Anyone had any good finds lately? Bought a unit last week with a couple sets of kitchen cabinets in it. Paid $400 for it. Posted ads on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist for $1,750. Sold it the next day. Didn't even have to move anything myself.

Bargain hunter paid $20 for old South Carolina teapot. It just sold for $806,000. 


https://a.msn.com/r/2/BBJCpPj?m=en-us

The following opinions are my own for satirical purposes. It's up to the reader to form their own opinion as to whether any fraud has taken place in this event.

So, I got this email from Jim Grant today and yes he's still claiming to be the founder of the online self-storage auction industry. In this press release...well, I'll just let you read it.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Inside Self-Storage Magazine Voters Name SelfStorageAuction.com
Best Online Auction Services

PHOENIX - Inside Self-Storage Magazine readers voted SelfStorageAuction.com, an online auction site that provides bidders with a centralized place to find self-storage auctions and attend live or bid online from virtually any location, as "Best Online Auction Services" in the magazine's "2017 Best of Business" poll.

 "We are thrilled to be honored by our peers and industry professionals who recognize our team's dedication to serving our customers in every aspect of online auctions," said Jim Grant, who founded SelfStorageAuction.com. Grant was the founder of the online self storage auction industry with the ground-breaking website, Storage Battles*, which later merged with Storage Treasures*.  Grant's companies won the ISS Best Online Auction Award in 2013, 2014 and 2015 and he has done it once again with his latest venture, SelfStorageAuction.com
"This is a testament to our website being recognized as revolutionizing the storage auction industry yet again," Grant said. "Our platform is quickly growing in popularity within the United States and is currently expanding into the international market with auctions in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom due to the large demand we are receiving from other countries."
 
SelfStorageAuction.com is a mobile-friendly website that combines the simplicity, reliability and exceptional customer service of the original platform with new features that ensure stability and are more user friendly.  Through its integrated state of the art website, Self Storage Auction interfaces with all management software companies to make posting auctions easier.
Winners of the Inside Self-Storage "Best of Business" reader-choice poll are honored through profile pages in ISS Magazine as well as during a special ceremony at the Inside Self-Storage World Expo in Las Vegas. The results are published online year-round for ISS readers to access.

   So the first thing that came to mind is "how did a company that is just a few months old and only has a handful of clients getting more votes than Storage Treasures, a company that claims to have a million registered users and thousands of storage facilities." Answer: they didn't. So, in my opinion, that leaves three possible explanations. Either A, Inside Self Storage Magazine's Best of Business Awards are for sale to the highest bidder, B someone wrote a program that casts artificial votes, or C Inside Self Storage was hacked.

But I may be completely wrong. There may be some other logical explanation for this. What do you guys & gals think about this story?

These prices are out of control. Tried buying 5 units online this morning. 2 units were cancelled within 10 minutes of closing. 2 units were bid up so high that the buyers might break even. 1 unit was nice, but they bid it up to $1900 and best case scenario, after selling everything, they would be lucky to pull $2400 out of it....and that's assuming that the washer, dryer and refrigerator worked and that the furniture was all in excellent condition.

Did get one small unit yesterday, paid $55, got a 21 speed mountain bike, Dewalt drill, new Nikes, new Caterpillar boots, new Tony Lamas, lots of nice Polos, some tools and lots of other stuff that I ended up giving to my friends and neighbors. Not a bad unit for the money.

How are the prices at the live auctions right now?   

Just came across this press release. Jim Grant, former owner of Storage Battles and Storage Treasures sent it over. After selling out, and waiting for his non compete agreement to expire, he's back in the business with SelfStorageAuction .com. Wish him the best of luck.

Before I go any further, I appreciate the donations Jim has made to the self-storage associations which have helped reform laws which make online auctions legal. I did have an issue with some of the statements in the press release (text in red) and my comments are in blue text.

PHOENIX, AZ--(Marketwired - May 4, 2017) - SelfStorageAuction .com recently made a significant financial donation to the California Self Storage Association (CSSA) in support of its lobbying efforts on two state legislation reform bills that deal with the advertisement of lien laws and requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Contributing to the successful passage of legislation that helps self storage operators and managers is a priority for SelfStorageAuction .com, an online auction platform that provides bidders with a centralized place to bid online for self storage auctions.

The first reform bill is AB1108, which is a lien law that would alter parts of the original California Self-Service Storage Facility Act to allow self storage facilities to use email as well as regular mail to contact renters who cannot pay their bills. This bill also would require the advertisement of lien auctions to be published either in newspapers or in any other media that is responsibility calculated to provide notice to potential buyers and the general public or both.

"When I first came up with the concept of combining Storage Auctions with an Ebay platform online in 2011, most people discounted the idea," said SelfStorageAuction .com Founder Jim Grant. "  That's probably because the other online self-storage auction website that was established in March of 2007 had failed miserably due to our lien laws being antiquated. The first online self-storage auction website to gain ground was Sealed Online Bids. The founder was Kevin Gorzney. That site became profitable in 2010/2011 and Jim Grant purchased it shortly thereafter. OnlineStorageAuctions.com also owns OnlineStorageAuction.com which was the domain used on the site that was established in 2007 (see attached screenshot), but we don't claim to have come up with the concept of online self-storage auctions. I'll try to dig up the historical WhoIs records from 2007 and provide the name of person who developed the first online self-storage auction website, just for history's sake.

The CSSA was always very supportive in my efforts by giving me suggestions and advice. SelfStorageAuction .com offers free automated online advertising for facilities to post their lien sales, and I know that this will be embraced by the California storage industry. We are honored and very fortunate to be a member of the CSSA and be able to help continue their future efforts for the self storage industry."

The second legislation reform bill is AB1148, which is called the ADA Commercial Code 1938 Cleanup. This bill redefines commercial property "for the purposes of that provision as property that is offered for sale or lease to persons operating, or intending to operate, a place of public accommodation or facility to which the general public is invited at those premises." Basically, this bill would allow self storage to be excluded from some of the obligations it currently falls under, relieving facilities of a significant burden.

"The CSSA is very grateful for the support from SelfStorageAuction .com," said Erin King, CSSA's executive director. "We are very proud of our legislative efforts as we believe they truly benefit the facility owners and the tenants."
The CSSA estimates that the proposed changes to the law will help self storage operators save approximately $1,500 minimum each year.

Grant, who is the original conceptualizer and founder of online storage auctions, And this is how history gets distorted.

created the former online auction site Storage Battles in 2012 and merged it with the web site Storage Treasures in 2015. Grant recently launched SelfStorageAuction .com, a state-of-the-art platform that promotes online and live onsite auctions of delinquent storage units across the country. The mobile-friendly website combines the simplicity, reliability and exceptional customer service of the original platform with new features that ensure stability and are more user friendly.

I used to believe that everything would eventually sell, given enough time, if it's priced correctly. I  came across a great deal about 4 months ago. It was four identical oak king size headboards with posts and two twin size oak kids beds. Paid $20 for the lot. Finally sold the kids beds for $30. I have the headboards priced ridiculously cheap. Had several calls, but no bites yet. These things take up a pretty good amount of space in my storage shed so I really want them gone. Even considered giving them away to free up space. Anyone else had hard to sell items? If so, when do you cut your losses?

Anyone sell more of certain items during income tax season? If so, let us know.

Hey all, got a question for you. Lets say you bought a unit online that was several hundred miles away, would you consider using a delivery company that worked with us? What do you think the pros and cons would be?