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Messages - MatchesMalone

Pages: 1 [2] 3 4 ... 17
16
Other Forms of Selling / Re: Cash4books
« on: April 21, 2012, 10:27:09 PM »
It was featured on Dr. Phil... it must be good!!   ::)

But, seriously, I am inspired to give it a shot. If it works well, I may start a little book venture. Probably just steal some ISBNs from Amazon and see what the price comparisons are.

I do like that they pay the shipping, cause that can ruin margins real quick.

If I beat you to it, I'll let you know how it turned out.

17
General Storage Auction Talk / Re: Im going to buy stock in storage companys
« on: April 21, 2012, 04:58:58 PM »
Publicly traded storage companies are treated as REITs as far as investing is concerned. A REIT is a Real Estate Investment Trust and covers companies like malls and apartment rental firms.

By definition, a REIT must pay out 90% of its earnings to shareholders in the form of dividends, so really you are investing more for dividend income than for share price growth.

Public Storage (PSA) currently trades around $140/share and pays an annual dividend of $4.40/share, paid quarterly. The truly impressive thing about Public Storage is the dividend growth, having doubled since 2009.

Frankly, Public Storage the stock has been on my radar much longer than storage auctions have and I'm glad this thread prompted me to look it up again. I won't financially be able to buy shares right now, but I will be adding it to my watch list.

The one thing I can say is that the auctions have such a small impact on the bottom line that it is almost meaningless. The true advantage is getting the space clear to have a new and, hopefully, paying tenant.

Please don't read this and go running to buy shares. If you're interested, great, but do your own research as this really is just a cursory 5-minute analysis.

That said, I'm glad this thread came along. It got my investing juices flowing again!

18
General Storage Auction Talk / Re: Its funny that people will bid 1500.00 on
« on: April 20, 2012, 11:55:02 AM »
Cobia-

You are spot on in that theory. And it would be absolutely worth it until you factor in the tax element. And you hit it on the head about splitting the top prize. If you had to share it, that would kill you!

As for logistics and financing, I always believe that if the math and everything else makes sense, you will find the money.

Also consider that retailers who sell the tickets get paid based on any winnings that come from their machines. If you were buying every number combo, you could easily find a retailer who would help you process the ticket buying. You would just have to make sure you don't partner with an idiot who screws the whole thing up somehow.  :P

19
Reality Shows about Storage Auctions / Re: storage wars observation
« on: April 20, 2012, 11:48:38 AM »
Quote from: 39shades on April 20, 2012, 03:00:49 AM
Matches: True. Though I'd assumed that the staging, casting, etc. was done by all the shows. Are you thinking not?

I think they may slip cool stuff into their lockers, but as for "casting," they don't have the "local whale" villain for each episode the way Auction Hunters does.

20
Storage Facilities / Re: Landlord reserves the right to bid on lockers??!!
« on: April 20, 2012, 11:43:53 AM »
I actually have seen a rejected bid, but probably not the way you would imagine based on the way it happens.

We had two bidders going up in $50 increments and at $300, one of them tried to go $305 and the auctioneer (district manager at PS) said something like "Really? I'm not doing that!"

The bidder then went to $325 instead of $305 and was outbid at $350 and it sold at $350.

It was a rejected $5 bid, but in the moment you may not think of it as a "rejected bid."

21
General Storage Auction Talk / Re: Its funny that people will bid 1500.00 on
« on: April 19, 2012, 11:51:18 PM »
As a long-time poker player, I decided a few years back to apply some gambling math theory to the world of the lottery.

What I discovered was that when the jackpot gets big enough, the odds actually justify playing.

I don't recall the exact numbers, but for sake of argument:

If the odds of matching all the numbers are 1 in 230 million
AND
The top prize is greater than $230 million
AND
The ticket price is $1
THEN
The odds favor playing.

This is actually a favorable situation because it does not consider the secondary prizes for matching some of the numbers.

There is one thing that blows a hole into my entire analysis... TAXES!!!

Once you consider the tax liability associated with a large win, the odds are skewed in a truly adverse manner.

My conclusion was ultimately that it is still not worth playing, but not nearly as stupid as most people make it out to be.

Food for thought.

22
eBay / Re: Finally making it work.
« on: April 19, 2012, 11:05:39 AM »
Money-

As far as them holding the funds, it's not as bad as it seems.

When someone pays, they put a 21-day hold on the funds. When you add a tracking number, they drop it to 14.

When the tracking shows the person got the item, they reduce it to 3 days from when it was delivered.

In most cases, with priority mail especially, you'll have the funds in about a week.

I've only receive two payments that gave me the funds instantly and I think it was the buyer using funds already in their Paypal account, so Paypal didn't need to get it from their bank or credit card.

Hope that helps!

23
Storage Facilities / Re: Landlord reserves the right to bid on lockers??!!
« on: April 19, 2012, 12:33:32 AM »
Some states don't require a unit to be disposed of by auction at all, so if the facility doesn't get a high enough bid, they may see it in their best interests to take possession of the contents themselves.

Like many of these issues, a lot of it will come down to the details of a state's lien laws.

24
Reality Shows about Storage Auctions / Re: storage wars observation
« on: April 19, 2012, 12:30:42 AM »
39shades is referring to Auction Hunters.

Storage Wars and the Texas version will cut locks for TV sake.

In Texas, it is required by law that the facility cut the customer's lock and take a quick once-over inventory of the contents at the time the locker goes into default. This inventory is also a part of the legal notice requirements.

I'm assuming most facilities will replace the customer's lock for the simple reason that they are to be locked out until they've paid up.

Maybe a Cali member can enlighten us on the general practices there.

25
Reality Shows about Storage Auctions / Re: storage wars observation
« on: April 18, 2012, 05:37:45 PM »
Short answer... yes.

26
What's it Worth?? / Re: Any ideas what this is?????
« on: April 18, 2012, 05:36:50 PM »
It actually looks like a religious robe to me. With the silvery portion acting as the collar and hem-detailing on the sleeves.

27
The Lounge / Re: Value Vilage Picks
« on: April 14, 2012, 08:20:19 PM »
Happy to give you a chuckle, money.   :)

28
Online Storage Auctions / Re: Online Auctions Reach Central Texas
« on: April 14, 2012, 04:40:01 PM »
So, to sum up this thread...

The unit sold for $535 and the buyer left some really good feedback for the storage facility and its management.

We could argue wether $535 is a good price until the cows come home, but it would seem the buyer was generally pleased with the transaction. That unit did not appear staged in any way and I suppose that's the best most of us can ask.

And, frankly, it was less than I expected it to go for.

29
The Lounge / Re: Value Vilage Picks
« on: April 14, 2012, 04:26:41 PM »
Quote from: Alias on April 14, 2012, 09:10:16 AM
lol

Thanks.
Glad I can at least amuse you all with my antics.     ;D

Unlike money, I wasn't thinking about the entertainment value, but I suppose we all know how mean she can get.  :P

30
The Lounge / Re: Value Vilage Picks
« on: April 14, 2012, 02:11:32 AM »
I'm just trying to imagine you trying on that coat with an immobilized arm!! (great find, btw!)

Even normal activities seem like a trial.

Hang in there, brother!!

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