Liquidity

There is no argument that you get the best bang for your buck by buying large units that are packed full of merchandise. But does it come with a loss of opportunity?

These last two units I bought were massive and I've got a ton of merchandise to sell. That's great and all but I've found that they have limited my ability to purchase more units due to the time involved in selling everything and the amount of money and space they tied up.

For you, is it better to buy a few small or medium size units that turn over quickly or would you rather buy a massive unit which takes months to liquidate?

I bought 4 lockers on April 1st. I had no room for any more stuff. I continued going to auctions, but it was always in the back of my head that I can't get anything too big because of my lack of storage. Now that I have plenty of storage space and a fatter wallet, I can go for the bigger units. I like going for the bigger units and selling off. Although, the "what you see is what you get" units are usually good for a quick flip.

For you, is it better to buy a few small or medium size units that turn over quickly or

Yes, after all, why have all that stuff hanging around.

Travis,

There is no way to tell for sure without some very intensive quanitative analysis and logirithimic formula computations.

It would be easier to determine the correct answer if the inventory was always the same. For instance, Say every 10x30 unit had 10 washers, 25 vacuum cleaners & 200 DVDs & every 10x10 unit had 2 washers, 20 vacuum cleaners & 100 DVDs then it would be pretty easy to track the data on how much you sell each of the three items for and how long each item takes to sell.

The problem is each large packed unit is different and each small lightly packed unit is different. Different inventory, different quality, etc.

You could end up buying one large 10x30, take a month to sell it and make $2500.
Next month buy 4 10x10, take a month to sell them and make $4000, and then concluded buying the smaller units is better!
But, you could just as likely buy one large 10x30, take a month to sell it and make $4000.
And the next month buy 4 10x10, take a month to sell them and make $2500.

It seems like the issue is limited space so the supposition is if I have 10x20 space for buying storage units it's better for me to buy 10x10 or smaller units, move them out quicker and not have all my space taken up by one 10x20 unit.

A couple of  thoughts. Isn't inventory just inventory no matter how much space it takes up? So is it more cost effective to continue driving back and forth to auctions and storage facilities to buy and clean out smaller storage units instead of having that one large unit taking up my space?

Generally, the quality of  a unit tends to be the same through out. Do I risk not buying a good quality 10x20 or 10x30, just so I can take some wacks at some good, fair, or poor quality 5x10 & 10x10 just because I can move them quicker?

I buy when I can with what I have on me.  90% of the time this is small units that clean out quick, 99% of the items are smalls, and I can sell quickly but over time.  The large units IMO take more time but you get more of a ROI.  Furniture is where the big money is most times.  Only if you find that gold ring, old coin collection, etc. in a small unit do you get the same return.

Honestly - I prefer any units that I can buy at my price.  I'm cheap and don't go over $200 on many units unless I really want them.  If I'm more ah so/so about the unit I'm just not that aggressive.  I'm still doing better at yard sales then anything else.  So I always try and keep $100 or so in reserve for saturday morning yard sales.

  I'm still doing better at yard sales then anything else.  So I always try and keep $100 or so in reserve for saturday morning yard sales.

The yard sales around here are just as good as buying retail. People ask too much for their used stuff!

There are no wrong answers to this question. I think it depends on how and where you sell. For me with a retail store I want the large units. The more furniture the better. Most buyers in my area sell at the swap meets. They tend to go for the smaller box units. Most of my purchases are made on one or two good large items. I bid according to what I know I can make off of them and everything else should be profit. Not to say I haven't bought several small units but I find for my situation that there is usually more profit in the bigger units for me. With everything there is a learning curve and some risk. You just have to find what makes you the most money.

Hi everyone, I am new to this forum and would be considered new to the storage auction biz.  I have attended only 2 auctions.  First one had only 2 units and I won them both, each for only $50.  I would normally have felt empowered, but there were only 6 of us and the 5 others with me looked as if they were interested in units with tools, equipment, cars, etc.  Both units were full of household contents.  There was so much stuff it was unbelievable.  At that time I was building supplies and capital for a charity I started.  I started out with 1 storage shed and ended up with 3.  I have ADHD and enjoy the excitement of collecting the stuff, but not selling.  Ebay is great but I am constantly putting it off for another day.  Craigslist can be such a pain in the ass with having to answer every call and email, most of which are for non serious people.  Then there are the ones that wanna see the items, and you end up with 10 different people and 10 different times I have to make myself available.  Anyway, I ended up costing my business (have a home care company) $12,000 for 3 storage units and 2 years! Didnt make a penny for my charity.  I have since put the charity on hold and build inventory with plans of selling personally.  I gave so much away to the salvation army and now ready to get back to the auctions.  I am happy I stumbled across this forum.  You all sound so supportive and passionate about what you do.  Look forward to posting and seeing the responses (:

Had some input into your question.  I just posted about how I cost my business $12,000 over 2 years.  I currently do not have a shed.  I am only interested in small items.  I found a couple of places that advertise for clean outs.  I have spoken with them and asked if they would be interested in buying the cleanout, which would be mostly large items, after I removed some of the smaller items.  They are very interested.  This would be for shed auctions as well as house cleanouts.  I would sell at a really great place, with consideration of how much I spent for them.  Try finding someone yourself.  There are plenty of people out there looking for inventory and would love to pick up stuff at a great price.  Good luck.

BMoney, welcome to the forum. That's an excellent way to eliminate the things you don't want to deal with. You could also post the leftovers in the unit on VirtualStorageAuction.com.

I like my lockers like I like my women......small, cheap and easy to get rid off!   

Seriously, I like small units.   Minimum on large furniture, end tables and chairs are cool.   Lots of smalls.   Easy to clean out.  Minimum of storage needed.

If I was trying to support myself on reselling alone I might change tactics but this is just filler.....tho, it has gotten me thru some rough patches. 

Doesn't really help on purchase price.  Good 3x3 or 4x5 units go for as much as a fully packed, nothing showing, large unit a lot of times.

Thank you very much Travis