Vault Auction Scam - Please Share

Hi All,

I went to my first "vault auction" last Saturday at Daly Movers in Gardena Grove.  Some of you may already be aware of the following scam, but if you're not, please warn any of your friends that go to these. 

A vault auction is when a warehouse or moving company sells items by the crate, rather than from storage units.  They either sell a whole crate at a time, or "by the piece", which means they stack boxes outside, and you have to buy a stack of boxes (not just one) all at the same price.  For instance, if you see a box you want and you bid $45 for it, you have to buy the two boxes underneath it also for $45, so the total is $135, plus 10% sales tax, plus a 10% "buyers premium".   

Here's the scam I discovered:  I bought a carefully wrapped box that was full of "stuff".   When I opened it, it contained a wicker box  which  contained old National Geographics from 2003.   However, this thing had been wrapped with not one, but four different kinds of tissue paper, apparently for no reason.   On one of the handles of the wicker basket was an auction tag from ANOTHER moving company, complete with lot number.  This company had bought all the junk another company couldn't sell (and of course they went through the wicker box before they wrapped it), and slapped their own auction tag on it.  The other box I bought turned out to contain a box from Belkin Movers, yet ANOTHER moving company.   The box had been marked "computer screen", "quilt", "clock", etc.  There was a quilt and a broken clock in it, but no computer screen; then I noticed the handwritten label was different and newer-looking than the others. 

They set one decent-looking box on top of others that are full of book or other junk, so you have to buy all three.


 I don't know how much they bought this random crap for from other moving companies, pretending it was from their own company, saying it has been in Their storage "for years".  Is this legal?  Is there such a thing as auction fraud?

Beware of these "by the piece" vault auctions.  Unless it looks like new merchandize from a wholesaler and not personal items, the boxes have all been gone through, and rewrapped as if they are actual stored, unopened items.  A lot of people got scammed that day.  Please pass this info on to all your friends who are in this business.  We don't deserve to be defrauded this way.   Thanks.

All I can say is WOW
  Just when You think You have heard of all the ways they can scam Us , anotherone pop's up .     

Here's what I would do.

I would never do any business with either this company or this auctioneer again.  I'd then lodge a complaint with the state that issued that auctioneer his license.  I personally would not of went to this auction in the first place, 10% buyer premium?  Screw that. I'll go find a caravan that doesn't charge this.  They are out there.

It's a shame they would do this.  They are essentially shorting themselves in the future because once word hits that they did this once, no one will want to buy any of their stuff and then in future auctions, they won't make near as much money.

You mind listing the company and the auctioneer for some good old fashioned publicity?

If they would just use their powers for good instead of evil!!

Update: 

I contacted the auctioneers (American Auctioneers) and they naturally told me they only auction the boxes, and that I needed to contact the storage company directly, Daly Movers.  I did so and was informed that "other moving companies from all over the country use them all the time" to store things on behalf of their clients.  They told me that the lot number stickers I found on the boxes were simply their way of keeping track of the boxes while they are with them.
I found that odd, as these lot stickers look the same as the kind used at auctions.

All of the boxes I had bought had been gone through previously (packaging on clothing inside the boxes ripped open, etc).   Even if these previous companies do "ship things on" to Daly Movers for their clients, I am sure they go through everything first. 

Also, why on earth would a client ship something to one mover, who would then ship it from another state onto California to store,  when all the box contains are National Geographic magazines and other worthless magazines from 2003?  Isn't that a lot of money to spend to ship and store out-of-date magazines and books you're never going to look at again anyway?  I have my suspicions about that.
If it's personal stuff at a vault auction... it could come from anywhere (in this case, other moving companies) and it certainly has been gone through.  Beware.

That sounds like crap to me! Thanks for the info.