I was at a storage auction yesterday. I didn't buy anything but I did ask a question of one of the organizers: who keeps the difference between what the auction brings and what is owed on the unit? If the unit owes $200 and the auction brings $500, who get the $300 difference? Is it returned to the renter of the unit or is it kept by the storage company? Sure, they have expenses selling units when renters default, but the auctioneer gets paid from the 10% buyers premium. I was told "We don't give out that information." That pretty much tells me that the storage company keeps everything.