Him and the manager are only part of the problem, you're the rest. There's a crime going on here, you've been made aware of it and you did what? Did you notify the local police of both the thefts and the defrauding of the auction buyers or did you just post about it here? Don't bi+ch about it if you're not willing to do something about it.

You're kidding right ?  How in the world would they ever be able to make an arrest or prosecute something like this?

For one thing, it wouldn't be worth their time or effort. Looks like  (IMO) just another of the regrettable aspects of this business. In my opinion it's like a facility doing staged units. Sure, it's not right, but is it illegal?  It is certainly unethical. It may be fraud, but again, proving it and prosecuting it doesn't seem likely.

The solution (IMO) is spreading the word about the wheelchair guy and the facilities (if known) that he gets his goods from. That boycotting or semi-boycotting might do some good, but there will always be people who will continue to frequent even those "evil-dooers"  .

Then there is THIS possibility: the wheelchair guy might have been lying.

And you're really against online storage auctions?

Yep, and the high online prices would more than knock a hole in any gas money saved.

One way a buyer could potentially manipulate the auction would be to set up 2 fake accounts, then place a low bid using a legitimate account. Then use the 2 fake accounts to run the price up to a ridiculous number where nobody in their right mind would even bid.

After the auction closes and the fake bidder doesn't make payment, the storage facility will then contact the runner up bidder. Since the runner up is also a fake account, no payment will be made. Once they contact the 3rd runner up (the legitimate account) the scammer pays for the unit which he gets at a very low price.

Thanks for the tip !

Got this idea from another thread and thought it deserved it's own space.

So...feel free to contribute. No need to elaborate on the story lines, but that's OK too if you want to.

Here's a start:

Lawn Care Wars

Nail Salon Wars

Bodega Wars

Health Care Wars

Sump Pump Wars

Neighbor Wars

Thrift Store Wars

Storage Auction Forum Participant Wars

Online Storage Auction Wars

Website Designer Wars

Central California units are pretty ugly right now. Would love to have something like that around here once in a while. I sure miss the Good Old Days. :-)

You and I are within 100 miles of each other and you're right about all of the above. I haven't bought a locker since Mid-December, 2012. Just aren't worth it..IMO.

1. More lkr owners are paying up since they've seen the tv shows.
2. Waves of newbies continue to come and go and buying wildly since they've seen the tv shows.
3. Prices are high for a variety of reasons...even some regular, old-time buyers are paying more just to get goods.

I go to fewer auctions than I did just to not waste the time and gas driving...sure, I might miss THE ONE, but I doubt it. Have to draw the line somewhere.

For me picking and single item auctions are working right now. Have to change with the times (excluding online auctions of course !)

The day I placed this post I emailed the “info” link and used the exact language the article used regarding survey results, analysis and methodologies. See the quote from the article directly below.

Requests for the survey results, analysis and methodologies should be directed to [email protected]

Within the hour I got a response from Lance Watkins (also a member here). He asked the nature of my request and how the information would be used.

I responded that I was an auction buyer and that I was interested in the new idea of online auctions and wondered how other people felt about the auction scene (the 1,000 people who took the survey).

His response the next day was this …(paraphrasing) “The online auction scene is developing. Have you had an online bidding experience, and if so, what was your reaction?”

In other words he didn’t respond to my question at all, or provide the survey results; he said they were very difficult to come by, etc. (don’t know if that meant he didn’t have them or what.

I responded by asking “Are you going to publish the survey results on your website’s forum? If so, when do you think that would happen?”

That was Monday, April 1, 2013 and as of 5 pm Pacific on Tuesday, April 2, 2013 I have not received an answer.

Not sure about your area parksleyman - but a 10x25 for $240 would worry the hell out of me if it was even 1/2 full.  Any large units in my area that are packed are $500+.  So that would worry me when bidding was so low from the regulars.  If you can't see the back - well it's a gamble for a reason.

What Clist said goes double (or triple) for me. In my area a full 10 x 25 would go for $1,000 to $1500. His analysis was right on...if regulars were staying away they must have gotten a better look than you did or had past experience with that look.  Just because we CAN buy something doesn't mean we should.

If you live on the east coast it's ALMOST April Fools Day !


Have a good one and a good month of buying lockers and selling the goods inside !