Seed money

i have about 230 dollars for my first auction probably wont buy anything tho but im hoping thats enough if i do. i live in a gated community were we have a dump that we can use as much as we want , they have a fix rate that we paid one every 4 months in our dues. also my dad can get a trailer to us for free at work. so other the gas money i think i should be good. thoughts?

i have about 230 dollars for my first auction probably wont buy anything tho but im hoping thats enough if i do. i live in a gated community were we have a dump that we can use as much as we want , they have a fix rate that we paid one every 4 months in our dues. also my dad can get a trailer to us for free at work. so other the gas money i think i should be good. thoughts?

$230 is pretty low, you might of gotten started slowly in this industry before the shows started to air. Now trying to start off with $230, almost impossible. You can still get lockers under that, well, tell you what. Go out and watch the process. See what bids are being placed on what type of lockers.

Well, $230 isn't a lot to work with, but you might get a lkr for that full amount, or you might be able to buy a couple of smaller lockers for say $75 or so each.

BUT, at that price range you're not going to get much volume or quality, so don't expect much.

Once you actually GO to a couple of auctions you'll KNOW how far your money will go and what it will buy.
Please let us know your results when you come back to post in this thread or in the "lookey-loo" thread that is current when you make your first buy.

As others said that may not get you much.  It all depends on your area and the auction scene.  I myself started with $400.  Today I only have a little over $300 -with $1500 in reserve.  The reserve is father's money just in case I stumble upon another great tool locker like did few weeks ago.

You may be able to get 1 or a few lockers with your money.  Just to give you an idea of my purchases they have been:

175 <-- 5x5 w/ guitar purchased for x-mas gift
180 <-- only furniture 10x10 w/ lockbox
35 <-- 1/4 full 10x10 -- decent unit profit
235 <-- 10x10 - furniture unit (big mistake)
27 <-- silent auction
101 <-- silent auction
0 <-- cleaned out locker for company to get metal shelving, earn goodwill
70  <-- was 5 bidders that day
80  <-- small 5x5 w/ fishing & golf bag (pics in a thread)
26  <-- silent auction, best locker yet

So you can buy a locker or two depending.  However, I'm not making tons of money and just mostly breaking even since I don't deal in furniture.  Furniture is where much of the money can be made unless you get some lucky finds w/ jewelry, coins, and such.

Best advice is to start slow.

i live in a gated community were we have a dump that we can use as much as we want , they have a fix rate that we paid one every 4 months in our dues.

Interesting gated community that has its own dump. Do you mean it has a "dumpster" that you can use?

In my area the houses inside a gated community start at $300,000 and you can bet that none of the owners are in the storage lkr buying business! 

Any dumpster inside those gates will be at the golf course where the most use it will see is an old golf glove being thrown in with the lunch leftovers.

Interesting gated community that has its own dump. Do you mean it has a "dumpster" that you can use?

they have four 40 foot trash compactor and i use to work for them so they don't really care what i dump. if you ever been to the poconos you'll know they dont have many house to house trash services. I do have more money that i can use i just dont want to go there with a lot of money and blow it all.  you think maybe i should bring 500?

I do have more money that i can use i just dont want to go there with a lot of money and blow it all.  you think maybe i should bring 500?

Sure, bring $500 or bring $5,000. If you have it with you, you are ready for whatever comes up.

BUT, also be prepared not to get carried away with your bidding.

If you brought $500 and were OK to spend that much (based on your other needs for money) then there would be no problem. Also, it is very rare that you would lose ALL your investment if you made a bad purchase, so if you bought one for $500 and were only able to sell $350 out of it, you would be out JUST $150.

The same thing could happen to you if you paid $230 of course.  Just give the auctions a shot. Nothing says you have to buy anything at the first 10 auctions you go to. Experience is the BEST teacher in this biz.

You can certainly start out small.  Started with around $400, currently have about $1300 with probably another 1300 in items I need to sell.  3rd unit is turning out to be the 1 in 50 units unit.  Then again I would expect most 10x30's will be rather nice as quantity is usually high and something is almost certainly missed.

i can do the 500. i dont have any bills to pay other then my car ins. other then that i been saving money from all the jobs i had and they only thing i usally buy is chew. oh and thank you movieman for your help sir.

i have about 230 dollars for my first auction probably wont buy anything tho but im hoping thats enough if i do. i live in a gated community were we have a dump that we can use as much as we want , they have a fix rate that we paid one every 4 months in our dues. also my dad can get a trailer to us for free at work. so other the gas money i think i should be good. thoughts?

230. Naw! Need atleast 580 to get something! Prices are back up again. The more A&E keeps beating a dead horse playing storage bors over and over and over in re-runs the more it seems price go through the roof. Why people love to pay retail is a mystery. Unless folks are wanting to keep stuff all to themselves? Sounds like the begining of hording. Bid on what you can see and stop thinking all the answer to becoming rich are in the cardboard box marked rare!

230. Naw! Need atleast 580 to get something! Prices are back up again. The more A&E keeps beating a dead horse playing storage bors over and over and over in re-runs the more it seems price go through the roof. Why people love to pay retail is a mystery. Unless folks are wanting to keep stuff all to themselves? Sounds like the begining of hording. Bid on what you can see and stop thinking all the answer to becoming rich are in the cardboard box marked rare!

thanks for the info

One other thing to keep in mind.

No matter how much you finally decide on taking, you have to account for any cleaning deposits you will place on any units you win. Seems most places are asking between $50 to $100 for the deposit and that can put a decent dent into your bidding budget.

One other thing to keep in mind.

No matter how much you finally decide on taking, you have to account for any cleaning deposits you will place on any units you win. Seems most places are asking between $50 to $100 for the deposit and that can put a decent dent into your bidding budget.

thanks but dont you get that deposit back?

thanks but dont you get that deposit back?

Yes, you do, but Malone is simply telling you that you have to account for that when making your bid.
If you brought $500 you could only bid $400 to $450 since you would have to pay the deposit as well.

AND, if you pay sales tax (which most newbies do) you have to account for that too, BEFORE you bid.

Yes, you do, but Malone is simply telling you that you have to account for that when making your bid.
If you brought $500 you could only bid $400 to $450 since you would have to pay the deposit as well.

AND, if you pay sales tax (which most newbies do) you have to account for that too, BEFORE you bid.

okay thank you sir.