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32
General Storage Auction Talk / Its funny that people will bid 1500.00 on
« on: March 30, 2012, 05:15:13 PM »
a unit full of trash but are too cheap to spend 20 bucks on a lottery ticket. People at the auction were saying thats a waste of money to buy lottery tickets! I said its a waste to bid 1500.00 on a junk unit.
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General Storage Auction Talk / Storage Auctions...Easy Money, or Money for Nothing?
« on: March 29, 2012, 01:38:59 PM »
Good news clip a buddy sent me this morning. Storage Auctions...Easy Money, or Money for Nothing?
What's up with these storage auctions?
Making money buying defaulted storage units seems to be all the craze these days. With television shows hyping the "riches" that can be found in these units, or lockers, it seems easy to find your way to wealth. The truth is, probably 98% of the time you will lose money instead of making it.
Before this became a fad there was some money to be made if you were smart and knowledgeable. Now it's generally a waste of time and money.
It used to be that 10 to 15 people who knew about this business would show up for these storage auctions. The bidding was kept low because of the number of people, and there were a lot of units to bid on. Now it's not unusual to to see a hundred or more people at an auction who think they know what they're doing, but end up paying way too much. Have you ever attended an auction where the bidding frenzy begins and people bid way over even retail value? Well, so it goes with storage auctions these days. A unit that may have sold for $200-$300 a couple of years ago now sells for well over $1000. There is no profit to be made when a unit is so overpriced.
There also are not nearly as many units being auctioned now. With the economy as bad as it's been, it appears most people who were going to lose their units have already lost them. Just look at the vacancy rate at storage facilities. It is reported that vacancy rates are about 30%, but there is evidence to suggest that they're much higher.
Source: jarrodlombardoA few words of warning
If you still think this may be the business for you, here are a few more things to consider:
Self storage is kind of a weird product. It's a need based product if you need more storage space and you have some extra cash to pay someone to store your stuff. But if you don't have extra cash, some would consider it a luxury they can do without. They may just continue to pile stuff up at their house, or sell, or trash their stuff themselves.
Most people who actually have valuable items in a self storage unit will take the valuables out and sell them themselves before they default, or while the default process is going on. They do get notification that their unit is going to auction in plenty of time to get the good stuff out and just leave the junk and trash. The best bet to avoid this is if someone has moved and the facility can't get in touch with them, or if someone has died and their family doesn't know about the unit. You would never know this in advance, of course, but if either of these is the case, you may hit a home run.
Most people who default on storage units are just normal people, not rich. They're storing holiday decorations, used baby clothes, knick knacks, paperwork or other items which are difficult to sell, and definitely don't have high profit potential. Most state laws do not allow you to go into a unit and look around, you have to look from the door. Those piled up boxes? Well, they're piled up boxes.
Keep in mind people are not paying as much for things as they used to. Take furniture for example. Say you get a unit full of furniture that is in really good condition. You think you've hit the jackpot. Everyone needs furniture, right? Right. And a lot of people don't want to pay retail anymore. The problem is two fold. First, used furniture is everywhere now, and it's cheap. And second, you're going to advertise it on the internet. People are going to call you to look at it. If in fact they show up, which is a big if, they are going to beat you up on the price.
The auctioneer wants their piece of the pie. Most of the time there is a buyer's premium paid to them in addition to what you pay for the unit, so make sure you have 10-20% more cash available to pay their cut.
The storage facility will charge you a deposit in addition to the price you paid for the unit. They want to make sure the unit is cleared out and left clean when you are done. The deposit ranges from about $50-$100. Yes, you will get it back if you make sure the unit is nice and clean when you leave, but it's just one more thing to keep in mind when you buy a unit. You need that additional cash with you. Usually the storage facility will give you 24-48 hours to clear out the unit. If you can't do it in that time, you're going to have to rent it until you can.
You need a good way to get rid of trash because you will have lots and lots of it. You cannot leave it at the storage facility. Maybe you can talk your regular trash collectors into taking it by giving them a little "lunch" money, or you're going to have to take it to a dump yourself. You need a vehicle big enough to haul it, and dump fees have also gone up and can eat into your profits.
Remember, people will always tell you about their big payoffs, but never their losses. Yes, maybe they once bought a unit that they made a couple of thousand dollars on. What they don't tell you about is the thousands of dollars they spent, and lost, to find that one gem.
Is this business really for you?
There are certain people that find this business appealing. Check out the list below to see if it's a business for you.
If you like opening boxes just because you don't know what's in them, this might be the business for you. There are definitely interesting and sometimes scary items to be found in storage units.
If you like having garage sales or going to flea markets every weekend to sell used, and mostly worthless stuff, this might be the business for you.
If you like getting beat up constantly to lower your price when you're only asking a quarter in the first place, this might be the business for you.
If you can detach yourself from the idea that what you find in a storage unit may have little to no monetary value, but has high sentimental value to someone, this might be the business for you.
If you are willing to spend a bunch of money to find that one jewel, this might be the business for you.
If you believe everything you see on TV, this might be the business for you.
In conclusion
To be fair, there are some people who are in this business who are successful. Much of it is heavily dependent on geographical area and local economy. For those of you who are in this business and are making a living, good for you. I wish you continued success.
For those of you who are thinking about getting into this business, read and study everything you can that's available from people who have had success.
What's up with these storage auctions?
Making money buying defaulted storage units seems to be all the craze these days. With television shows hyping the "riches" that can be found in these units, or lockers, it seems easy to find your way to wealth. The truth is, probably 98% of the time you will lose money instead of making it.
Before this became a fad there was some money to be made if you were smart and knowledgeable. Now it's generally a waste of time and money.
It used to be that 10 to 15 people who knew about this business would show up for these storage auctions. The bidding was kept low because of the number of people, and there were a lot of units to bid on. Now it's not unusual to to see a hundred or more people at an auction who think they know what they're doing, but end up paying way too much. Have you ever attended an auction where the bidding frenzy begins and people bid way over even retail value? Well, so it goes with storage auctions these days. A unit that may have sold for $200-$300 a couple of years ago now sells for well over $1000. There is no profit to be made when a unit is so overpriced.
There also are not nearly as many units being auctioned now. With the economy as bad as it's been, it appears most people who were going to lose their units have already lost them. Just look at the vacancy rate at storage facilities. It is reported that vacancy rates are about 30%, but there is evidence to suggest that they're much higher.
Source: jarrodlombardoA few words of warning
If you still think this may be the business for you, here are a few more things to consider:
Self storage is kind of a weird product. It's a need based product if you need more storage space and you have some extra cash to pay someone to store your stuff. But if you don't have extra cash, some would consider it a luxury they can do without. They may just continue to pile stuff up at their house, or sell, or trash their stuff themselves.
Most people who actually have valuable items in a self storage unit will take the valuables out and sell them themselves before they default, or while the default process is going on. They do get notification that their unit is going to auction in plenty of time to get the good stuff out and just leave the junk and trash. The best bet to avoid this is if someone has moved and the facility can't get in touch with them, or if someone has died and their family doesn't know about the unit. You would never know this in advance, of course, but if either of these is the case, you may hit a home run.
Most people who default on storage units are just normal people, not rich. They're storing holiday decorations, used baby clothes, knick knacks, paperwork or other items which are difficult to sell, and definitely don't have high profit potential. Most state laws do not allow you to go into a unit and look around, you have to look from the door. Those piled up boxes? Well, they're piled up boxes.
Keep in mind people are not paying as much for things as they used to. Take furniture for example. Say you get a unit full of furniture that is in really good condition. You think you've hit the jackpot. Everyone needs furniture, right? Right. And a lot of people don't want to pay retail anymore. The problem is two fold. First, used furniture is everywhere now, and it's cheap. And second, you're going to advertise it on the internet. People are going to call you to look at it. If in fact they show up, which is a big if, they are going to beat you up on the price.
The auctioneer wants their piece of the pie. Most of the time there is a buyer's premium paid to them in addition to what you pay for the unit, so make sure you have 10-20% more cash available to pay their cut.
The storage facility will charge you a deposit in addition to the price you paid for the unit. They want to make sure the unit is cleared out and left clean when you are done. The deposit ranges from about $50-$100. Yes, you will get it back if you make sure the unit is nice and clean when you leave, but it's just one more thing to keep in mind when you buy a unit. You need that additional cash with you. Usually the storage facility will give you 24-48 hours to clear out the unit. If you can't do it in that time, you're going to have to rent it until you can.
You need a good way to get rid of trash because you will have lots and lots of it. You cannot leave it at the storage facility. Maybe you can talk your regular trash collectors into taking it by giving them a little "lunch" money, or you're going to have to take it to a dump yourself. You need a vehicle big enough to haul it, and dump fees have also gone up and can eat into your profits.
Remember, people will always tell you about their big payoffs, but never their losses. Yes, maybe they once bought a unit that they made a couple of thousand dollars on. What they don't tell you about is the thousands of dollars they spent, and lost, to find that one gem.
Is this business really for you?
There are certain people that find this business appealing. Check out the list below to see if it's a business for you.
If you like opening boxes just because you don't know what's in them, this might be the business for you. There are definitely interesting and sometimes scary items to be found in storage units.
If you like having garage sales or going to flea markets every weekend to sell used, and mostly worthless stuff, this might be the business for you.
If you like getting beat up constantly to lower your price when you're only asking a quarter in the first place, this might be the business for you.
If you can detach yourself from the idea that what you find in a storage unit may have little to no monetary value, but has high sentimental value to someone, this might be the business for you.
If you are willing to spend a bunch of money to find that one jewel, this might be the business for you.
If you believe everything you see on TV, this might be the business for you.
In conclusion
To be fair, there are some people who are in this business who are successful. Much of it is heavily dependent on geographical area and local economy. For those of you who are in this business and are making a living, good for you. I wish you continued success.
For those of you who are thinking about getting into this business, read and study everything you can that's available from people who have had success.
34
General Storage Auction Talk / funny
« on: March 28, 2012, 03:00:44 PM »
http://www.ksl.com go to auction section
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General Storage Auction Talk / Here is amother pic of A unit that is going for way to much! Take a look
« on: March 26, 2012, 10:09:11 AM »
Would bid max 1,100 due to scratchs takes the price way down. Bet this unit sells for 1,854 .
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General Storage Auction Talk / Not in lein auctions becoming more popular?
« on: March 21, 2012, 06:50:06 PM »
Seems like 4 out of 7 units being auctioned are not in lein auctions? Do you see these poping up at every auction you attended? Its like a picked over units where 90% of the stuff is junk. At 4 bucks for a gallon of gas what a waste of time and money.
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General Storage Auction Talk / Do your local auction put out ads like these refering to the tv shows?
« on: March 16, 2012, 01:16:49 PM »
I mean how stupid is this bussiness getting? http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=19607778&cat=7&lpid=&search=
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General Storage Auction Talk / What do you think max bid should be for this unit
« on: March 07, 2012, 09:53:39 AM »
URL no longer active
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General Storage Auction Talk / Might have to try this new service cause I hate to clean unit out
« on: March 05, 2012, 03:22:16 PM »
Might have to try this. ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=19458499&cat=7&lpid=&search=
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General Storage Auction Talk / Everyone is trying to cash in on the auction bussiness! Have you seen this
« on: February 17, 2012, 02:53:39 PM »
in your area? http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=19263304&cat=7&lpid=&search= this bussiness is getting way out of control.
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General Storage Auction Talk / This is the worst time of the
« on: February 16, 2012, 12:01:32 PM »
year to buy units. Due to its tax refund time and the networks are playing re-runs and runs more now then ever before! So you get the newbiews with there tax refunds jacking up the prices dreaming all night how they are going to pay well over retail for a unit. ugg. Cant wait til end of spring first of summer.
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General Storage Auction Talk / Look what happen to this moron!!
« on: January 25, 2012, 02:53:24 PM »
People like this watch the show and have no clue. Hope he gets stuck with unit and learns a lesson. http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=19002214&cat=7&lpid=&search=
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Storage Auctions "In The News" / Just like I said. Dave hester wants more money to be on the show
« on: January 24, 2012, 03:20:37 PM »
I knew it! Now its public and people that that kept saying oh the show is 100% and know no one is getting paid! Well Hester wants the cash. See you have the good the bad and the ugly in the show. The show is scripted and paid actors. Feel kinda bad for all the newbiews that watched the show thinking it was real then jumped in after watching the show. Well monkey see monkey do.
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General Storage Auction Talk / This is the way to do an auction_Cut the locks infront of
« on: January 04, 2012, 09:55:17 AM »
Everyone. I will be at this auction. http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=18730215&cat=7&lpid=&search=
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Reality Shows about Storage Auctions / Like it or hate the shows here are the lastest ratings
« on: December 22, 2011, 02:07:55 PM »
tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/12/20/cable-top-25-monday-night-football-republican-presidential-debate-top-weekly-cable-viewing/114198/