give paypal a call and report back, curious to hear why. when i talked to the lady who put the hold on my account she said it was flagged not just because of my category but moreso because the volume we were doing, i guess over a certain threshhold they look into your account. thats wierd if you dont have that info bar notifying  you of a hold they should call and email you as well

Probably think you are laundering Columbian coke money to buy Russian RPGs for Islamik terrerists (misspelled on porpoise). We all live in a bad Tom Clancy novel now. 

Say it isn't so.      

Actually, I disagree. I think online storage auctions are in their infancy and will continue to grow over the next several years. Need I remind you that a decade or so ago, some people thought online shopping would never go mainstream. Look how far we've come since then.

It's kind of a double edge sword. Re-selling is a tough business and getting inventory cheap is one of the keys to the business. growth in on-line auctions would only make them more competitive and more expensive and less profitable. At some point the growth would stall do to people giving up on the on-line auctions because they are too expensive. Storage facilities won't use on-line services in mass unless they are getting high enough bids so the idea of there being more units for sale then available bidders causing those bidders to win the on-line units really cheap probably won't happen.

The online auctions don't seem to be gaining a lot of ground right now, but I wouldn't discount the creeping trend of technology entering the industry. It might be one of those things that slowly one by one all the facilities move to and maybe 10-15 years from now live on-site auctions will be a thing of the past. It might take longer, but somehow computer technology will take over the storage auction process, I mean within our lifetime of doing storage auctions.

What I noticed in my area was a slight uptick in buyers, lookie-loos at auction houses about a year and a half to two years after the storage auction TV shows. It didn't last long, maybe six months, and I attribute it to storage auction newbie wash outs who were looking for another way to get into the re-sale game.

Generally at the auction houses now it's mostly dealers/store owners with some collectors and the occasional retail customer looking for something for their home. As far as prices go, I believe the market has been flat for awhile if not trending downward if you compare prices of furniture and household goods sold at auction to food, gas other things in the retail marketplace. Then again, I was speaking with one of the owners of a local antique store who acquires her inventory from auction houses and she feels prices are still too high. That tells me the retail consumer/end customer is not paying any more now for furniture, collectibles, household goods then they were a few years ago.

I sell furniture at auction houses and it seems to me prices are flat. No growth in realized prices today compared to several years ago. The difference is Craigslist customers (in my area) are trending downward on what they are willing to spend and in many cases furniture and household goods sold at auction houses is now meeting the same price level as selling on Craigslist. It use to be auction houses was the fast money but you were going to take a 50% hit or more compared to selling it yourself on Craigslist. Currently, those numbers are coming closer together.

I lived in Florida and sold at the Thunderbird flea market. It is a fact that Haitians will steal off your tables dis-proportionally more than many other ethnic groups. Does this mean ALL Haitians steal? No. Does this mean ALL Haitians who shop at flea markets steal? No.

From my experience, Haitians who steal tend to be very bold about it, they don't have much of a problem walking off with something while you are looking them in the eye. Sure all kinds of people steal, but they tend to do it when your back is turned and your not really sure who done it, so it stands out in your mind more when Haitians do it compared to those who sneakily steal something and your not sure who it was.

Does that mean Latvians don't steal and we are just picking on Haitians? No, if I had a problem with ethnic Latvians stealing off my tables I would mention that too!

Haitians also tend to be very aggressive bargainers that most Americans are not use to dealing with.

For those of you who have never lived with and encountered large groups of Haitians, especially those who were refugees, you should give those of us who have a little credit and step down from the politically correct, kumbayah soap box.

I got a fire box not to long ago. There is stuff in it cause it has factory made holes in the back and I can see paperwork, files, something metal, and something jingles when I rattle it. It's the kind with a keypad and no key lock. I haven't decided yet if i'm just going to break it open or I think Movieman mentioned I can call the manufacturer and potentially get a new code sent to me?

I got one safe this Spring and another right at the end of last year and didn't crack it until this Spring. One was completely empty, the other was filled with personal paperwork and the only thing of value it had was a couple links to a 14K gold watch band. There might have been some other nick-nacks I don't remember now, but nothing with "WOW" factor.

I tried that for a while but really didn't have much luck. Like HomeGrown said, most people over value what they have left and seem like they would rather put it all back in the garage then just sell it and be done with it.

It all depends where I am at. I have been traveling out further for auctions so sometimes I AM the local whale. No I don't buy hundreds of units per month which might be a minimum qualification to be a Whale in some parts of the country, but I can win any unit and multiple units on any given day, without much sweat. I think when you get to the point where you can win the units you want and not just pick up the units that are left over or that you can "afford" that makes you a Whale or at least a heavy hitter.

Most of the other Whales I run across all seem to be winding down their operations and look like they are moving into retirement. One guy looks and buys like a Whale but I think he is a buyer for a silent investor, kind of like Charlie from Charlie's Angels or Robin Masters from Magnum P.I. we don't know who is really behind the money.