Storage Auctions

Would you buy a locker obviously used as a living space by a "homeless" person ?

Offline MovieMan

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If you go to any large number of auctions over time you will see one of these lockers.

They are characterized by:

1) some kind of sleeping space
2) shelving next to the bed
3) a hot plate
4) wiring from the overhead bulb to the hotplate
5) maybe a tv or radio
6) bucket of foul smelling something or other
7) random bicycle parts

..... you get the idea

So, would you buy it (depending on price and other factors of course)?

If you HAVE bought one, what was the deciding factor?  Was it the 6,000 pound statue of DAVID in the middle of the "living room" that did it for you ?  ;D


I've only seen two in my time, and neither had any kind of quality items and were accompanied by a horrible smell.

Though I will say this: If you have a facility that is 24 hour access, and depending on the size of the room you get, hard to beat $30-$100 bucks a month for rent!

I passed on one recently.  When the door went up, the unit manager said "that bag over on the side is not included in the auction."  A quick glance revealed a whole gift bag of prescription bottles.  The only other thing I remember is that the makeshift bed was a truck seat.  Walked away before looking too hard...

Would I ever buy one?  Probably not.  Bottom line is I'm after profit.  The odds on a man who's living in a storage unit having anything I can make a profit on are very slim.

Offline MovieMan

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Would I ever buy one?  Probably not.  Bottom line is I'm after profit.  The odds on a man who's living in a storage unit having anything I can make a profit on are very slim.

I've bought two that I remember. One right at the beginning of my "career" due to a red, multi-drawer toolbox. It came out all right but like many lockers there was a lot of trash. It was only a 5 x 10 so not too much work. Made some money on it.

Several years after that I bought a 10 x 30 ...... it wasn't showing much and wasn't full at all and I could tell it was a homeless house by the bed, etc.  Got it for $50 I think and made maybe $100 profit. Somehow this guy had collected 3 Cutco knives with sleeves and other stuff that was worth something. All of that was hidden of course, so it was just a gamble on the stuff I saw and dumb luck. The facility even let me use the dumpster as it was empty and pickup was the same day as the sale! 

Overall I wouldn't buy that kind again, but if something "special" showed I would consider it, and they are usually CHEAP.

Offline bwd111

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People will buy anything locker just to buy. Homeless or not


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