Lookey Loos Part 8.....August, 2011

The dog days of summer just around the corner, meanwhile, it's 5 a.m. Saturday July 30 and putting off getting in the van to go to the flea market for a 100 degree day of selling.

Getting a jump-start on August; some auctions to go to August 2, 2011...been a while since I got one...maybe that will be the day! 

Finally got a break from the heat today. Went to another silent bid auction in the pouring rain with 15 units. Missed on the 2 I bid on and got soaked, but at least I didn't sweat. I really hate silent auctions. There were 30 people, giant umbrellas and kids playing in puddles, but the best were the knee high weeds growing in the cracks in front of the units.

Went to my first August, 2011 auctions today. Nothing special to report.

Crowds moderate (maybe 25 or so) and mostly newbies.

5 lkrs at each of two facilities. No dynamite lkrs. Prices about double what I would have bid, and I didn't bid at all as they all looked pretty junky to me. Prices were in the $200 to $350 range for everything from a 5 x 10 to a 10 x 10.

Went to a small-town auction today, hardly any advertisement. 5 bidders, 5 lockers. First two went for $25 (I got the first one), third $200, fourth a 10 x 30 packed full of boxes; $500. Last one $65.

There's another auction in this town in a few days, cant wait!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Went to 3 yesterday with nothing exceptional to report. Crowd moderate (25) prices still a little high and in one case way high for contents. A 10 x 15 about 2/3 full with nothing special showing...$695. I would have paid maybe $350 to $400.

Going to 2 more today and will report on them later.

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The 1st place today had 3 and a crowd of about 20; lks nothing to talk about. One was a 4x4x4. I bid $25 thinking I would get it but another regular went up to $50 against some newbies. I stopped at my first bid.  Second lkr was a 10 by 10 with a few things showing but not great; went for $275 to a "new" regular who had been buying everything he saw a couple of weeks ago, but must have gotten stung as he has only bid on 1 out of 10 the last couple of days. I walked away from last lkr here and didn't ask later what it sold for.

The 2nd place today had 7 or so lkrs. Crowd of about 30 with only FIVE regulars ! MANY new faces. On the other hand the first 3 sold for just $20 each. If the auctioneer had exercised the usual time-frame between waiting for bids or asking for them he would have gotten at least a bit more, but he was in a hurry. I didn't bid on a one; what's the point of buying visible junk (and nothing else) even if you do get it for $20?

Went to two different auctions today by the same auctioneer.  First one had 12 lockers, and out of the 12, only one was even interesting.  There were around 25 bidders, about 7 regulars and the rest noobies.  Most of the lockers sold for around the $400 range.  I didn't even bid, the one that was interesting in my mind went for a little over $500, and I wasn't interested for that price.

The second location ended up only having one locker left after three got paid up at the last moment.  I did go up to $150 on that one, but it ended up selling for around $175.  Prices are definitely down from the peak, but still too high for what I'm seeing being sold.

Went to the local Legacy auction run yesterday on the north side of ATL.  About 90 people at 3 locations.  10 or so bidders, and the amazing thing was the lockers didn't get bid up very high.  All of the lockers were crap though.  A guy showed up open carry a side arm.  He wasn't a police officer so the auctioneer made him put it in his car.   Kinda weird.  Anyway, lots of lookie loos out here in GA.

I was going to go to that Legacy auction. Glad I didn't waste my time. Last time I went there was way over a hundred people and the prices were ridiculous. I was hoping things had slowed down some, but I guess they haven't.

Well looks like people are starting to pay up at storage units.  Had a 5 unit auction next thursday lined up.  It's down to 4 units already.  Will call on the 17th to see if it's worth my lunch hour to hit the auction or not.  Two different locations have auctions at the end of the month.

Just found an auction on Saturday.  I expect it will be packed but going to plan to attend to watch and learn.  Currently 13 units up for auction.

B029 Teeter-W/D, Outdoor Equipment, Tools
B046 Morris-Furn., Boxes, Ice Chest, Stuff Animals
C073 Foster-Boxes, Furniture, Baby Supplies
C077 Horsby-Boxes, Furniture
E165 Carpenter-Boxes, Furniture, Jewelry
F195 Corley-Furniture, Crafts, Books
F196 Thomas-Mattresses
F199 Callahan-Clothes, Boxes, Mis. Goods
F201 Stannford-Mattress, TV, Boxes, Storage Tub
G300 Tony-Boxes, Carpet, Suitcase
G309 Jones-Clothes, Chairs, Books
G315 Jones-Clothes, Furniture, Mis.
H368 Blake-Furniture, Microwave

Good luck,let us know how you do!!

Went on a caravan today and got a unit for 125.00, first location had 2 units and 40 people. Same number at second location with 7 units. I got the sixth one at this location. This was the largest non Saturday crowd I've seen. The usual weekday crowd is 10-20 people. I've noticed a funny trend with bidding very high on units with furniture and large items and most walking away from units loaded with boxes and totes. My unit had 8 full totes, 6 large boxes overflowing, several other boxes and 3 laundry baskets all full of stuff. Already found 2 computers, a lot of electronic items, a load of toys, a ton of sellable clothes and I've barely started. Only 2 other people bid on this. I love this unit!

Nice catch Millertime, let us know any interesting finds you get.  I myself am looking for units such as that for my first lkr to buy.  I'm looking to test the waters this weekend but figure it will be a bust.  The local radio station was talking about Storage Wars yesterday and today and I just groaned.....and I'm one of the newbies.

Congrats millertime.

Friday, August 12, 2011...

Went to 2 of 4 auctions today by the same auctioneer; here;s the count:

"Bidders".......60; 5 regulars, 55 newbies.

Lkrs.....8 at each location; nothing special. I didn't bid on one due to quality and prices; a couple I would have bid on and won 7 months ago....today prices were double what I would pay.

Here's a pic of the crowd; some are still coming out of hallway door to the left out of frame.



Here are 3 pics of a pretty nice lkr with an "older" look; this one sold for $1,100 and plenty of us would have paid $500 or so for it.







Maybe next time? Getting a little discouraged !

Was the guy with the 2 chairs and camel pack a regular...he sure look prepared for a whole day of auctions.  About what I would take for a 8+ hour estate auction but storage units???

I'd call that lkr the lunch room lady locker.  Those apple boxes and a few other boxes I see come from the lunch rooms at schools.  See an older chest under all the boxes and what looks to be solid wood furniture (furniture isn't my strong point).  But what the heck is that one man band contraption???