MY RAT UNIT

Well, after kissing a lot of frogs I finally purchased/won my first unit on March 7, 2012.  It was a 10x30.  That's an awfully big unit for a first one so I suppose you could say I got a crash course on storage locker buying.  When the door opened up the first few things I saw were some antique pieces of furniture, a baseball card collection and something that looked like a wooden jewelry box.  I didn't expect the jewelry box to have anything of value in it though since it was right out in front....Voluminous amount of boxes and then plenty of things I couldn't see past that.  I set a price of $500.  I got the locker for $475.  Once I paid and got inside the locker, it took about one minute before I realized this locker was rat infested.  I moved one box of the baseball collection and I all I could see was rat droppings EVERYWHERE.  Not to mention the smell of rat urine.  I wanted to die right then and there.  Long story short, it took me 2 1/2 days to process this unit, mostly because most of the items had to be set aside for trash because of the urine smell. Quite sad because a lot of those items were resellable.  The unit was partially commercial and partially household.  The facility manager acknowledged knowing they had a rat problem with several units in that row so they allowed us extra time to clean it out without extra charge.  So thoughtful of them.  Well, by now, the 24th of March, I have completed cleaning, sanitizing, and sorting the items from the unit.  I gave most of the items to an auctioneer who also has an auction house and I believe I will triple my money. 

In the locker were collectible dolls which I have on Ebay and not selling.  I also have an amazing collection of vintage Pepsi glasses.  As a new seller on Ebay, noone is buying from me, so thats a problem.  Oh, in the unit was also two spa bathtubs.  I have those on craigs list.

Here is my question and i'm going to post this elsewhere to.  ANYONE FROM THE ATLANTA, GA AREA?  I do not have a "guy".  I DON'T KNOW ANYONE WHO BUYS COLLECTIBLES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER IT'S SPORTS MEMORABILIA OR THINGS LIKE THE PEPSI GLASSES I HAVE.  I PREFER NOT USING EBAY.  THERE MUST BE SOMEONE OUT THERE THAT WE CAN TAKE ITEMS TO, TO SELL.  ANY IDEAS?

Ohhh, I forgot to mention. The wooden box that looked like a jewelry box turned out to be a handpainted Asian Kingdom Chinese Chess Set.  Other people who have this are selling this particular chess set for approximately $150 and their box is not as in good condition as mine.   

Thanks StorMe.  I have an auction house already scheduled with alot of my stuff.  But I still have many collectible items here that I was hoping to find a "guy" to bring them to, especially for future units with odds and ends.

Gratz and ouch at the same time Ladylocks.  Read your post over on storageheroes blog.  The collectibles are going to be very hit and miss right now.  With the economy in the dumps, collectible things are the first to get axed.  Baseball, coke, nascar, etc. all are in the dumps.

I would do like StorMe suggested and try the auction house.

Like others have said. Collectibles just are not selling right now. The smart people are buying collectibles, like expensive art, but getting them extremely cheap and holding them. You can can sell them super cheap or hold them for a few years.  What is selling are things that people need everyday to get by. Appliances, tools, and for us, a clothes.  Collectibles will get a good price when you find the right "Buyer", but that will take time. They just aren't the type of items that are turn and burn.  If your looking for quick sells for good money look for items that people have to have.  While collectibles can bring good money. You have to be patient. They may sell tomorrow they may sell next year.

Congrats on your locker. That is a hell of a good price as far as prices go the last two years.   

The smell of the rat urine is why you only paid $475 for a packed full 10 x 30! At least in my local you would have paid 2 to 3 times that amount easy, so must of been the odor. 

Anyway, don't worry about being new to Ebay and thinking nobody will buy from you. When you have something listed in demand, they will buy. If nothing you found in the unit is selling on Ebay, then look for some things around your house that you don't need or are willing to sell and check the completed listings. When you find some in demand go ahead and list them, and they will be gone. This is a great way to start your sales cred. I think the second or third thing I sold on Ebay was a WWII helmet. A guy from France bought it, he paid for international shipping and I had no problems. He didn't care about my Ebay rating, he wanted that helmet and so did the other folks bidding!

The smell of the rat urine is why you only paid $475 for a packed full 10 x 30! At least in my local you would have paid 2 to 3 times that amount easy, so must of been the odor. 

Anyway, don't worry about being new to Ebay and thinking nobody will buy from you. When you have something listed in demand, they will buy. If nothing you found in the unit is selling on Ebay, then look for some things around your house that you don't need or are willing to sell and check the completed listings. When you find some in demand go ahead and list them, and they will be gone. This is a great way to start your sales cred. I think the second or third thing I sold on Ebay was a WWII helmet. A guy from France bought it, he paid for international shipping and I had no problems. He didn't care about my Ebay rating, he wanted that helmet and so did the other folks bidding!

VERY good advice and definitely check the completed listings!  When I'm not sure what to price an item at, I check all the completed listings including the start price, shipping fees and condition.  Gives you a real sense of why some sell and others don't.  plus a well-worded ad with numerous photos helps immensely at least for me. 

Take good care of your customers and your feedback rating will reflect that.

Good luck to you!

Sorry to hear about the rats.You should do Ok on Ebay.I don't know if you have bought on EBAY.If your feedback transactions are in the low numbers you might want to buy some cheap things to get the numbers up.It looks better when people are checking out your listings.

Good luck!

Have you tried selling on craigslist ?  Baseball cards are a real hard sell.  It got to the point where they started to make to many of them and they killed the market.  You will have to find flea markets and set up stands and sell it yourself.  Selling is the tricky part of this business.  What is your e-bay name ?  Good luck with the auction and let us know how you made out.  If you triple you money you did really good.

.I don't know if you have bought on EBAY.If your feedback transactions are in the low numbers you might want to buy some cheap things to get the numbers up.It looks better when people are checking out your listings.

Good luck!

I was going to suggest the same thing. When I'm looking to buy on ebay, I steer clear of people with low number ratings. Too easy to set up an account, list a bunch of stuff and never ship when people pay you. I've seen some sneaky things on Ebay. I remember when the Xbox 360 came out, people were listing empty boxes for sale. it clearly said in the description of the item it's was for the Box only, but the title suggested they were selling a Xbox 360 system. I email a couple of the winners and told them, "Hey Stupid, you do realize you won a $400 auction for an empty box!".  The guy had no idea, email me back saying no he was buying the Xbox system.