Not all facilities do this but the one thing I would change is to make all auctions cash only on the spot. No credit cards, no debit cards, & no letting people go to the ATM to get more money on a unit they bid on. I also would like to see units re-auctioned on the spot or that day whenever some yocal bids up a unit & doesn't have the money to pay for it.

In my state, cash on the spot is the ONLY accepted form of payment for a storage unit. BY THE LETTER OF THE LAW.

...................that I could be the auctioneer at every auction, instead of one of the buyers.

A 15%-20% commission on every unit would be awesome, and I can go home and do better things with my time afterwards. And I could spend all the money at garage and estate sales, and not haul the trash of others around.

OR, that there just be four buyers at every sale other than myself (in my state, there has to be 5 bidders present to constitute a legal auction), and they all forgot to bring their wallets.

The really funny thing is that before the TV shows, Saturday used to be the best day to go to storage auctions. In fact, most facilities would never hold auctions on the weekends, since the crowds were so light.

The auction buyers who sell at flea markets and the like were out selling their stuff on the weekends, and buying during the week, so the only buyers one would see were "newbies".

Back then, these inexperienced buyers were a different breed. They all thought they could buy an entire household for $100 or less, and didn't come with much money to spend. And, they were also not aggressive bidders, just out "tire kicking" on a weekend morning, and dreaming they could purchase a lot of merchandise for next to nothing.

And as long as I was around, no one except me was getting good items for a good price. If a rookie buyer got anything, it was usually junk that I couldn't use.

Now, they are bidding recklessly, and almost always losing money. I went to an auction last Saturday where there were about 35 buyers, and I didn't recognize anyone (I have been doing this for a while, and know who all the "regulars" are).

After seeing the loads of $$$ thrown at the first 4 units, I knew I was just there for entertainment, and wouldn't be likely buying a locker that day. Then they opened up a unit with thrashed, clapped-out Harbor Freight power tools, and other junk that wasn't taken care of. One of the newbies turned to me and said "I bet this sells for around $150".

I told him "just watch- some fool will throw out at least $400 for this junk". He looked at me in disbelief. There was a bidding war, and the 8 X 10 room went for $700. I wouldn't have even paid $100 for it. Boy, I underestimated the stupidity of this group!!!

So yes, at least for the time being, Saturday auctions are ruined. One encouraging sign in my area is that the monster weekday crowds have dwindled down a bit. People are finding out, one by one, how very hard it actually is to make a lot of money buying units for inflated prices. And they are telling their friends, too.

Two things every "hustler" who buys and resells must know (NO ONE is above these facts):

(1) Everyone who buys and resells has made at least one mistake in their lives (by letting an item go for much cheaper than it is worth).

(2) You really cannot have a conscience to succeed in this business- as long as you didn't flat-out steal the merchandise, it's all fair game. Especially when buying storage units. Most everyone does not want to lose their stuff, and will be heartbroken when their things are sold at auction. While it is nice to consider the hardships of others, you really cannot dwell on the fact you are taking advantage of a situation where (most of the time) you obtain valuables from others for little money. EVER SELL A UNIT BACK TO A TENANT FOR A PROFIT? I have!!!

Even though this isn't a storage locker find, it's still pretty cool.......

Bought an old large tin can full of (mostly) old marbles at a garage sale. The lady who sold them to me insisted they belonged to an old man she was the caretaker for, and wouldn't budge below $20. So I took a chance.

I painstakingly split up the marbles into 20 lots of 18 marbles each on ebay, with many pictures that would show every angle of every marble. Started all the lots at $9.99, and awaited the huge cash windfall.

Something happened on the way to the bank. There was no interest or bids (insert sound of crickets chirping here). I even re-listed them, and only sold one lot for $9.99. WHAT A WASTE OF TIME- the lots took the better part of one day to photograph and list, and I still hadn't even made my money back!

Then a light went off in my head. How about selling them in a local popular auction house??? So I got a large old mason jar (that I found in a locker, and was doing nothing with), and filled it. The jar certainly gave the illusion that the items were old, even though the better percentage of them weren't all that desirable.

Low and behold, there was a bidding frenzy, and they sold for $420!!!! Even after my 35% commission to the auction house, it was a decent profit. Off to find more marbles!!!!

True story: A friend of mine attempted to place a "max bid" on a Storage Battles locker in the final minutes, only to be not allowed to do so. Someone placed a "snipe" bid in the last seconds and won it (for way less than he was willing to bid).

Memo to Storage Battles: REAL online auctions work one of two ways:
(1) Buyers can place a proxy or max bid, and when the auction ends, the winning bid price is the bid placed by the second top bidder, plus the bidding increment (like ebay).

(2) If a bid is placed in the last three minutes, the auction extends for another two or three minutes, until all the bids are exhausted (like an auction house).

Storage Battles, in this case. lost money for both the facility and themselves. Not to mention the fact they have to deal with at least one disgruntled prospective buyer............

THEIR DAYS ARE NUMBERED!!

Bought a unit for $5 with seven full black trash bags, nothing else. It was very clean- not one piece of trash in the unit, just the 7 Hefty Bags, which were closed.

When I loaded them onto the truck, there was definitely some weight to the bags, and I knew it wasn't all clothes. On about the fourth bag, there was a 14K gold charm bracelet in between two pieces of clothing.

At 55+ grams, it has just over one ounce of pure gold. These people were world travelers, and purchased a gold charm everywhere they went. There also was a lot of high-end perfume and makeup, which was mostly unused.

Did I mention there was $35 in Euros and $12 in US coins in there as well?? And the clothes were mostly very nice.

She could just be a money person and can pay others to do the heavy lifting.

And if she is the high bidder, the unit is sold at the next auction. Also, this is the only place this person goes to. I go to auctions all over my area, and have yet to see her anywhere else.

Of course, any experienced buyer in a certain area knows who the "heavy hitters" are. Or they learn VERY QUICKLY.......