Yesterday, I drove over an hour to a town called Keene, Tx for 15 unit storage auction.  

I have never been to an auction that has more than 6 lockers up for bidding.  

Got there and parked besides a lady, my truck started sinking in a sinkhole because of all the rain that we got.  

 


same time, Im trying to get this truck out of it, sank even further down.  someone tried to come to my rescue, and still wouldnt budge.  

Im here freaking out on how the hell im gonna get this dang thing out.  Called a tow and went ahead to the first 2 lockers.  


This is the part that teed me off.  Most storage auctions i went to, started with a low number then worked its way up.  

not this one.  they just wanted their money back (defaulted loan)  first locker was a tiny locker, wanted started the bidding at $205 for a really scummy trashy locker.  WTF!!

2nd locker was even worse, wanted 285.    

he wouldnt go down so he marked it down as no bids and keeping it for next auction (to reel a sucker in somehere and some times)

pissed me off and everyone else.  everyone walked away and couldnt believe the prices.   That storage manager needs to get off from watching too much storage wars hoping the storage business will cash in.  

 

tow driver shows and i got my truck out of the sink hole,  broke my valance off but it was easily put back on later the day.  


to show up at that silly stupid place, costs me 85.00..     60 for tow and 25 for parts to put the valance back on.  


I m this close to calling the storage place and demand my money back.  

but im the one that drove over the sink hole.  


lesson learned and yesterday I was teed off...    


but did i go back to the auctioning?  Hell no with those prices hes starting out with.  Just left

Went to my 4th auction today,  

Right on Friday, 5 pm,  no one shows.  

I thought, yeah. Im gonna get this locker cheap cheap cheap.  


Storage manager walks up and says, thats it - you and me.  


he opens it and I look from the door line. hmm  I started the bid,  $25.  he looked at me and said, im going to bid too, he says $45, I say $60.  (fixing to walk away from it)


I was like.  (thinking in my head)    can they bid on their own lockers?    


got me reeling in and said again outloud , 60.00 and looked at him and said.  thats it.  im walking away,  he turned to me and said, sold for 60 dollars.  

what the heck is what i said.  


Is it legal for him to bid against me?  Then again, this auction was my first with lots of no show but me  



anyways, got the locker but have not scoured through it yet.  Stay tuned for tomorrow.


I ll give you a hint.  a Krause multimatic ladder  $125 is what i can sell it for

a $300 dollar pancake air compressor.      


whole bunch of tin cans with filler welding tig rods (6 or 7 of them - full of new ones)  I can sell those for $25.00 5 lbs parcel.  

maybe get $100 dollars out of it.  

Dish/Direct tv boxes, satellites and couplers - ?  (real old)  

huge, i mean huge extension cord.  the thickness of the cord was as big as my garden hose.  

I might can get $25-50 out of that.



but as far as small stuff, i have to go through it and see if i ll find something.  

Finally a story that i was looking for.  Yes it had something to do with Dotsons (american auctioneers) but had nothing to do with the show Storage Wars.  Thank god.  

At least publicity is minimized with just the news but not on television.  

A San Jose man needed no treasure map when he reportedly stumbled on to $500,000 worth of gold and silver after bidding on an abandoned storage unit. The man, identified only as John, apparently paid $1,100 for the unit only to see his blind investment turn into a goldmine after a number of rare coins and a few gold and silver bars were found in the blue Rubbermaid container.

The reported find, in Contra Costa County, was so unexpected that even though the auction was held by American Auctioneers, the subject of A&E's Storage Wars, there were no cameras present when the cache was discovered.

Even without cameras Laura Dotson, the co-owner of American Auctioneers along with husband Dan, still said she was delighted.

"It helps, it solidifies what we're doing in the business," Dotson told ABCNews.com. "It shows hope that with all these units, that there is treasure to be found."

Although the buyer wants to remain anonymous, Dotson said he called her after getting the gold and silver appraised. According to Dotson, the first thing he said was, "Wow, this is a wonderful life."

A storage unit containing $500,000 in rare... View Full Size
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In recent years storage unit auctions have gained wide-spread recognition after becoming reality fodder for shows like Storage Wars and Spike TV's Auction Hunters.

In California, where American Auctioneers is based, a storage unit is available for auction if rent has not been paid in three months. Bidders are able to view the storage unit from outside for five minutes to glean what they can, and then the bidding starts. While some units are worth little, the possibility of a big payoff draws in participants who are willing to take a chance.

John Cardoza of Storage Auction Experts, which was not involved in the auction, told ABC News that for people who know what they're doing, "Six out of seven units can make money." However, he stresses that the chance to make half a million dollars off a $1,100 bid is a bit rarer. "I hear similar stories about once a year," said Cardoza.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the unit was owned by a recently deceased elderly woman. Cardoza says that since the storage units must be listed in the paper prior to the auction, some bidders use names to try to decipher what's in the unit. "What some people do is, they look at the names. If it's Ethel or Myrtle, it sounds older," said Cardoza, who says an older person may have more collectibles than a younger person.

While the coins were apparently found in the unlikeliest of treasure chests -- a Rubbermaid container – it was said to have been heavy enough that three men had to carry it out.

Dotson says the plastic container initially piqued the buyer's interest, although for more pragmatic reasons. "He said that he liked it was in [plastic] and clean and easy to move," said Dotson. "It's a chance of a lifetime."

I have some few questions to ask you.


1) when a storage locker doesn't get paid for 3 months, it goes up for auction.  Is it required for it to be a public notice in the paper provided by that storage unit? 

I looked in every local paper and nada.  I was like 

2) Where can i get a complete listing online for free without all the do this and that, jump a couple of hoops then pay a little bit bs? 

where else can i look? 


3) I was going to ask about the locks on the storage during auction day but I have found my answer on that one.


thanks!