Former owner encounters...both at the auction and afterwards

Here's something that happens once in a while and I'm sure  many of you have seen it, and if you are a newbie who hangs around for a year or more, you will too.

There are basically (I think) 2 categories of these folks...the two general groups would be:

1. The weeper

2. The antagonist

The weeper is self-expanatory and can be seen at the auction, just after the auction, or when YOU contact them about getting stuff back. I prefer this to having the property manager do it because there are SOME items I would want to sell back to them. Most property managers are smart enough NOT to give your number to the former lkr owner.

The antagonist takes several forms too, but here is one example: (feel free to add your own)


We were well into the auction with a locked front gate preventing anyone but code owners from coming in. However, a former lkr owner came in when a legit owner came through the gate and on foot she tracked the crowd down. About 100 feet from us a property mgr got a hold of her and grabbed her top. She backed out of it and her huge form came running toward us in semi nude state. It was a scary sight. They gradually got her out of there.

About 100 feet from us a property mgr got a hold of her and grabbed her top. She backed out of it and her huge form came running toward us in semi nude state. It was a scary sight. They gradually got her out of there.

Cool!  What could be better than an auction and a free show too!  I hope you brought some popcorn!

Nope, no popcorn...but now here's one "weeper" story.

Once in a while the storage unit property managers WILL let a "former" locker owner in to an auction if they promise to be calm about the
proceedings; they will even let them bid sometimes.

One of these people did bid against me; she stopped at $700 and I got it for $750. She then approached me asking if she could please buy the whole thing from me....she would go get some extra money.  I talked to the property manager about this and she had enough sympathy for the woman to allow it; the prop manager was sure the woman WOULD clean the unit out.

So, I took the woman's $700 as a deposit on her promise to get another $150 by the end of the day. When I called her later that day she put her lesbian lover on the phone who INSISTED I return the $700 or a lawyer would be called because she believed the auction was FIXED.

I returned the money, got them both to sign a receipt indicating this had taken place and I had two witnessess along with me. What a mess, and more proof that "No good deed goes unpunished."

Last note on this incident: the former lkr owner (without the lesbian lover) DID buy back a sofa set for $300 so it worked out a bit for her and I. Locker came out really good (aside from that hastle).

... Once in a while the storage unit property managers WILL let a "former" locker owner in to an auction if they promise to be calm about the proceedings; they will even let them bid sometimes.

Local law sometimes mandates that the 'former' owner be allowed to bid.

Here's a 2nd thread on this topic. 

http://storageauctionforums.com/index.php?topic=826.0

Here's a cut and paste from the Lookey Loos Part 4 thread:

This was MY post there, but this part of it belongs here in the former owner area:

*********

Went to final one of the week today.....another bust for me.

This one had 5 lkrs.  Crowd only about 20, but some newbies who have been around for a couple of months and
doing some buying. One couple there (low-lifes from the get go) and woman was shaking her fist, "It's not fair!", etc.Yep, she was a lkr owner and got to go inside with us.

Her lkr was next to last; a 10 x 30 with the back 2/3 full of black bags and some larger children stuff. Front had some OK  furniture. It went for $425 and the crying began and then the stomping off. Oh well; pay your bills.

Yeah it's funny how they can't make arangments to keep the unit (and most managers will work with you) but then they show up on auction days crying the blue about pictures and papers and family heirlooms. I take all pictures out of the frames and box them up along with personal papers tax returns stuff like that. I tape it up, call the site manager, tell them the boxes are ready and to call the former owners. If they want the stuff I take it to the manager (unannouced cuz I don't want to see the former owner). I leave it with the manager with a unit numer and date I bought it and any names found on paperwork then I leave and I'm done. I've had managers call back days later to tell me the former owner was pissed cuz I kept the picture frames etc. Tough ****. I paid for them I'm selling them at yard sales and flea arkets at 3 for $5.00. Better than wal mart and just as good a choice of frames. Then I get a call from a manager with a lady who wants to buy back her great grandfathers kidney shaped desk. OK so I look at the desk, find the label, its a Stife Lowes made in the late 20's to mid 30's. Cool, research it on the net and they are valued at $1000 and selling between 600 and 800 so I send a message back that I'll sell it for 500. Lady goes balistic on the manager about being robbed and gonna file theft charges etc. So now I drop off pics and papers and refuse to sell anything back to the former owner. No hassles that way. Try to be a nice guy and catch a ration for it. Sorry, pay the bill or I'll buy the goods and they are gone........................

Sorry, pay the bill or I'll buy the goods and they are gone........................

That sums it up quite nicely!

Check out reply #1 in the link below. Deals with former owner showing up to get his pics back for free and look at other stuff he might buy back.

http://storageauctionforums.com/index.php?topic=606.0

For the most part (certainly not ALL) they are losers and pretty much not worth dealing with.

Check out reply #1 in the link below. Deals with former owner showing up to get his pics back for free and look at other stuff he might buy back.

http://storageauctionforums.com/index.php?topic=606.0

For the most part (certainly not ALL) they are losers and pretty much not worth dealing with.

I tracked a former owner down once, (not easy) but with help from the local PD i got a hold of her.
The whole locker looked so neat and in order. But it was really dusty, no one had been in it for years.

Well the lady who have had the same locker for 8 years, had suddenly stopped paying for it, and was 4 months past due.

What i wanted to give back to her was wedding pictures, graduation pictures and papers. But also an ingraved bracelet that she had gotten from the mayor for some reason .

The PD tracked her down and i got to meet her, she was in her late 70's and had been admitted to a nursing home. And with no family knowing about her locker it went past due.

The moment i got there and showed her what i had, that is a moment i will never forget. She was so happy to see all her personal papers and pictures.

Well after that i have always said to the managers that if they want their stuff back they can contact me thru them. Well diden't that blow up in my face. This guy contacted me ad wanted this and that back, and i said no way. Papers and pictures are ok. But everything else is mine. If he wants it he can buy it back. Well this guy "dopehead" came to my door and was really threatning me and my family. I told him he had 2 min to leave or the cops would be called.  He was yelling all the way to the car and said he would come back.  I don't care about that dopehead anymore, as this was while i lived in Knoxville,TN.  If he had come back, my little friend .357 magnum would be ready for him.

Mr. A, did you actually give the manager permission to give up your home address?

I imagine even someone having your phone number coudl potentially turn into a hassle but you can always block a number however home address, woudln't want anyone who's stuff I had knowing where I live.

I'd probably give an email address they could contact me at. I'm prety fed up with even trying to give stuff back, nobody wants anything back as far as sentimental things, they all want things of value if they want anything at all. At this point I'm just throwing stuff away if the facility wont take it.

Mr. A, did you actually give the manager permission to give up your home address?

I imagine even someone having your phone number coudl potentially turn into a hassle but you can always block a number however home address, woudln't want anyone who's stuff I had knowing where I live.

I'd probably give an email address they could contact me at. I'm prety fed up with even trying to give stuff back, nobody wants anything back as far as sentimental things, they all want things of value if they want anything at all. At this point I'm just throwing stuff away if the facility wont take it.

I told them that they could contact me thru them. Well someone at the Storage facillity thought it was ok to give out my phone number to the guy. And when you have a phone numberthen it is easy to find an address.

And now that i live in Memphis, i am not doing it any more. This town is pretty wild, with some crazy people out there.  So here in Memphis no way.

Hence my way of doing things in my post above. The manager gets back a box of papers and I always remind them I do NOT sell anything back to the former owners and that they are NOT allowed to give out my info to anyone...........I'm a Georgian with a concealed carry permit and if someone shows up on my doorstep threatening my family they will get what they get and my S&W 357, remington 40 or savage sawed off (just legal barrel) will speak for me.

Whenever I am in contact with a former lkr owner it is because they have contacted the locker property mgrs and have given them their phone number. The locker mgrs call me and let me know about that call. I then call the former lkr owner from a blocked number.

If they want just the pictures and docs back I tell them they can pick them up the next day at the locker mgrs office. I deliver the docs the same day I get the call so as to not run into them.

If they want to buy items back I tell them the price....that usually turns them off as they seem to think we sell for pennies on the dollar or they just think we are dumb.

I never meet anyone at my home. The storage facility I meet them at is my home base (not where their lkr was) and it is a safe place to meet someone. I've yet to meet anyone who wasn't at least OK about it; after all, it was THEIR fault they lost the goods, not mine and when I get these requests it is often 3 or 4 weeks after the auction. 

While this sounds like a lot of manuevering, it doesn't really happen that often...maybe 3 or 4 times in 7 years for me.

Whenever I am in contact with a former lkr owner it is because they have contacted the locker property mgrs and have given them their phone number. The locker mgrs call me and let me know about that call. I then call the former lkr owner from a blocked number.

That's how I do it too.  I don't give them my number at all.  I call from a blocked number, and if they want to think about what they want or how much they are willing (or able) to pay, I give them a time I'll call them back.  Too much jacking around and they can forget it.  Also, I will go through the locker before I call them.  Two reasons....one is to make sure there isn't something super valuable in there that they are trying to get back for cheap, and the second is you will usually find something that tells you what kind of person they might be.  Like a couple of months ago when this guy wanted me to call him, but I found a bunch of papers where he has had multiple restraining orders and been in jail for assault.  No thanks, I'll pass on meeting him!