Storage Auctions

Storage Battles vs. Virtual Storage Auctions - from one who bid on each site

Hey Guys,

I thought I'd take the opportunity to contribute.  I am a member of both the Storage Battles site and Virtual Storage Auction.

I've bid on both sites, although the pickings are relatively slim up in my neck of the woods.  I won a unit over at SB and was outbid on a unit at VSA this week. 

Thought I would give my thoughts on both sites, for those interested.

PICTURES: I understand we are at the mercy of the facility for WHAT is photographed.  I have to say that SB usually has more photos and I absolutely love their ZOOM feature.  However, that comes at a price because the SB site loads painfully slow for my tastes.

FEES:  Pretty simple.  VSA doesn't charge a fee.  Every penny counts.

# OF AUCTIONS: SB has a significant edge.  In my case, it doesn't matter much because my area doesn't have many at either site.

EASE OF USE:  I think VSA is way easier to navigate.  Both could probably benefit from a "click on your state" feature, but that's just me.  SB is clumsy to use in that you have to select your search function (city or zipcode vs. state).

That's it for now.  Anyone else have something to add?


Offline Travis

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PICTURES: I understand we are at the mercy of the facility for WHAT is photographed.  I have to say that SB usually has more photos and I absolutely love their ZOOM feature.  However, that comes at a price because the SB site loads painfully slow for my tastes.

You're absolutely right. On VSA, it just depends on what size photo the facility manager/owner adds to their listing. If they upload a large image, it will take up your entire monitor and a zoom wouldn't even be necessary. I've been looking at various zoom plugins but haven't found one that has worked well. In the future, I'll probably have something custom designed. As of now, on Virtual Storage Auction, a seller can upload 16 photos. Our photos load instantly unlike our competitor's photos which usually take 20-50 seconds per image. (Which is very frustrating when looking at multiple images and listings.)

# OF AUCTIONS: SB has a significant edge.  In my case, it doesn't matter much because my area doesn't have many at either site.

Absolutely, they have been in business 2.5 years longer and purchased a majority of their clients from Sealed Online Bids. VSA is getting noticed and will continue growing. It's just a matter of time before we reach the level our competitor has. No rush. Slow and steady wins the race.  ;D

Offline Travis

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Hey Guys,

I thought I'd take the opportunity to contribute.  I am a member of both the Storage Battles site and Virtual Storage Auction.

I've bid on both sites, although the pickings are relatively slim up in my neck of the woods.  I won a unit over at SB and was outbid on a unit at VSA this week. 

Thought I would give my thoughts on both sites, for those interested.

PICTURES: I understand we are at the mercy of the facility for WHAT is photographed.  I have to say that SB usually has more photos and I absolutely love their ZOOM feature.  However, that comes at a price because the SB site loads painfully slow for my tastes.

FEES:  Pretty simple.  VSA doesn't charge a fee.  Every penny counts.

# OF AUCTIONS: SB has a significant edge.  In my case, it doesn't matter much because my area doesn't have many at either site.

EASE OF USE:  I think VSA is way easier to navigate.  Both could probably benefit from a "click on your state" feature, but that's just me.  SB is clumsy to use in that you have to select your search function (city or zipcode vs. state).

That's it for now.  Anyone else have something to add?

Just thought I would mention that we recently upgraded our images. You can now zoom in on objects, scroll left, right, up & down, etc. Oh, and the images load instantly. No waiting a minute or two for photos to load like our competitor.

One thing that irks me about Storage Battles is that every morning I can't check out my local auctions. It always puts my location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I called them about this, and they say that their servers are overloaded. Time to upgrade before they start losing bidders!

The minute this mishap happens on the morning an auction ends is the day I stop online bidding.

SB is having some server issues but it is because of their traffic. 
The new VSA interface is pretty nice but again auctions are what drives me and its not even close right now in Dallas.  SB does need to get its act together with servers but I bet they are making a bundle right now.
I do think though I will use VSA after the new year to list my own auction it is user friendly.

Works for me on Chrome. Have to hold it down to zoom in. It's choppy and hard to control though.

Offline Travis

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The new VSA interface is pretty nice but again auctions are what drives me and its not even close right now in Dallas. 

We're working on one of their main clients in Dallas/Fort Worth right now. I've spoken with the CEO and he has asked me to make some custom changes to our site for him before he makes the switch. It's an expensive request but I'm having my programmer begin work on it next week. This company lists over 100 units every month so it will be well worth it.

Offline Travis

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Works for me on Chrome. Have to hold it down to zoom in. It's choppy and hard to control though.

We just added it last night and there are still a few bugs to work out. I believe that we can adjust the smoothness and zoom speed. Thanks for the feedback.

Offline Travis

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One thing that irks me about Storage Battles is that every morning I can't check out my local auctions. It always puts my location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I called them about this, and they say that their servers are overloaded. Time to upgrade before they start losing bidders!

The minute this mishap happens on the morning an auction ends is the day I stop online bidding.

Wow, you're right. It's 7:30 AM right now and I'm trying to check on some units I've been watching. Storage Battles is completely inoperable. The search feature is down. Even hyperlinks directly to the auction pages fail.

So far, SB has far more auctions in the Northwest.

Not complaining, mind you.  As long as there is growth in this area, I am happy!


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