Hi guys. Loving the forum.
I just started doing this after reselling via garage sale picking. I decided to get into something to get more bulk items and to fill in the slow days of the week when I dont have any garage sales to pick or items to get sold.
This was my second time attending an auction. The first one was kinda crummy except for one unit and I didn't feel up to blowing $1000 on a tool unit for my first time.
Long story short, I got a 7.5x10 full of furniture for $150 that is pretty much going to triple itself. (leather couch, stone coffee table, two piece old style dresser, matching night stand, metal tv stand with mounting kit and glass surfaces, and the ever lovely mattress set). I've gotta say I got lucky with the mattresses though. The queen mattress set has a memory foam pillow top and my mom is going to take that one for herself.
The second unit looked kinda like this
(10x40 hoarder unit)
^^^ My mother going bonkers sifting through the treasures.
This facility had 7 auctions. Two were normal. The other five belonged to the same owner, a hoarder. After dealing with the other units, this was the last one and 80% of the people left when they saw it. I took it as a chance to get my feet wet and see what hard work is all about when it comes to this type of work.
I paid $120 for this unit. Luckily there are TONS of Christmas items. Ornaments, vintage wrapping paper, collectibles (cabbage patch kids, Lucy & Me Teddy Bears to name a few). A lot of glassware, good selling coffee mugs and pretty much anything 1950's to 1980's collectible type things with most of them in unopened condition or at least in the original box.
All in all, I think it worked out well. I'm estimating about $3000 out of the unit considering what we have found so far and what we've sold so quickly.
Now we have to get into getting it sold. Sorting through the boxes is fun, but high volume selling, especially ebay type things are not fun except for when they sell!
I got lucky. Now I'm dreading going out and doing it again and wondering when it is going to be "my time" to bomb out on a crappy unit :|
Take it easy!
Ryan