Auction Scene #2...February, 2012

That first picture looks about like my back shed.  Must be someone's scrap pile.  I don't have that many xmas lights yet but I'm sure getting a good pile going.  Really thinking I need another trailer or two.  One to load up with trash, one with scrap, and the other to clean out units.

Went to an auction today with 8 lkrs; crowd of about 60; prices not totally out of line.

Saw one 10 x 10 with nice washer/dryer and good looking quality furniture....best furn lkr I've seen in a LONG time, but I don't buy this type unless there are a bunch of boxes too and there weren't. Think it went for $800 or so...would be some profit in it.

A couple of 5 x 10s went in the $400 to $500 range....used to go for $250 to $300 WAY BACK WHEN (14 months ago).
A 10 x 20 about 2/3 full front to back and maybe 6 fee tall from there to back wall...went for $750.

******

The main thing I noticed here was that of the 60 or so attendees (many of whom spent a LOT of time looking at each locker, only 5 or 6 were bidding AT ALL !  Two of the 6 lkrs I remember when to a newbie and his wife who rolled their stroller down several narrow halls and then wanted US to get out of the way for the U-turn. I had to say something to them but they didn't bat an eye.  The other 4 lkrs I remember went to 4 regulars and only a few newbies made feeble attempts to get those lkrs. STAY HOME PEOPLE !

Movie Man...
You can take the lights to certain recycle yards and they pay by the pound of lights. It is decent money because the state of California pays them a fee of some sort..... Its been about 6 months since i did it but you should get good money for all those lights.  I think it was $2.50 a pound. 

Christmas lights anyone?



Box shown in these two pics is about 4 feet tall and 3 feet on a side. No takers locally, how about you ?

How did you get pictures of my backyard?

If you were in GA I might have a buyer for the Christmas lights.  I don't know how much, but she is wanting to do a big set up at her house.  I will talk to her and let you know.

If you were in GA I might have a buyer for the Christmas lights.  I don't know how much, but she is wanting to do a big set up at her house.  I will talk to her and let you know.

No need to talk to your buyer...I put that pic up just for fun. The box was at a Goodwill store parking lot and apparently is part of THEIR recyling program. There was also a box of crutches, etc.

Even if your Georgia buyer wanted them, can you imagine what the shipping cost would be for a box that big ? 

I hate having a full time job sometimes. Miss alot of the smaller auctions and only hit the rediculos ones. Then my dad and I are doing another business that takes more time. Only way with the way prices have been that we will make money. People are either redeeming at to high a rate, bids are out of control, or the units I've seen are pure ****.  Hell my next sealed bids have potential but the jokers are putting crazy bids there too.  I'm going to stick around because I love this, but I'd really love for some of these nut jobs to fall off the face of the earth. Damn tax returns.

End rant! Lol

Lol Acman - I feel your pain.  My sneaking out at lunch to attend an auction days are about over.  Getting a new boss that micro manages like mad.  Even exempt people have to clock in-out, line up for fire drill, etc.

Anyways - on the auction side you are right about people paying up.  Thank to Drew's ASA weekly I was set to hit two auctions today while in Atlanta.  I didn't make it.  First facility canceled the auction as all the units paid up.  The second facility when I called had 2 units left, 90% paid up.  Was a 2 hour wait before the auction so father and I hit the road back towards the house.

I see the same thing in my area.  One auction already this month canceled as everyone paid up.  Last saturday all the units in one location paid up, and lady paid up at last min on second facility so we had 2 out of 10.

Prices for us still seem to be all over the board but mostly high.  Like the other evening, daughter put in a bid of $10 on a small unit with nothing but cloths.  Manager told her he already had a $100 opener.  She was a little shocked.  Him and I both agreed if this was even last August, she may of gotten it for the $10, at least under $50.

We have an auction next week where the legal notice reads --->  "Units will not be opened or viewed until time of sale."

Nice.  There are 10 units available, which means there will be one or two come auction time

Great day for splitting the crowd! 4 auctions in 1 day, and 3 going at same time.

I went to the independent facility. There was only 1 other regular and 12 newbies. One guy runs an auction house and he won the big one. A 10 x 30 80% full for $750. I got a 10 x 15 25% full $150. The owner of the last unit showed up just as the bidding started! Auction ended.

We all rejoined the big corporate caravan. Prices were sky high at the auctions going on while we were at the independent facility. Around 60 people, 8 regulars, 5 old newbies, the rest fresh newbies. The location we rejoined only had 2 BUILD UP units. They went for over $100 each. ATTENTION NEWBIES, YOU DON'T PAY OVER $100 ON SMALL BUILD UP UNITS!!!  The next location had 2 units. First had old beat up freezer & 4 hubcaps, $11. Second took about 10 minutes to cut the lock off, this one should be good! NOPE, EMPTY.

I go clean out my little buy and hustle to the late auction at another small independent facility. 6 regulars, 12 newbies. 4 units, prices reasonable but not cheap for what was showing, but probably enough meat on the bone to make some money.

The auction I missed was PODS and they went pretty high. I heard something like $750-$1300 range.

Looking back at previous post it looks like the current trend is stealing a couple good units at the small independent facilities, but fighting of the newbies and potentially overpaying at the large corporate caravan runs. The large corporate run on Tuesday I skipped was full of newbies and expensive too from what I was told.

Last October I think it was I got my "safe" locker that paid off well. That one cost $350 and there were maybe 15 people there.

Same place today; 60 attendees...I recognized 6 (old timers/6 month old newbies)...the rest .... 54 of them I had never seen before. Another good spot starting to go to the dogs.

Seven lkrs...prices a little out of whack...I got the last one (waited out the rest) and decided early on if the bidding got high I would just HIT it.  Started at $400, went quickly to $700 when I jumped in at $1000.  That did it.

A 10 x 20 packed floor to ceiling and left to right..almost to the front. Pic below shows pretty well. I had already made some working space on left and right. Should do well based on quality in front area and volume...unless it's 50 boxes of clothes.

History was an elderly woman who had moved stuff in over 3 years and then died and children kept paying bill but finally defaulted. Hoping for goodies.

Here's another pic showing the front edge of the "pile" which is about 8 feet in (12 feet left front to back) and showing the top of the pile near the ceiling. I climbed up and can see the back wall in one spot; surface looks pretty solid with boxes but they may be stacked on top of furniture. Will know in a couple of days.

Wow Movieman looks like a good unit!

Glad to see ya post UGA*FAN - read about the twisters up your way.

Movieman - that is a decent buy IMO.  That locker would be $800-$1000 normally in our area.  With people doing stupid stuff the way they are it would of gone for $1300 and up now.  Not as full of a locker that size with "ipod", "macbook", etc. boxes showing went for $1375.

Good looking unit with a number of u-haul boxes.  If it was an older lady that supervised the packing and storage you have a good chance of finding some old coins or gold, along with tons of nylons, old magazines, and books.  I know my grandmother who lived during the depression kept anything and everything of value or use.  She had a old purse with nothing but rolls and rolls of old wheat pennies.  Also have a shed full of old harliquine romance novels...still.  If I could ever find a buyer for those I could make some money.

The list I've done so far on the first "8" feet looks to total around $400 to $450, so if the back 12 solid feet pans out, it will be fine....the risk on these high priced lockers is that they will AT LEAST pay for themselves, but so far I've been lucky and have made a net of $300 to $900 on $1,000 lockers. Hopefully this one will be the same.

I could have taken this up $50 to $100 at a time from the last $700 bid that was placed, but might have had the same result and the $1K bid just ended it. I wouldn't have gone up from that. When getting in at this level, there can't be any Monday morning quarterbacking...if you're in it for the long haul it seems to work out in your favor.