Storage Auctions
The Storage Locker => General Storage Auction Talk => Topic started by: Cobia on April 08, 2013, 11:22:18 AM
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Movieman knows about my hair-brained theories but here goes another one.
Are Saturday & Holiday (i.e. Good Friday) Storage Auctions Ruined Forever.
Seems to me since the TV shows we all keep waiting for the crowds and prices to wither away. We've had ebbs and flows where the crowds and prices seem to drop only to rise again when new episodes of Storage Auction TV shows come out or when it's tax season and people get their refund checks.
On the other hand Saturday auctions have maintained their popularity. At a recent Saturday auction I saw more fresh faces then I've seen in a while. What was interesting is this crowd did not look like typical re-sellers, junkers, pickers, etc. Mostly Middle to Upper Middle class, mostly couples. The drove BMWs, Corvettes, infinitys, & Porshes, along with new SUVs. When I saw this crowd it hit me like a shot! Saturday storage auctions will NEVER be like they were before the TV shows!
My theory is middle class couples, especially empty nesters, who would previously spend their weekends going to amusement parks, driving to the beach or mountains, going to casinos, or "antiquing". Are now going to storage auctions purely for entertainment purposes.
The bad news for full-timers & regulars; You can't run them up! They don't care! They don't have any business overhead costs, they can take their time processing the units, they don't need to make a profit, and even if they lose a few hundred dollars after all is said in done, so what? They would have spent that much anyway at the beach, or casino, or amusement park, etc. Then there is always the possibility the will score a good unit and find treasures! It's a win-win situation for them.
:'( :'( Therefor I conclude, and you heard it here first, Saturday Storage Auctions Are Ruined Forever!!! :'( :'( :'(
No theory should be made in absolutes so MOST Saturday auctions are ruined forever! ;)
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Movieman knows about my hair-brained theories but here goes another one.
Are Saturday & Holiday (i.e. Good Friday) Storage Auctions Ruined Forever.
No theory should be made in absolutes so MOST Saturday auctions are ruined forever! ;)
Actually, I admire your analysis of this business. Thanks though for the last thought on "absolutes"; I'm not a big fan of the word "always".
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As someone who did this some when I was younger and thinking about getting back into it (although probably part time) I agree with you.
I am only considering it because I will be able to attend weekday auctions and wouldn't think about a Saturday when, as you noted, people are there with stupid money. It's looking more and more like the only people making real money on Saturdays will be the auctioneers.
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Saturday auctions aren't so bad, as long as you find that $30K diamond ring sitting in a dresser drawer.
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Well I find the saturday auctions to have more "new" faces also. However, part of that is most of the regulars are at the flea selling. The one 3 facility saturday auction I attend normally has 20-40 people. It's silent bid so not really sure how many of them are serious. I do agree on the entertainment part.
I've attended a number of auctions now with 40+ people. It makes for a long day. However, 95% of them don't even bid. They are just there to look and watch. When it's a silent auction I hear a bunch of "they don't call it out like Storage Wars?". I've even had someone ask where Dan Dotson was....I was like seriously?????
I'll see on the 20th how your theory holds. 6 units in the small town near me. Last time we had 5 people at the auction, with only 1 other serious bidder. I bought 6 that day.
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I was going to ask the regulars out there if you found the atmosphere to be similar to the auction shows on tv. They can get down right nasty and even fight. They dont seem to like newbies. I totally understand if the newbie is as you described, but if the person has similar intentions as the serious buyers, you shouldnt be treated like an enemy. We have the right to be there too and everyone has to start somewhere. My first experience was pretty cool, and easy. It introduced me to what the auctions are all about. Not bragging but I think I am a natural and very respectful of others. I am a business woman and started my own charity, so I can get out there and fight with the best. My second auction experience was not quite as enjoyable. I learned a lot. I brought my brother with me to learn the auction business with me. He was going to help me with my charity. I wanted to show him how it goes. I had a limit and promised I wouldnt go over it. When it came to bidding time, I had a show down with this guy. He was not only a serious buyer, but a territorial one and I got the feeling he didnt like the fact that I was a girl. Everyone other than the two of us stopped bidding around $300. It was the only unit of the day, and this guy really wanted it. My intention was only to bid a little bit and show my brother. This guy was so nasty to me, for no reason, that it turned into a war. I was going to run him up if my life depended on it. I ran him up to $800 for a tiny little unit (although packed). I didn't think it was worth the money, but I got caught up not only in the excitement of bidding (not much willpower to stop) but in the war with this douche bag. He was so pissed when I finally pulled out. I had to run out of there cuz I thought he was going to kill me. I would have been so screwed if I got stuck with it. Not only did it cost more than I had on me, but I had nowhere to put the stuff. I gotta tell you though, I earned a lot of respect that day. When I first got there I could tell by the looks I got that they didn't think I could hang with them. Went to another auction after that one and same people were there and they were staring at me and whispering to each other. They were coming up to me and making conversation, asking me for tips. It was only the third auction! I love it and happy to find others who do as well, and take it serious.
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I was going to ask the regulars out there if you found the atmosphere to be similar to the auction shows on tv. They can get down right nasty and even fight. They dont seem to like newbies.
Nope, in all the years I've done this I have yet to see anyone be rude, nasty, or attempt to run people up to make them overpay. I have seen people get upset at being outbid, but that is to be expected. But even then they always seem to take it in stride.
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I ran him up to $800 for a tiny little unit (although packed). I didn't think it was worth the money, but I got caught up not only in the excitement of bidding (not much willpower to stop) but in the war with this douche bag. He was so pissed when I finally pulled out. I had to run out of there cuz I thought he was going to kill me. I would have been so screwed if I got stuck with it. Not only did it cost more than I had on me, but I had nowhere to put the stuff. I gotta tell you though, I earned a lot of respect that day.
Then again, you may have just put a HUGE target on your back! If you think a regular buyer or buyers are going to "back off" cause you ran them up on one unit, you got another thing coming. If you area is anything like mine then prepare to overpay on every unit you win for the next 3-6 months. It might seem cool to get "street cred" from the other newbies, but if this guy is an established regular with friends, ohh brother, look out, you might have opened a sh$t storm on yourself!
Good Luck!
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Yep, still crazy, still ruined. ???
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Yep, still crazy, still ruined. ???
Makes sense since most of the newbies have regular weekday jobs so this would mostly be their only opportunity to become the next Storage Wars star.
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Starting to get real stupid now. I think the facilities have finally realized that Saturday auctions draw the crowds & the money out. Last week, only 1 work week auction but 3 Saturday auctions. This week, only 2 work week auctions but 5! Saturday auctions! WTF!
The good news is they are all within 1 hour of each other so they should spread the crowd thin since the most anyone will be able to hit is 2 of the 5 max. 3 start at sime time, then the other 2 an hour later.
So should I go to the less advertised auction so I might be able to score some marginal to low quality units cheap, or should I go to the better advertised auction where most of the people will show up, but tends to have better quality units?
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Always go to the less advertised auctions with fewer units. The newcomers will be drawn to the other auctions.
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It's not just storage auctions, I've been going to Police Auctions for years and it's the same way. Ever since all these auction kings, storage wars, pawn stars, shows have come on you got lots of new people trying to enter the business, more people trying to do a side hustle and amke a few extra bucks and those who come just for entertainment or just to check it out.
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Redundant thought, but yeah, the facilities have figured out the people with disposable income (money to burn) go to Saturday auctions. No auctions this week (local area), but 3 on Saturday!
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I think bmoney there just gave us the perfect example of why Saturdays are ruined. Bidding more than she even had to play pissing match like she saw on tv. Even when I started, I've never viewed other auction goers as anything but an additional resource, and if I couldn't unload something they were always just a finders fee away. It's this screw the other guy mentality that makes dealing with the Saturday crowd not worth dealing with.
In my area some of the more annoying auctioneers even put up ad's for Saturday auctions that feature wording like "just like on tv". They bring out hot dog carts and allow the 100 plus people that show up to bring their kids. You get to wade through grade schoolers and stroller moms to see the contents of a locker. The auctioneers know most of these people wont bid so they are happy making money selling them soda, chips and burgers. When you see things go that direction, and auctioneers feeding off of it, no, you are not going to ever reclaim Saturdays.
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The really funny thing is that before the TV shows, Saturday used to be the best day to go to storage auctions. In fact, most facilities would never hold auctions on the weekends, since the crowds were so light.
The auction buyers who sell at flea markets and the like were out selling their stuff on the weekends, and buying during the week, so the only buyers one would see were "newbies".
Back then, these inexperienced buyers were a different breed. They all thought they could buy an entire household for $100 or less, and didn't come with much money to spend. And, they were also not aggressive bidders, just out "tire kicking" on a weekend morning, and dreaming they could purchase a lot of merchandise for next to nothing.
And as long as I was around, no one except me was getting good items for a good price. If a rookie buyer got anything, it was usually junk that I couldn't use. :P
Now, they are bidding recklessly, and almost always losing money. I went to an auction last Saturday where there were about 35 buyers, and I didn't recognize anyone (I have been doing this for a while, and know who all the "regulars" are).
After seeing the loads of $$$ thrown at the first 4 units, I knew I was just there for entertainment, and wouldn't be likely buying a locker that day. Then they opened up a unit with thrashed, clapped-out Harbor Freight power tools, and other junk that wasn't taken care of. One of the newbies turned to me and said "I bet this sells for around $150".
I told him "just watch- some fool will throw out at least $400 for this junk". He looked at me in disbelief. :( There was a bidding war, and the 8 X 10 room went for $700. I wouldn't have even paid $100 for it. Boy, I underestimated the stupidity of this group!!! :-[
So yes, at least for the time being, Saturday auctions are ruined. One encouraging sign in my area is that the monster weekday crowds have dwindled down a bit. People are finding out, one by one, how very hard it actually is to make a lot of money buying units for inflated prices. And they are telling their friends, too.