people who own the locker could strong arm the Facility and get your name and address, this means at anytime someone could show up at your front door looking for their stuff!

4) You cannot turn over the drugs and keep the money. The police will be suspicious because large amounts of drugs and large amounts of cash go hand in hand. They will investigate you just in case you did keep some drugs for yourself or you found money with the drugs.

So now lets fire this topic up......What would you do????;

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