LOOKY LOOS everywhere today

well said

Well, I am neither part of any good ole boy club, nor a newbie in business and from the people I have seen on this forum so far, all have been positive and helpful and I find that refreshing. Having said that it appears to me that one "auction ninny" err ninga is either full of himself, full of **** or both............I'll continue to listen, learn and help others the same way I always do. There's more than enough to go around and when I bid against others it's highest bidder wins. Doesn't matter who, doesn't matter what, where or when and the best part is I hold no ill feelings or ill will when someone else wins. If what I see at an auction is worth my continued bidding, I'll bid and win, if not I'll stop when I reach what I am willing to bid. No attitude, no animosity none of that I'm the greatest ninny err ninga crap.............

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and we all have one.

I think the biggest mistake being made in this thread is buying into the rhetoric. Let people have their opinions.

It's performance that counts and each of us can see how it works for us at the auctions.

Good news on the crowd situation on Wednesday, Feb 2, 2011 in Central California.

See my post in the WEST section of Your Neck of the Woods....crowd was down on a sunny day.

I also include in that post a couple of short stories on 3 "new buyers".

I find it interesting how people on here and at the actual auctions think they own the profession.  Just in this thread alone people bid up others and admit to bidding each other up in fun.  So that means that in most auctions you are paying more than a true auction because someone is having fun at your expense.  In the long run people bidding up others will get their butt handed to them.
And when all is said and done treat people like you want to be treated. 

I like what you have to say, Beach64.

I am new to the storage auction scene, but certainly not new to resale.  I started looking into auctions while searching for additional ways of obtaining inventory.

After some research (including these forums), I felt rather prepared for my first auction experience.  I was not prepared for the amount of people there.  I can definitely see where anyone-new or old- would be frustrated with the crowds. 

I can’t really grasp why anyone would be frustrated or complain about people not bidding, though (other than them contributing to a large crowd)?  Obviously, many of these units contain really nothing but garbage.  That’s the point.  Renters never came back for the stuff, so in a lot of cases it wasn’t even worth their money to keep it.  Not everyone is interested in going through a unit that is mostly just dirt and grime.   They will wait for the cleaner looking units.  Crowd or not, people not bidding leaves it free for the interested bidders to win. 

This “bidding up” business for newbies is something I can’t comprehend.  It’s foolish, selfish and just ridiculous.  Especially when you are doing it to new people.  Obviously, if there are new people, many will be new also to resale.  People new to resale might have a very different definition of profit than someone who has been doing it for years.  I know that I, personally, don’t buy a thing unless I can make a minimum 100% profit (unless I can get something that is a super easy sale.)  But someone new might think that a 30% profit for listing some items on craigslist or whatever they decide to do, is great!  If you get people in the practice of “overpaying” early on, good luck ever getting low bids back.  Geez if you don’t really want a unit, don’t bid on it. 

Not to mention the fact that you never know why someone is there.  Of course that new tv show brought attention to this not-so-new auction scene, but that doesn’t mean everyone there is there to resell and make money.  I have seen units with almost full houses worth of furniture.  While a unit like this might’ve gone for $600 or less 9 months ago, it may be very worth it for a family to pay over $1,000 to get a new house worth of furniture.  A new bedroom set alone costs well over that.  And perhaps that is why you see entire families at auctions.

I have been enjoying reading all of these posts.  It is definitely informative!  Just wanted to include my 2 cents, cuz that’s what I do.

As a "newbie" I have been going to auctions for a few months now.   My Wife and I talked about doing it for years and the shows did inspire us to get off the couch and go do it.    We have bought 5 units now.   Turned a quick profit on 4 of them and are still preprocessing the 5th unit and expect to at least triple our investment on it.   

With that back ground out of the way, I get frustrated by the crowds too.  I understand wanting to try something for the first time.   But standing there and not bidding is not trying.   Further adding to the frustrations are the people that bring the whole family.   I have seen 1 & 2 year old kids getting carried from auction to auction in the middle of January in Michigan.   It's dang cold here.  Leave the kids at home and send only 1 person to bid.

Many of the more experienced bidders are welcoming  to the newbies.   I have had several good conversations with them.  They are helpful and will give pointers to newbies.   As a newbie I am not going to go after the units that the experienced bidders go after.   There are many things to consider other than price.  Size of the unit, how much stuff is in it, if there is a way to get rid of it etc.

Some lessons are learned best the hard way.   Units with stained mattresses are best left to someone else.  Units filled with garbage bags are filled with garbage.   Units larger than your garage are going to take longer than 48 hours to empty.

Many of the more experienced bidders are welcoming  to the newbies.   I have had several good conversations with them.  They are helpful and will give pointers to newbies.   As a newbie I am not going to go after the units that the experienced bidders go after.   There are many things to consider other than price.  Size of the unit, how much stuff is in it, if there is a way to get rid of it etc.

All your points are good ones, but just responding to the partial quote above. I talk to new buyers at auctions and for the most part am friendly to them, but there does come a point when I draw the line. That line is when they ask if there are any other auctions today. No point in spoon-feeding that request. They should do the homework and if they aren't smart enough to get the current auctioneer's list then oh well.


I often ask them how many they have bought and the answers is usually zero to 1...usually zero. Once in a rare while they will ask me how many I have bought. When I tell them over 300 the usual reaction is "oh."

To Movieman.

Most of us here in Memphis are friendly to the newbies.
But like you said, their is a point where we draw the line.

Weekly i get asked at auctions the same thing, @when is the next auction@ @@where can i find the info on upcoming auctions@ I normally say, you have to find that out your self.  I mean this is part of the job of doing storage auctions, none of us got it handed to us on a silver plater.

I even get 5-6 emails a week where people ask me about next auctions, and again i tell them that they have to find that info on their own. Except a few guys i have given a list to.

I mean if you are serious about this as a newbie, you have to do the groundwork your self. Do not expect the old timers to help you with that. Because they will not help you with that information.  And to me thats just fair.  
Any newbies in here having a problem with that  If you do, then you are lazy and do not deserve to do auctions

Mr. A...

Yep, newcomers need to do research. That's what the majority of the members here are doing...I figure the bulk of the 900 lurkers who haven't posted are new or wanna-be auction buyers.

That research is a good thing. I belong to several other specialty forums and it's amazing how many want to be spoon-fed the answers to basic questions that have already been answered in the forums a thousand times.

At least here the question "where can I find information on upcoming auctions" (and similar ?s) haven't come up that much. The "search" button here must be working!

Ive been reading over this thread and find truth to many of the posts both positive and negative. Ive noticed the old men staring at the crowds in disgust as if someone found their hidden gold. Also heard rude comments about how stupid people are that are new to the auctions. Only time will weed out the people. The new generation will be here to stay in my opinion. Alot of the older more experienced buyers will be retiring. From what I have seen, many dont have the patience for the crowds and younger people. Some Ive met both new and old are nice, and some are cocky.. but mostly all seem to "know it all" Territorial??? most definitely!!!! Most of the guys and a few gals look at you like you are stealing eggs from their henhouse when you bid or win an auction. And the newbies.. well,. they go crazy over a concealed container or box. Around here if ya put 5 plastic storage bins in a locker, it will sell for $300. Throw some dust on it and it will sell for $600. I hope their pockets are deeper than their treasure hunting patience. Newbies seem to be everywhere in droves and the old timers just sit back in disbeliefat all the monies people are paying out. I think the old timers arent going to have the easy money anymore and 400 % profit on a good unit. More like 50%. I also see alot of uneducated people looking to spend crazy money on what they think is a treasure because of tv. They wont last long for sure. All in all, the auctioneers is the ones making out like a bandit. They dont even register here anymore becuase of the crowds...
 Just my two cents worth. Not new and not old to the game.

Think again, The old timers and some of the regulars knows where to look and where to go.

And here in Memphis they are now starting up a new thing. Wohooooo could not come sooner.

All storage auctions in Memphis,TN will from March 2011 start with fees for newbies.
It will cost you as a newbie 100 dollar to even be able attend the auction. Bring your family and it is 100 dollar per head.

If you can not show that you have bought more then 10 units or attended more then 50 auctions the last 3 months you will have to pay up to get in. Of course they give this deposit back to you if you don\t buy a locker. And if you buy a locker you get it back after the locker is inspected by the manager.

This will here in Memphis,TN reduce the crowds with atleast 40-50%
The same thing is beeing looked at in Alabama, Arkansas, and Texas.  And more and more places will be doing it.

Since some local auctions in Florida have dropped the registration for time purposes I am not sure I can see them going back and charging a deposit. 

State law in Tennesse says everyone have to register.

And the new practice of a attendence fee started today, i am glad to report that 15-20 people ( newbies / onlookers ) turned around and left. Suddenly the crowd was down to 20 people. Nice to see "waste of time" people are gone.

WISHED THAT WOULD SOON HAPPEN IN NC. WENT TO 9 AUCTIONS IN THE PAST 2 DAYS. BID ON SEVERAL BUT WAY OVERPRICED IN THE END. 100 + PEOPLE AT ALL AUCTIONS.

You know, as much as I get annoyed with people at auctions, the whole trying to get the newbies to turn away sounds like bad business on the auctioneers part. Wouldnt he want to get the higher bids and make more money? And also, I know some of the newbies get annoying (I'm not new and I'm not old either) but we all started out as newbies, so whats with all the griping?