Lookey Loos Part 2...February, 2011

Mr. A....

Your post #10 is really interesting; can't get how this guy blames it on you; you didn't want to buy his stuff; he's mad at himself for jumping off the cliff.

Yep, he might bid some people up and then get stuck with the locker especially if you inform all the old-timers.

What an idiot he is.

He doesn't sound like someone who will be in the business for long.  He's either going to piss everybody else off and never get a cheap unit, or he's going to blow all his cash on crap units.  I love people that blame everyone else for their stupidity and greed!

I talked to a guy today who is a newbie, he won a couple of lockers last week, and everyone i know thought he overpaid by a lot.

One unit he paid 675 for and the other he paid 800 for.
Well after talking with him today he was in deep ****. He had spent all his money and taken out 300 dollars on a CC.
His problem is as following.

He has no one to pick it up for him, he only has a 4 door sedan, he has nowhere to put it, and have been told by the storage places that he will be charged 1 month rent at both places. He asked me if i wanted to buy his units for his original winning bids, something i said no to. In one week those lockers are picked.

On top of this he asked me if i could have my guy's picking it up and drive it to his moms place in Alabama, it is like a 4 hours drive one way. He is broke and can not pay for it.
So i said no, well then he went on to say that i was working against newbies and i was making their life harder. So i told him it was not my job to babysit him, he went into this on his own, now he has to get out of it on his own. This pissed him off i think, then he said he was gonna show up on ever auctions and bid every "old timer up" He was gonna make it hard for everyone in the business.

I tell you, this is the newbies in a nutshell, they get burned and then they blame it on everyone else.

Noobie or not, this guy obviously isn't very intelligent. Tell him to ask his mom to bail him out.

lookey loos  I say lookey lunatics. I went back out on one of the big uhaul runs yesterday. First time in couple months or more. Huge crowd. I thinkin okay they are just here to look. 1st locker has atm and kids dirt bike. Goes upwards of 900.
Next locker 4 x 5 with uhaul boxes  only thing u can see is kids books. I'm thinking my locker max 250 it goes for 475 I think. The whole run was like that. One unit with 2 torn open big black trash bag and clothes strewn about went for 90 bucks.

I'm curious Terry, was this auction advertised online, e.g. auctionzip.xxx?  Also, what region of the country are you in?

Lookey Lunatics !  Good one and should catch on around these threads. 

Atlanta Ga
No it is not on auction zip. But all the newspaper in this area have web sites. plus work of mouth. Uhaul is smiling all the way to the bank. The auctioneer was to till about 5:30 pm. He had 3 locations to go. I left with 1 to go at 7:15.

Those are the good days to go to some other smaller auctions around town while everyone is on the big "tour"! Too bad there wasn't much else going on around town(Atlanta) on Monday!

Feb 20, 2011

The lookey loos are still coming though the numbers seem to have stabilized or gone down a bit depending
on the auctioneer.

The other thing I have noticed is that some of the newbies I have seen coming for the last 3 to 6 weeks are starting to buy !  These folks seem to be pretty focused and will possibly be long-term contenders, but others are making newbie mistakes and won't last..imho.

Only a week left in February!

I have only seen 2 newbies that have stayed for longer then 2 weeks. Most newbies here in Memphis shows up once or twice, then you don't see them again. But there is always a new face in the crowd.

Since desember i have only seen 2 newbies who are still showing up, and bidding on regular basis.

The rest of the pack comes and look, they bid and act like total dumbasses, then they are gone, just like the wind.

They come, they bid, they lose, and they are gone.  And waht do that tell you, well either they lost their shirt on a deal, or they are lazy people who will not work. People like that will never make it, regardless of what they are trying to do.

Big mouth, huge show off needs, and then the air goes out of them like a balloon.

Went to 2 auctions today...Feb 24, 2011...by same auctioneer. About 5 lkrs at each site and "only" 30 plus bidders. A gal who used to buy $5 and $10 lockers has upped her bids into the $100 range that those lockers now require. She got 1 for a hundred something, 1 for $35 and another in that range.

The fellow who used to get the $1 and $5 lockers is not coming right now...those lkrs are going for $25 and up.

But, crowd seems better than even a few weeks ago, so there is hope.

Went on an auction circuit yesterday, 6 locations. All day the prices were way out of hand.  Too many people with too much money to piss away. I thought the cold weather would deter people, I was dead wrong. One locker went for 2900 and believe me, it was not worth 2900.  I went home empty handed, I just couldn't justify paying retail for a unit.  My last auction of the day was in Minneapolis and it was an inside facility.  The crowds were insane, trying to move was such a hassle.  And while I'm venting, don't people shower anymore, my God I've never encountered such shady, stinky people.  I think I'll wait until the end of March before hitting another auction, the scene is just too saturated right now.

I am pretty sure at least one of the shows was picked up for a second season, so waiting until March probably wont help a damn thing.

Orlando

I am pretty sure at least one of the shows was picked up for a second season, so waiting until March probably wont help a damn thing.

Orlando

Both shows have renewed for sure. I actually think central California is starting to see a bit of backing off in crowd size. Also, some newbies ARE buying...though still paying too much. I have heard 2 guys say they got crap and will lose money on what they paid for...one paid 500 and another 1650!

There are a lot of people losing money right now.  I've seen many units sold for way more than what they were worth.  One guy was buying stuff left and right, and he blew through over 15 grand in about four auctions, including buying one locker with a lot of nice looking furniture for $7600 (plus tax, he was in it in the mid 8's!  I've talked to him quite a bit now, and the other day he told me he will be lucky if he get's 5k back out of that locker, and his wife is starting to get a little mad at him.  Their garage is full and he has spent a lot of their savings and they haven't made any money yet.

I was also selling a few clothes at a shop I do business with, and the owner's husband was there, and he started talking about storage auctions.  He told me he was going to get him and his buddy to each put in $600 and they were going to go to the auctions and "tear it up"!  I told him I know guys that go with $20K, and they aren't even "tearing it up" right now!

I do think it is starting to stabilize a little bit.....I got 2 1/2 this week (split one) but prices are still a lot higher than they used to be.  Paid $50, $360, and $1075.  Before, that would have been $10-$20, $150, and maybe $400-$500!