Things You Should Never Buy at a Storage Auction

Just thought I would start this so we can help each other avoid some pitfalls.

I bought a unit a few years ago that had two industrial copy machines. Three of us could not roll one of these up the ramp of the box truck and 4 of us could not lift it. These were early 2000 models and they probably weighed well over 500 pounds each.

I ran an ad on Craigslist and since nobody was interested, I gave them away for free.

Do not buy industrial copiers unless they are fairly new and you have a forklift at your disposal!

 

For me anything with a HUGE TV in it. I have bought two units with around 76" TVs in them. I can't give them away. Both were made in the 2000s and high-def. But no one wants them. Like Tclane said avoid those things that are very heavy and awkward if your not sure you can sell it or if you don't want it yourself. I gave one to a local restaurant for karaoke night. The other went to the Senior Center. No more huge TVs for me. Well unless the unit has something else really great in it. LOL

No more huge TVs for me. Well unless the unit has something else really great in it. LOL

A conditional sucker for punishment...just like myself.

If the unit has a lot of mattresses, I stay away from it. Those just have to be hauled to the junkyard for the most part. And the idea of touching gross used mattresses icks me out to no end. Ick ick ick.

If the unit has a lot of mattresses, I stay away from it. Those just have to be hauled to the junkyard for the most part. And the idea of touching gross used mattresses icks me out to no end. Ick ick ick.

Definitely consider their condition. Sometimes, mattresses in average to good condition can bring good money. They do sell fast on Craigslist although you're not supposed to resell them without proper sterilization. Guess they don't want a bed bug outbreak.

Of coarse, if the mattress looks 20 years old or if there is a questionable brown stain in the middle, chunk it!

I would say don't buy a bunch of inventory you are unfimilar with selling, or in a volume you do not have the logistics to handle.

I will add a caveat before the story... There are times when a once in the lifetime offer can propel you and your business to new heights you may have never reached otherwise, but generally these type of offers take a lot of time, effort, perseverance to make happen. Most people get frustrated too early and give up.

Case in point: (Urban legend I heard, can't verify all the facts)

Apparently someone won a large unit full of picture frames. Dragged the frames around town for 6-9 months, really couldn't sell many. Said made back money so broke even (probably not) then took the rest (multiple trips) to the dump.

The cost of the frames turned out to only be .03 cents each; but he just couldn't find the market to sell them in. (I think there were originally around 25,000 frames and he managed to sell about 500 in a years time). So he cut his losses and moved on.

I think the ones he was able to sell, he was making between $5-$25 each on.

So imagine a person with the right organization,logistics,marketplace getting 25,000 picture frames for .03 cents each and them selling them for an average of $10! WOW!!

That's really funny, I had the same nightmare. I bought a unit containing about 30 pallets of picture frames (over 10K) for $400. I spent over a month marketing those things on Craigslist and contacting frame stores all over Houston. Nobody wanted them, not even for 10 cents each.

I finally found a little old lady who offered me $600 for all of them. I gladly took it. As she was writing me the check, I told her "now that I sold these to you, my phone will be ringing off the hook with people interested in buying these." We both laughed. About 5 hours later a guy called me and offered me $2500 for them.

Coffins and Urns!

Oh urns. Was at an auction yesterday and one box up front said greenfield cemetery. No way I was bidding on that unit. Yuck!!

Oh urns. Was at an auction yesterday and one box up front said greenfield cemetery. No way I was bidding on that unit. Yuck!!

Gotta agree with this one. I was at that same auction and saw that box. I'm hoping that they were NIB (New in box) Urns and not "in use" ones. I didn't bid on it either.

One of the main units I stay away from is those filled with "tires".  We had a dozen auto shop type units come up for auction few months back.  Even the units with 90% tires in them sold for over $1k.  I know there can be money in used tires but for me I was just seeing all of the disposal fees.

Now for the flip side.  I purchased a pay phone parts & sets unit last year.  I was thinking some major bucks as parts on ebay sell pretty well.  Turned out to be parts that were a little too old to sell.  I paid $101 for the unit.  Sold a box of the boards as mid-grade comm for right at $100.  Then did another shippment of the boards that was $80 profit.  Have a bunch of steel from stripping the boards to turn in to metal.  Also have 8 more boxes of parts to dismantle.  I've found almost a pound of copper wire in one of the parts.  With a box full of them.  The plastic gets tossed in recycle.  The rest split into non-ferrous and ferrous metals.  Many people ran at the weight, very niche market of the unit.  I would bid on it again if ever see a unit like it.  Is taking time and effort but since I have the space and this is a hobby....I can spend the time.

Other recent purchase from last month was a unit that had 20-30 paint cans up front.  I picked the uinit up for $40.  People don't know how to get rid of the paint and thus ran from the unit.  Half of the cans were empty, the others about 30% have good paint in them.  The rest I will mix with cat litter and dispose of.  Little work and the rest of the unit will pay off nicely.

If it is latex paint you don't need to use litter just take the lid off for a week stored somewhere out of the rain and it will get hard as a rock.

Another good way to dispose of latex paint(small quantities) just pour it on cardboard, let it dry, throw in  trash

I once bought a unit that had several drum cases and a 55 gallon drum of Hydrogen Peroxide 35%. The drum cases were empty but the 55 gallon drum was full. What a nightmare. Nobody wanted to buy it and I didn't want to move it because it was labeled HAZMAT. I just left it in the locker and told the manager that it was staying there until I could find someone to come get it. It turned out that the peroxide was worth over $500 retail. It took over a month to sell but I finally found a buyer. A taxidermist who used it for bleaching skulls offered me $150 and was willing to come pick it up. That was a total relief.

Yeah, I was relieved. It's really upsetting when you have something that valuable and you can't find a buyer for it. Plus, I had to get it out of the unit before the manager got upset. I was almost ready to list it in the free section of Craigslist just to get rid of it.