Author - Naomi Luc

Auction Hunters: Rock On!

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Auction Hunters: Season 1, Episode 4: “Strat’ed for Cash.”

Allen and Ton head down to West Adams. It’s an old neighborhood in LA that was once home to stars back in the old days. , Probability to find some antiques looked good.

With a budget of $1000 in their pockets and five units to bid on, Haff-Ton ready for bid wars.

First unit appeared to have professionally packed boxes.

A man muttered he would bid up to $3K, but Allen was not going to fall into a trap. He called the man’s bluff. Haff won the storage unit for $475.

Next locker a mass of trash bags. Ton stated the obvious: trash – trash. Then it happened. Ton spied a vintage alcohol dispenser. Logic called to rethink the trash unit. One vintage item could be an indication of hidden treasures. Haff-Ton team won the storage unit at $225.

Last locker and only $300 left to spend. Haff-Ton team see a lot of old electronics and computers. Allen speculated there could be an estimated value of $1k of merchandise. With mild interest from the crowd, it was an easy win for Allen at $275.

Haff-Ton team dug through this storage unit first. Computers did not look good as they were outdated. Allen dug further and found an old Atari System still in its original box.

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Graphics elementary to today’s video games, but there’s definitely a market for vintage video games and consoles.

Next up the liquor dispenser unit. Haff-Ton discovered vintage silver from the 50s. An old telescope, possibly used for the military due to its markings. Then a sweet find, a vintage Schwinn.

Time to unlock the last locker’s mysteries. African masks and spears, not bad. Music amplifiers. Allen retrieved a long, thin case. He opened it. Inside a classic, light blue electric guitar.

Allen ROCKED OUT on the guitar for a bit. You might accuse him of showing off, but Ton beat to it.

Duo took the military telescope to Bobby, a military expert, for appraisal. He stated it was the type used tanks back in the 40’s. He did not show an interest to buy the telescope, but that they would find a home for it.

Ton thought the best home for the telescope was his own.

Next they take the guitar to Norm, a guitar expert, for appraisal. He stated it was a classic USA brand that many famous rock stars used. Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, to name a couple.

Color on the guitar indicated it was a limited edition. Norm used a black light to check that the guitar had the original color and was not repainted. Good so far. Norm checked the parts of the guitar.  Allen and Ton sweat bullets.

All original. Phew! Guitar valued at $3,500. Norm wanted that classic rock-n-roll and negotiated to pay $2,200, including the amplifiers as well.

Haff-Ton recouped their money and were solidly in the black. Last item to appraise was the Schwinn bike. Haff-Ton team reached out to Andrew, an antiques dealer, for appraisal.

Andrew pops with excitement. He stated this particular bike dated back to the depression era. What was impressive was that the bike had all the original pieces intact.

Andrew valued the bike at $8,000 but he was only willing to pay$2,200. Allen countered at $4,000 as he rode the bike around. Andrew appalled that Allen would ride that vintage bike.

Andrew finally offered $3,400 just to get Allen off the bike. Nice play there, Allen.

Total Profit: $5225

Please post your insightful and thoughtful opinions in the comment box below.

Auction Hunters: Season 1, Episode 1

AllenHaff-TonClinton-AH-1-1Auction Hunters: Season 1, Episode 1: “The Wild West.”

Allen Haff and Ton Jones head on down to San Bernardino CA. Three storage units were up for auction.

It’s a small community and no one wanted outsiders to swoop in to take away a bundle. Haff-Ton team did not expect to make any friends while they’re down there. Good thing it’s not called Friend Hunters.

In the first unit up for auction they spot some military gear.

Duo decided to pay as much as $400 for the unit. Ton won at $375.

Next storage unit had hairdressing equipment. They spot some salon chairs worth around $700. A local storage hunter intent on outbidding them. Allen planned to raise the price then dump the local with an expensive room.  Haff raised the bid to $950. Ton looked a tad stressed for it appeared they would be stuck with the overpriced unit. In the end the local took the bait and won. Phew!

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Allen hope was that the best was saved for last. Lock’s cut, the door’s raised… sparce! A couple of beat up boxes and an old red carpet. Ton was less than thrilled.

They search through the boxes of the red carpet room and uncovered a fake Christmas tree worth $50 bucks. Buried at the bottom of one boxes were some toy trains. Vintage to say the least. Allen must have a thing for trains because he was very excited.

They check out the military unit. Haff-Ton team found some old silver dollars worth a couple hundred dollars. Handcuffs from the 1870’s. Lodged in a leather boot Ton uncovered an antique gun. Allen recommended that they probably don’t want to point the gun at themselves. Smart man.

They drove to a shooting range to meet with a gun expert named Rob. If the gun fired, it would be worth double the amount. Haff wanted to know if an old gun like that had ever exploded and taken off someone’s hand.

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The gun expert told him he’s heard of people dying that way… probably not what Allen wanted to hear.

The gun fired and it didn’t cause any fatal injuries to anyone. Rob paid $375. Haff-Ton recouped their money for the unit. Rest pure profit.

Time to appraise toy trains. A friend of Allen dated the trains as pre-1918 and was willing to pay $70. Allen offended on behalf of the trains stated he would find a buyer willing to pay three hundred.

Lionel-Trains-AH-1-1Ton was skeptical. Clearly he was not impressed to hear they trains were seventy years old.

Allen gave the trains a new coat of paint and placed an ad. A man named Carrie dropped by to check out the train set. He agreed to pay $315 for the lot.

Allen looked wistful as Carrie walked away with them.

Allen told Ton he would have kept the trains for himself if Carrie had not been willing to pay the right price.

Here’s the breakdown of storage auctions by Allen and Ton.

  1. Auction begins when the auctioneer breaks the lock.
  2. You have only a few minutes to scan the contents.
  3. You have to determine what the unit and contents could be worth.
  4. Protect from over paying by profiling the room.
  5. Noticed how contents are stored (neat, messy).
  6. Try to see anything and everything possible to calculate worth of locker.
  7. Once you assess the value, do not go over that amount when you bid.

Auction Total:

Paid: $376
Sold: $1,190
Profit: $814

What did you think of the debut of this new Auction Hunters series?

Please post your insightful and thoughtful opinions in the comment box below.