Storage war jackpot turns to junk

http://www.kltv.com/story/18422436/psi-storage-war-jackpogt-turns-to-junk

article and TV News video. from SHELBY, NC (WBTV)

someone is getting a good laugh from this. too bad but it is Buyer Beware. and could have happened to any of us.

This is what happens when you don't look before you leap. Poor dumb bastards.

Hmmmm.

I wonder if it was their first buy. 

No it could'nt have happened to ANY of us and I will tell you why it would'nt have happened to me anyway. This is the classic case of a desparado/gambler!

Newbie Mistake #1  "That was our first storage unit auction," said Jackie Ballinger. They were bidding on units at their FIRST auction? Not very smart, kind of like diving in the deep end your first time swimming.
Newbie Mistake #2  The Ballingers, armed with recently inherited cash, won the contents of the unit with a bid of $1650. They dropped $1650 on the first unit ever won with zero reselling experience?, kind of like buying a complete set of scuba diving gear and a dive boat before getting your swimming lessions.
Newbie Mistake #3  They thought they had hit the jackpot. Besides the fridge, there was a washer and dryer, a motor bike, even a riding lawnmower.  Alll of these items are USED and in UNKNOWN operating condition. If they were NEW, off the showroom floor, then yes, you could say you hit the "jackpot"!
Newbie Mistake #4  There were no engines in the motor bike, or riding mower, but something else made them suspicious. So they saw enough of these items from the door to KNOW they hit the jackpot but couldn't see they didn't have engines in them?Rose-colored glasses anyone? or were they Gold-colored glasses?
Newbie Mistake #5  The unit had several boxes with enticing labels that read "Daddy antiques," "Mama rings," "My and Mama laptops," and "Daddy old money." Boxes are almost always mislabeled, poor & frugal people will use the same boxes for multiple moves & storage. Did I tell you all about the unit that had flat screen LCD boxes full of clothes?
Newbie Mistake #6  The laptop box had four seat cushions," said Jackie Ballinger I have NEVER found a working laptop in a unit, I am sure some of you have, but if there is anything people are going to keep with them and NOT put in storage, it's a laptop computer. Other things typicaly NOT stored are handheld video game systems with the games that go wth them, and handguns.
Newbie Mistake #7 The other boxes had things like bed comforters. The "old money" box had old books and two pennies taped to the inside walls of the box. A box marked "old money"? Really? Really?. We have all found a little money scattered here and there in units and sometimes a coin collection or two, but do you think a family member is going to store a box of "Daddy's old money"?
Newbie Mistake #8 Evans says unit 169 was the best looking one auctioned that day. She also tells us she had no idea it hadn't been advertised ahead of time, but she says she is confident the unit was not staged. An unadvertised unit is almost always a red flag not to bid or atleast not bid to high. At best it is a facility build-up unit, at worst it's a...well see the story before us.

We all make mistakes in this business/hobby but this was a train wreck waiting to happen. A perfect storm of a Newbie/TV show buyer with money burning a hole in his/her pockets, and a classic trash/build-up/set-up unit.

Yep, they were as green as could be and proved it. At least most of the newbies are lookeyloos (another problem of course) and don't make that kind of mistake, but there are all variations in between.

All of your newbie mistakes and item "possibilities" ring pretty true but of course there are exceptions to some of them. I think I have gotten 3 hand-held game systems over the years..PSPs...and some games to go with them. I'm sure on one of them that the little girl had the game at dad's house (he probably bought it for her for when she was visiting him) and when dad folded it went in storage.

I have gotten a half dozen or so gameboys, but they are so outdated they're a poor seller if at all.

Now guns? Well there are a few of us on here who have gotten a half dozen or so, but by in large one would have to be a real idiot to leave them in a locker (either that or knew they were going to jail and didn't trust anyone on the outside with them).  The big lkr I just got had the nice "gun box" for cleaning rods, etc and there was a bench rest too. Hoping to "trade" the former owner some big items for a gun.

"The Ballinger's $1650 was split between Whaley's company and the auctioneer Caroline Brown."

WTF is with this? Around here the storage company gets the rent money they're out, the auctioneer gets his 10%, and the balance left over has to go to the tenant since it was their stuff that was sold.

First off, I'm amused when they said it had big ticket items like fridge, washer, dryer......
To me, those are a hassle. My area you get those free off CL. Or really, really cheap.
Not that you can't make money but they would have to be pretty nice to make it worth my effort.
Some people would say "I made $200 of the fridge!!"
I say "I had to lift and move this big ass thing for only $200".  
Appliances are just in my "lazy zone". lol

Maybe it's cause I just started doing the personal storage lockers and have bad memories of cleaning out Company units with dozens of broken hot water tanks and dryers and stripping them for scrap.....not fun.


What I was really wondering is what they donated? As pointed out by Cobia,  "zero rescaling experience" might have played a roll. Might have lost but maybe not as much had they known what to do.
I mean, if goodwill will take it? Then obviously it can be sold.
Yard sale that raises $50 is $50 less lost.    And did they inventory it out to at LEAST get a maximum tax write off?

Story just say they lost $1600 but then says they had sold some stuff....so what was the real loss?


Anyway, this story should be a featured item for newbies to read.  

Come on.The owner said somebody snuck in a put the items in an empty unit.It was staged.What I am wondering is who else bid on the staged locker to get the bid to 1650.I know it wasn't any of us.

Maybe when the auctioneer said "SIXTEEN FIFTY" they thought he meant $16.50 

After buying hundreds of units over the last several years I have definitely been victim of a few staged ones but even I can't feel bad for these people.  Spending 1650 of inherited money on their "jackpot" unit filled with scrap and mislabeled boxes is just plain dumb. 

And if the owner of the facility actually meant that people snuck into his building with the refrigerator washer dryer motorbike etc. He is as dumb as he is crooked.  I'm hoping what he meant was that someone bought a unit and then threw their garbage into one of his empty ones that's much more believable as I've seen it done before.

Daddy old money had me cracking up

Yeah I would of LOVED to seen people lifting that Fridge and washer and dryer over the fence. That storage facility is a scam and if anyone actually believes that happened then Im sorry but you better go take your MEDS.