How much money do you bring?

I see on TV those guys have huge wads of cash.   How much money do you guys take to auctions?  Can you go to an ATM or must you have all that cash?

Most of the units around me go for $10- $200 with an occasional one hitting into $1,000+ if there's something good showing in it. I usually bring $200 x the number of units listed up for auction. The auctioneers around here say' "you must have the cash on you, no running to the ATM." Then there is Public Storage...they run their own actions and let you pay with a credit card. I think the auctioneers want cash to avoid the tax man.

I will keep that in mind if I ever get around to doing this.  It seems those guys on TV have stacks of at least 10k or more in cash.

I will keep that in mind if I ever get around to doing this.  It seems those guys on TV have stacks of at least 10k or more in cash.

Sure, there are people at auctions that have 10K, but most will have a few grand or less. Seriously though, you only need a few hundred to get your feet wet.

Sure, there are people at auctions that have 10K, but most will have a few grand or less.

Kind of makes you wonder why no one has robbed an auction before.

Kind of makes you wonder why no one has robbed an auction before.

Why would a robber go after a crowd of fifty people, some of which are armed, when they could just pick off the facility manager after everyone leaves? I wonder how many storage operators have been robbed after an auction?

You all bring up some interesting points.  I think I’ll keep it around a few hundred dollars.  That sounds like a good place to start.  I really don’t know what I’m doing anyway.  I don’t want to spend too much and lose it all.

You all bring up some interesting points.  I think I’ll keep it around a few hundred dollars.  That sounds like a good place to start.  I really don’t know what I’m doing anyway.  I don’t want to spend too much and lose it all.

Just take your time. Buy a unit, resell the contents, and if you're still interested buy a few more.

Why would a robber go after a crowd of fifty people, some of which are armed, when they could just pick off the facility manager after everyone leaves?

Umm, because the manager isn't the one with wads of 1000s of dollars in cash rolled up in his pocket. A robber (or robbers) with a gun has the element of surprise. It's unlikely that anyone, armed or not, will have much of a chance against a gun already pointed in their direction. Plus you're thinking Texas style. Not all places in the country have every other person walking around armed.

A robber is trying to get in and out as quickly as possible and with the least amount of resistance. After a large auction, a facility manager may have 5K, 10K, even more in some cases. Let's face it, they're targets.

Do you know how difficult it would be to watch 50 people? It would take a team of people to rob a crowd like that, and Texas or not, some people pack heat when they carry a large sum of cash. 

I just got my concealed carry permit, and if a would be robber looked away for a split second, his obituary would be next to the public notice for next month's auction.

You obviously have little or no experience with these things. All they have to do is walk through the gate at the start of the auction, do their thing, then exit the gate into a waiting car. That way they have everyone's money and not just the money that was used to pay for winning auctions. No way are they going to let 20 grand in cash walk out the gate and settle for the 2-3 grand in the office. It would also be beyond irresponsible to fire on one of the robbers from a crowd because when they fire back they will fire into the crowd.

You obviously have little or no experience with these things. All they have to do is walk through the gate at the start of the auction, do their thing, then exit the gate into a waiting car. That way they have everyone's money and not just the money that was used to pay for winning auctions. No way are they going to let 20 grand in cash walk out the gate and settle for the 2-3 grand in the office.

I disagree, does anyone else have an opinion on this?

It would also be beyond irresponsible to fire on one of the robbers from a crowd because when they fire back they will fire into the crowd.

I've been shooting since I was 5, he wouldn't fire back. You can't just wait around and hope the idiot won't kill someone. You neutralize the threat when you can.

If two or more were armed, I probably wouldn't draw my weapon. I'm a good shot, but this isn't the movies.

Just to name a few...
http://nypost.com/2002/10/09/fleeing-crook-fires-into-crowd-wounding-8-year-old-aunt/
http://www.wxyz.com/news/region/detroit/armed-robber-fires-shot-inside-restaurant-steals-from-customers
http://www.champaigncountycrimestoppers.com/crimeoftheweek.aspx (5th one down)

I'm sure I could find plenty of articles & videos where an armed citizen thwarted a robbery and/or saved peoples lives without any collateral damage.

I'm sure I could find plenty of articles & videos

I'm sure you could, but the purpose of those links was to show that a panicked robber would fire into a crowd. Now if you were the one that drew on him and people died as a result, are you telling me that's better than letting him have the cash, getting a license plate and description, then calling the police to pick him up at a less risky location?