Yeah I have pounded enough fence posts and bucked enough bales, as a kid, to last a lifetime.  At least the 12 year old drove in the field this year so grabbing bales went a lot faster than the last 8yrs.  Never had race horses...I have heard they are mean.

I have noticed that the 5+ location trains (maybe 2 per month if lucky) have started losing people towards the end...also when there are multiple PS and Uhaul trains on a weekday my wife has done well.  She stays away from the "high quality" runs and the "low quality" runs and hits the middle ground.  Lots of 10-20 yr veterans that know waaay more than us.  They have helped her out a lot...esp. doing walk throughs (next day at clean outs) and suggesting sales outlets.  This last one was the first that we let our daughter actually bid on.  My wife is a lot harder (stays lower) on the bid side because she will focus only on the furniture for est. value.  Was safer to let daughter go with her.  The big one that I am kicking myself on was 3 weekends ago...Uhaul down in town 9 locations before this one on train.  Got there around 4pm and had 80+ units to sell (hadn't been an auction there for 3 months).  Everybody was running and things went very cheap nothing over 300-350 I think.  Only bought 2 units at that location.  Should have loaded up but was so hot and tired that just thinking about cleanout was making me sore.  We probably won't see that again for a couple of years...if ever...just a fluke.  Wife said it used to be more like that 5-6 years ago.  I never saw an auction back then because the job I had only left me time for cleanouts on Sundays.

You may have been there..PS on 41 across from White Water.  A couple of the regulars warned my daughter after she bought it.  I wasn't upset though.  Good learning experience for her...at least she pulled her weight and helped.    I was really proud of her.

I have lurked here a lot.  My wife did this a few years back...before the shows.  I claim to be a newbie. 

...anyway.  This is why most people quit.

6 years ago we started.  Didn't have the facilities to buy, haul, and clean out with the regulars.  Had another baby and took a vacation.  Fast forward 6 years, kids growing up, 2 pickups added to the family, and a job (mine) that actually lets me do the dirty work on nights and weekends.

Why people leave...
We jumped back in about 6 months ago basically to buy some furniture at a discount.  Yes I paid a little too much for the unit but less than craigslist prices for the sectional I needed for the basement.  End up selling most of the other stuff off so the couches were essentially free.  Dawns on my lovely wife that she now has two pickups and a trailer to haul stuff (vs. the RAV 6 years ago), a husband who isn't working nights and weekends anymore, and children who are old enough to help sort.  We decide that we will do it lightly for a while because we don't know how much the kids will take to it.  12 year old takes to it like a champ and starts absorbing all of the "look kids this is why this person couldn't afford to pay their bills" lessons.  hmmm maybe this will be good for them after all.  So we decide that if we want to have 1 of our 2 alotted garage sales in the fall we need to stock up.  End of the month trains are everywhere for 2 weekends and 1 full week.  We end up with 9 units at extremely low prices.

The reality...
One of the units, from a SU that won't hold personals, has a ton of pictures, paperwork, and a signed photo.  We are in a hurry and don't pay attention to the paperwork...sifting through for the usual...gift cards, money, jewelry.  End up with a Chase-Durer watch...nice enough but have to send off for repairs.  Nothing exceptional.  The signed item is of Michael Jackson with a personal message to one of the people in the unit.  Basically I threw out (shredded) all the support documentation for the autograph because I was in too much of a hurry.  We are going to lose about 10k...only paid $110 for the unit but its a loss of "potential".

What could have been.  The reality...one of the other 9 lockers was a "pee"/"smoker" unit that someone had ransacked.  Daughter bought it for $5...3 loads to the dump.

Moral of the story.  This is why most people do this once or twice and then leave.  For us we pay for furniture that we can CL and the rest is gravy.  It teaches our kids a lot of good life lessons.  So there is my missed "treasure" story...and why most people don't stick to it.  For us originally we didn't have the resources to be effective.  Now we do.  But most people will not stick to this no matter how many TV shows are on the air.

BTW I haven't sent the Chase-Durer off for repair and appraisal yet.  Did have diamonds checked and serial number...all good.  Will send the MJ signature for appraisal but without the supporting historical docs it's worth about 1/10th of the value.