With all the auction tv show do you think this is a

wake up call for those who rent storage units? Thinking to themselves I could loose my unit so anything of value I wont leave in my shed. Maybe units will be packed with less and less of things of value. With over a half million viewers per week what % of those viewers are close to loosing the unit at auction. This show in my opinion is going to de value what a person can find compared to be for all the attention. What will people do that quit there jobs to open a store cause they thought this was going to be the easyiest money theve every made. Its funny people think its as easy to sell as it is to buy a unit. With everyone doing it there is more supply then there is of demand for such common things found in a unit.

wake up call for those who rent storage units? Thinking to themselves I could loose my unit so anything of value I wont leave in my shed. Maybe units will be packed with less and less of things of value. With over a half million viewers per week what % of those viewers are close to loosing the unit at auction. This show in my opinion is going to de value what a person can find compared to be for all the attention. What will people do that quit there jobs to open a store cause they thought this was going to be the easyiest money theve every made. Its funny people think its as easy to sell as it is to buy a unit. With everyone doing it there is more supply then there is of demand for such common things found in a unit.

Meh, humans are creatures of habit. Sure, in the short term lockers may get raided, but in the long term people will return to storing valueables in units.

Few reasons. 1. Hardships that force families to downsize and store items. 2. Many locker owners are lazy or just plain forgetful. Out of sight equals out of mind.  I'd imagine that by January or February that owners will forget about the shows and throw everything in a unit. 3. Cold weather will turn off people from rummaging threw a unit before it is lost and I'd imagine spend little time organizing a unit when renting. 4. Finally, deaths, sudden moves, and job loses are constants and when they happen suddenly people forget about valueables and penny pinching becomes immediate and things like wasting gas to go to a storage unit becomes a waste of resources.

This has been discussed for months.  Its the second half of the so called "double whammy"
more people at the auctions, and more people realizing their valuables could be gone.

It all just depends really.  I think more people are paying up then before.  Since I'm new to the scene I don't know what the percentage was before.  However, in my area a good 50-70% of the units posted in the paper get paid up.

As for the items in the lockers.  Many still don't look like they have been touched.  The last unit I purchased had dust / webs everywhere and was 6 years old.

As for valuables - I think it's still staying at the same rate.  I've yet to find gold, jewelry, or such in a unit.  I do know some weeks back one of the regulars found a .25 pistol.  Most everything else is the normal matress, cloths, furniture that makes up 80% of the units.

It all just depends really.  I think more people are paying up then before.  Since I'm new to the scene I don't know what the percentage was before.  However, in my area a good 50-70% of the units posted in the paper get paid up.

As for the items in the lockers.  Many still don't look like they have been touched.  The last unit I purchased had dust / webs everywhere and was 6 years old.

As for valuables - I think it's still staying at the same rate.  I've yet to find gold, jewelry, or such in a unit.  I do know some weeks back one of the regulars found a .25 pistol.  Most everything else is the normal matress, cloths, furniture that makes up 80% of the units.

This is true! My friend is a storage manger and he is getting less and less of units to auction due to people paying like never before. He told me that they discuss the tvs and they would hate to have there stuff lost at auction.

When I was buying full time, I had a unit that I kept all of the really incredible stuff that I wanted to keep. It didn't look like much from the door (I covered it with blankets and kids toys on purpose) but there was over ten thousand dollars worth of stuff in there. You guys would have loved to have stumbled upon this one.

As for valuables - I think it's still staying at the same rate.  I've yet to find gold, jewelry, or such in a unit.  I do know some weeks back one of the regulars found a .25 pistol.  Most everything else is the normal matress, cloths, furniture that makes up 80% of the units.

I don't know if it's just the "luck of the draw" or what, but I have definitely not been finding the same amount of gold that I used to find in lockers.  I still find a lot of jewelry, but it's mostly junk and not real gold and silver.  Could be I'm just on an unusual streak, but it sure is different than years past, and I've heard that from other long time buyers too. 

I don't think the show will affect renters behavior much. Even before the shows came on you'd come across certain units with like 6 locks on the floor, this is generally a bad sign and generally means the people have been locked out and threatened with an auciton paid up removed some good stuff, fell behind locked up again paid up took some more stuff, etc.

Yo thats real talk advice right there. I saw 3 or 4 of those at the last auction

4. Finally, deaths, sudden moves, and job loses are constants

Don't forget military deployments. But i guess that could fall under "sudden moves".

This question is mainly for J.R.- Auctionone, but anyone else can chime in too.

J.R.,

The "old timers" say units are selling for 4 to 10 times what they would have before the TV shows.

For ex. a $250 unit now sells for $1000, a $10 unit now sells fro $100.

With your experience of doing auctions since 1981, what is your best guess as to how far back the prices for units will fall after the excitement of all TV shows has worn off?

This question is mainly for J.R.- Auctionone, but anyone else can chime in too.

J.R.,

The "old timers" say units are selling for 4 to 10 times what they would have before the TV shows.

For ex. a $250 unit now sells for $1000, a $10 unit now sells fro $100.

With your experience of doing auctions since 1981, what is your best guess as to how far back the prices for units will fall after the excitement of all TV shows has worn off?

I would agree a month ago but in my state the prices for LIVE action not online are comming way down from what they were say 3 months ago.

I would agree a month ago but in my state the prices for LIVE action not online are comming way down from what they were say 3 months ago.

Now if California could just import that sensibility from the Carolinas !

The last big lkr I got went for $350, but two others at the same location went for $900 and $750, so even within a one hour period the sales varied a lot among the 12 or so bidders.

I'm going to a few auctions this week so will see what current status is given all the variables (crowd, lkr quantity, lkr quality, multiple sale locations, etc)

CopiaVita,

Prices have all come up with time and inflation, just like everything else, but spikes occur along the way, like now with the TV shows. Things like local seminars on Government auctions cause big attendance and price spikes. But, the hard working and persistent always prevail. My dad used to say "The hardest working people I know are also the luckiest."

Most of my experience is in live auctions of all kinds, not just storage units, and the biggest changes have come from the huge increase in information available to ascertain values, and the expanded venues to sell stuff. I started doing this before the Internet, and you had to dig up information the hard way by calling dealers and subscribing to publications that they advertised in. The ease of finding information has closed up the margins probably more than anything else.

One thing I like about storage auctions is that you have to use your experience and knowledge "on the fly" due to limited time and lack of ability to "inspect" the merchandise.

My motto for live auctions in general is "To get what you expect, INSPECT !!!"