A website that I am a member of is called AskArt.com.  I was lucky enough to have a client in my home care business that was an artist and had been painting since the 40s.  His art was incredible.  He was a modest man and had only one relative who lived in Norway.  When he passed away, the entire estate was donated to me.  There were approx 2000 paintings.  He wasnt known but did show up on AskArt.com.  I found a woman who bought the paintings for $30,000.  Her business was buying and selling paintings, especially paintings from not so well known artists.  She is in the process of doing what she does and make this guy know to everyone.  I have already received alerts from the site everytime she lists or adds more information to his bio.  I figured if she paid $30,000 for them she is going to succeed.  The good news for me is that I kept a fairly nice lot of the paintings as hopefully a retirement fund.  I am going to wait as long as I have to til he is well known and his paintings are going for a pretty penny.  Just do some research and try to find ladies people like the one I did. I met her at one of the largest flea markets in MA and surrounding areas, the Brimfield Flea Market.  I asked all of the places this guy exhibited at and didnt have any success.  Good luck to you and hopefully you will find someone who is willing to pay the right price for your paintings 

Has anyone found a diamond in the ruff in a unit like they do on the shows?  These guys always seem to find super valuable stuff.  One guy found 20 plus thousand dollars in paintings, etc.  Is it found only in well to do areas, or certain states?  I would love to hear some success stories.  It pumps me up and revs me til the next auction!

Does anyone out there think that the owners of the storage units has the ability to go through the units prior to auction and look for the valuable items?  That would really suck if it were to happen. 

I was going to ask the regulars out there if you found the atmosphere to be similar to the auction shows on tv.  They can get down right nasty and even fight.  They dont seem to like newbies.  I totally understand if the newbie is as you described, but if the person has similar intentions as the serious buyers, you shouldnt be treated like an enemy.  We have the right to be there too and everyone has to start somewhere.  My first experience was pretty cool, and easy.  It introduced me to what the auctions are all about.  Not bragging but I think I am a natural and very respectful of others.  I am a business woman and started my own charity, so I can get out there and fight with the best.  My second auction experience was not quite as enjoyable.  I learned a lot.  I brought my brother with me to learn the auction business with me.  He was going to help me with my charity.  I wanted to show him how it goes.  I had a limit and promised I wouldnt go over it.  When it came to bidding time, I had a show down with this guy.  He was not only a serious buyer, but a territorial one and I got the feeling he didnt like the fact that I was a girl.  Everyone other than the two of us stopped bidding around $300.  It was the only unit of the day, and this guy really wanted it.  My intention was only to bid a little bit and show my brother.  This guy was so nasty to me, for no reason, that it turned into a war.  I was going to run him up if my life depended on it.  I ran him up to $800 for a tiny little unit (although packed). I didn't think it was worth the money, but I got caught up not only in the excitement of bidding (not much willpower to stop) but in the war with this douche bag.  He was so pissed when I finally pulled out.  I had to run out of there cuz I thought he was going to kill me. I would have been so screwed if I got stuck with it.  Not only did it cost more than I had on me, but I had nowhere to put the stuff.  I gotta tell you though, I earned a lot of respect that day.  When I first got there I could tell by the looks I got that they didn't think I could hang with them.  Went to another auction after that one and same people were there and they were staring at me and whispering to each other.  They were coming up to me and making conversation, asking me for tips.  It was only the third auction!  I love it and happy to find others who do as well, and take it serious.

Hi everyone, I am new to this forum and would be considered new to the storage auction biz.  I have attended only 2 auctions.  First one had only 2 units and I won them both, each for only $50.  I would normally have felt empowered, but there were only 6 of us and the 5 others with me looked as if they were interested in units with tools, equipment, cars, etc.  Both units were full of household contents.  There was so much stuff it was unbelievable.  At that time I was building supplies and capital for a charity I started.  I started out with 1 storage shed and ended up with 3.  I have ADHD and enjoy the excitement of collecting the stuff, but not selling.  Ebay is great but I am constantly putting it off for another day.  Craigslist can be such a pain in the ass with having to answer every call and email, most of which are for non serious people.  Then there are the ones that wanna see the items, and you end up with 10 different people and 10 different times I have to make myself available.  Anyway, I ended up costing my business (have a home care company) $12,000 for 3 storage units and 2 years! Didnt make a penny for my charity.  I have since put the charity on hold and build inventory with plans of selling personally.  I gave so much away to the salvation army and now ready to get back to the auctions.  I am happy I stumbled across this forum.  You all sound so supportive and passionate about what you do.  Look forward to posting and seeing the responses (: