Storage Auctions
The Other Side of the Fence => Storage Auctioneers => Topic started by: RATannahill on February 07, 2012, 07:37:39 PM
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This is an ad from St. Louis auctioneer: UPCOMING STORAGE SALE SCHEDULE
**NOTE** These numbers are very likely to change before sale times....For those of you who do not understand how this works , the tenants have right up until the time that the sale starts to come in and pay off their delinquent balances, so that locker would not be sold as advertised.
**NEW POLICY- Effective 1-25-12 ALL FACILITIES - Due to the ever increasing crowds showing up at storage auctions, there will be a $5.00 per person ( that means every wife, child & friend) , not per buyer cover charge at each location, refundable with purchase. This money goes to the facility.
We are experiencing a large number of people that are there with no intention of buying lockers, bringing their children, which increases our time selling each unit.
All of our time is valuable. Where it was 5-10 minutes to show & sell a locker, it's now taking 20-25 minutes, and it's costing storage facilities several hours at each location from start to finish doing paperwork. **
WE STILL WELCOME EVERYONE TO ATTEND
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I see their point but that's messed up. I'm not paying $5 just to find they have three trash lockers. Or lockers that go above my limit.
Though this tells me the facility doesn't like the reaction to the tv shows either.
My feeling is the facilities liked the higher bids as a result of the shows but now it's just not worth it. Not like the have that many defaults. Most often sold within two months of last payment so not a huge loss. Auction recoils some. Selling to collections a touch more and the rest is a write off.
And that's my opinion with having no knowledge of financial losses due to default. :-\
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i have no problem with this at all. many times, the caravan im following is mostly lookeyloos and 5-10 real bidders. cracking down on the spectators will decrease the time spent while EVERYONE gets a look, plus the possible 'omg i have to have that jack up the price' types that are there only to run up bids.
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This may cut out some of the lookey loos but, I still don't like the idea, whos to say they won't start chargin 10, 15, 20 admission fee?
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I really like this idea as a consistent storage unit buyer. In my opinion, the extra $5 per location spent on not winning a unit is worth it if I can start winning $400 unit for $200.
Now for the part-timers and lookie loos, this my seem like a bad idea but consider there is an admission fee to go to sporting events, car races, movies, etc. any other form of entertainment, so why not the auctions?
I look at it this way. I go to 10 auctions, they are all garbage units, I spend $50. Then the next auction a real nice unit comes up and because there aren't a bunch of lookie loos, newbies, part-timers running up the bid I get a unit for $600 that right now would go for $1200 or more.
potential $600 saved on unit from excessive bidding minus $50 in auction fees = $550 saved!
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I see your point.
And I guess five bucks is an okay price as not to be tripping over kids and having 20 people in your view of the locker
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I can see the large auctioneer's and facilities doing this to make extra money. We had over 200 people (some said 340) at a Metro auction on MLK day.
Talking with the auctioneer (does texas, fl, etc. and had been on the show) - he hates the shows. At first it was nice to have the extra bidders and higher prices. However, due to the crowds now he is loosing money. Where before he could hold 4-5 auctions a day, he can only do two.
Now if they grandfathered in people. So if you had purchased a unit(s) from them in the past you didn't pay admission. If you were brand new, then you did.
I would be pissed however to pay $5 to see 2 or 3 crappy lockers that I'm no way interested in. Or the day no one was interested in the two units. Most of my auctions are 20-40 people even with the looky loos. So the auctions still go by pretty quick.
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Do what some places are doing a set up a refundable $50 payment. Everyone pays 50 bucks up front, and you get a bid card. No bid card means you don't go into the auction. This way the lookie loos are either removed or are at a bare minimum(as most lookie loos carry zero cash).
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I like this $5 idea a lot. A better idea would be that for anyone whom bids, they get their $5 back. This way the real bidders don't get hit with the fee, only the LLs do.
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I like this $5 idea a lot. A better idea would be that for anyone whom bids, they get their $5 back. This way the real bidders don't get hit with the fee, only the LLs do.
Yeah, but....who's going to keep track of that? And what is to stop a looky-lou from bidding $1 to get their money back?
I love the idea of grandfathering in those who are known buyers, but again, who does the policing of this?
I'd love to get the crowds under control and wouldn't object to a pay-per-view kind of deal, but there are just so many variables. Like on a two day 16 facility caravan it'll cost my husband and I $160? And who is going to be collecting all that dough? The employees of the facility or the auctioneers? Either way, time will be consumed with filling out that paperwork......
ugh......let's just get these danged shows off the air or better yet.....get one that really portrays the business......that should squelch about 80% of 'newbies'!
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GREAT IDEA if ya ask me......Id pay it all day even if I didnt win a locker.
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This is an ad from St. Louis auctioneer: UPCOMING STORAGE SALE SCHEDULE
**NOTE** These numbers are very likely to change before sale times....For those of you who do not understand how this works , the tenants have right up until the time that the sale starts to come in and pay off their delinquent balances, so that locker would not be sold as advertised.
**NEW POLICY- Effective 1-25-12 ALL FACILITIES - Due to the ever increasing crowds showing up at storage auctions, there will be a $5.00 per person ( that means every wife, child & friend) , not per buyer cover charge at each location, refundable with purchase. This money goes to the facility.
We are experiencing a large number of people that are there with no intention of buying lockers, bringing their children, which increases our time selling each unit.
All of our time is valuable. Where it was 5-10 minutes to show & sell a locker, it's now taking 20-25 minutes, and it's costing storage facilities several hours at each location from start to finish doing paperwork. **
WE STILL WELCOME EVERYONE TO ATTEND
I think this is a good idea but need a better idea so serious buyer arent affected! Maybe have a big screen in the lobby for the people that are starving for entertainment can watch or play reuns of storage bors?
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So no one but me would have a problem with this. It is open to the public. So if there are 7 auctions that day and you go to all of them there is $35 spent and you may not win a single unit. Now if you are going as a team because two sets of eyes are better than one you just spent $70. Start doing that 4 - 5 time a month and you are talking $300 a month. Good luck making a profit that way. Would anyone be happy when they open a unit and the only thing in there is one chest and a bag of garbage left behind. Talk about the WOW factor. I just paid $5 to see that trash.
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I think this is a good idea but need a better idea so serious buyer arent affected! Maybe have a big screen in the lobby for the people that are starving for entertainment can watch or play reuns of storage bors?
And who is going to pay for the big screen and camera's at every auction ?
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So if there are 7 auctions that day and you go to all of them there is $35 spent and you may not win a single unit.
Think of the time saved by not having all of the LLs in the way. Getting the 7 auctions done in 3 hours instead of 7 hours is well worth the extra cost. My time is valuable to me. Then of course there always the possibility of being charged just one $5 fee by the auctioneer to cover all of the auctions that day.
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I myself don't like the idea. It wouldn't surprise me anyways if some companies start to do that. I don't want to pay $5 to look at 1 locker that is trash/empty. Once/if the crowds die down would these places stop charging the $5. Of course not, it's extra revenue for them.
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they would be better served buy charging a big deposit per person than charging and admission.
i go to 2 uhaul circuits one doesnt charge a deposit upfront and gets 50-150 people and takes forever to complete each auction
the other takes a $200 per person deposit and gets 20-30 people and goes much quicker
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A facility asked me how I'd feel about having to register online.
They were thinking buyers would have to register and put a deposit by the night before.
They hadn't worked it all out and just asking everyone for input.
But I'd be cool with some variation of it.
Also thinking of restricting it to 18+. Nobody is watching their kids while bidding and they are scared of injury/law suit.
The other idea was opening all lockers from say 8-11 with an employee guarding. Then auction. But scraped idea cause of cost and people want the locker opened in front of them. I can see both sides. Be great to show up. Go to all five lockers and see they aren't for me and leave but also I too want the lock cut in front of me......
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Also thinking of restricting it to 18+. Nobody is watching their kids while bidding and they are scared of injury/law suit.
Many of us involve our kids in this process, so 18 is a very restrictive. I'm fine with 5+ year olds there. That seems to be the age where they start being much less disruptive.
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I like watching the kids when parents find toys and such. To them it'd better than Xmas. Everything in the locker is a treasure! lol
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So no one but me would have a problem with this. It is open to the public. So if there are 7 auctions that day and you go to all of them there is $35 spent and you may not win a single unit. Now if you are going as a team because two sets of eyes are better than one you just spent $70. Start doing that 4 - 5 time a month and you are talking $300 a month. Good luck making a profit that way. Would anyone be happy when they open a unit and the only thing in there is one chest and a bag of garbage left behind. Talk about the WOW factor. I just paid $5 to see that trash.
See its working GREAT Already.......You would be out if they did it so it works.....LOL
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Kinda off topic, but.
I was talking to one of the employees of the major auctioneer in our area. She told me the regulars, especially those with thrift stores and such have been complaining bitterly to the auction company about how the newbies are running them out of business. The auctioneers have come to a realization that although they are making more money right now with the high prices of units, if all the regulars go out of business it may cause them some financial difficulties as well.
Just my thoughts, but I am thinking if all the regular flea market vendors, thrift store owners get run out of business, the scene might only be left with people looking to cherry pick the nicely packed units and units with obvious high value things in them. All the other marginal units could go unsold. If the auctioneer can't sell off the marginal units, which account for most of the units up at auction; why should the facility manager hire the auctioneer in the first place?
Anyway, long of the short of the story, the auction company employee says they are considering some policies/strategies to protect the regulars and thier industry from all the newbies getting in. She did'nt give any examples of what they are planning but charging admission could be one option. Requiring a resale certificate to bid could be another option. Having bidding deposits of say $50-$200 could be an option. I realize depending on state laws and the fact that these are "public" auctions their hands might be tied as to what they can require, but at least one auctioneer is considering doing something to protect the old timers/regulars/professional storage unit buyers.
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The idea of charging admission to look at lkrs seems detrimental at first, but those of us who can afford it might applaud it after a while.
If it cut the crowd down it would be well worth it. On the other hand maybe it should only be applied to auctions having 5 or more units being sold. Even it applied to facilities with less than five units for sale it might not be a bad idea.
One philosophy has it that fewer people will go to an auction with only 1 or 2 units for sale, but that often goes out the window with "it's raining" idea that fewer people will show up. Every one goes anyway thinking no one else will...net result 30 or more people for 2 units....and they're both crap.
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@ cobia - many of the real auction companies are starting to hurt due to the crowds. As the guy from Legacy said it is taking him 2-3x as long to do one facility if they have 10 or more units. So while the pay has gotten a little better it is starting to hurt them in the long run. Instead of 3-4 auctions a day they can only do 1 or 2.
Thrift store / flea vendors will either go under or adapt. New people would open up stores. I disagreed with someone the other day that stated "If you can profit running a thrift now you can do it at any time". I disagreed with them, for currently more people are shopping thrifts/outlets due to the economy and counting every penny. Once economy turns around and everyone heads back to big box stores - a number of these thrift stores will close. Like the gold buying companies they are on every street corner it seems currently.
On the admission - I still prefer no admission or to be grandfathered in once you buy a unit from that facility. Trying to keep up with all the paperwork would be a PITA also I would think. Paying $5 to see 20 units and crowd of 20-30 people is cool. Paying $5 to see 3 trash units, and crowd still 50+ would just suck.
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Auction I went to today charged a buck a bidder, gave you a little number card like at other kinds of auctions. Didn't bother me any, nor would five bucks, especially if it lowered the attendance.
When my wife and I go we take our two kids. Not sure I would like the idea of having to pay $20, especially at a caravan of six or seven facilities. Maybe if you just paid once for the whole caravan or something.