In my opinion, a box truck is only a better investment if you have made the decision to do storage auctions full-time and you plan on buying multiple units per day or week. Otherwise the extra cost of insurance, fuel, maintenance, license & registration, storage fees,  (most neighborhoods have restrictions on parking commercial vehicles) do not outweigh the benefits of having an enclosed trailer.

Glendon Cameron!! 

Right off the bat, I want to let everyone who is new to storage auctions know that this is a 1 in 20 locker. This does not happen every day.

All I could see from the door was a nice queen size pillow top mattress, a foot board and a mirror. The unit was a 5X10 so I was hoping the entire bed and dresser were there. They were, along with two marble top end tables and an incredible armoire.  We moved the stuff out of the 5X10 into a 10X10 so customers can see them better. Some of the hardware is missing (it always is) and it needs some touch ups, but all in all, it's a pretty nice score.

Also, the queen size pillow top mattress, box spring, side rails and bed frame were in the unit. It's very rare that everything is there.

Travis,

I would love to here what you price the bedroom set for, and what it eventually sells for, and how long it takes to sell.

I would probably start that set around $900 & not go below $700 if possible. You did not photo or mention a chest of drawers with the set. Armoires are not that hot a seller here, and customers would prefer a matching chest of drawers instead of the armoire. Add the matching chest of drawers to the set and I probably bump the starting price to $1200.

Are storage facilities alowed to stage units?  Put their stuff in it and sell it?

It really depends on the laws of your State. If the auction is being advertised as a lien sale of property, and you find out and can PROVE that the property in the unit you won was NOT liened property, then you might be able to get the State to investigate the facility. The hard part is proving the unit was staged. I would think the best way would be to get one of the employees to testify for you or contact the "owner" and have him testify that the contents in the unit are not what he/she stored. Probably more trouble then it's worth. Part of being a player in the game is figuring out which facilities are not on the up and up, and just avoiding them or bid accordingly.

In my State, it is completely legal (but not ethical, in my opinion) to stage units. They are not advertised as lien sales, just public auctions, so you could be bidding on anything.

Good Luck Player! 

I have bought 5 lockers so far this year. Most contained furniture, clothes, misc house hold goods, etc. Selling the goods on craigslist and at the flea market with little trouble. Not making a fortune but doing pretty well.

Well last Friday I went to an auction, about 15 miles north of Pittsburgh. They had 16 units up for auction, and suprisingly, there were not as many people as previous auctions have held. Nothing really interested me until the second to last locker.

When they opened it up, there was a schwinn lil chik bike. Kingsbury toys electric advertisement car (Hillshire Farms) old milk jug chairs, trunk visible, a long with some other things. Then boxes and boxes.

I decided to go for it. Bidding quickly escalade to 800, but then most dropped out and, it was only between another guy and myself. I ended up getting it for 950$. A little more than what I wanted to pay. But I thought it was worth the risk .

Well after cleaning out the unit. I a few boxes full of old board games. Tons of old fisher price and other toys from 1970s-80s. Matchbox cars from 1970s. Then lots and lots of older books. As I was going through one of the last boxes, full of clothes, I dug down a little and picked up a heavier box that said master bedroom. Quickly opened it up to find a old Thoren Music box with lots of discs. 10k gold mens class ring. 21 silver certificates. Old morgan dollars. Tiffany and Co silver pen. Then the icing on the cake was a real krugerrand!

I couldnt believe it. I then went to a reputable coin and gold shop and sold the krugerrand for more than 1500. Decided not to sell it on ebay, due to fees, risk etc.  I decided to keep the rest and try to squeeze out as much as I can, since I already have made my money back + some.

Going to be a lot of work listing all of the toys and games. But it will be worth it in the end. Now Im trying to decide whether I should list the books individually or wholesale them. I think I will spend the extra time and list them individually.

So all in all it ended up being a good buy. I know not all will end up like this, but it sure is nice to score!

You might have hit a 1 in 100 to a 1 in 500 unit depending on your market straight out of the gate! Nice score on the Krug, I probably couldn't have parted with it. Now the test is can you continue to buy, sort, & sell units with only common, modern, used stuff in it; day after day, average to junky unit after unit.

The good news is you could retire now a winner!

I don't know about "bigger" doofus, but Movieman is definitely King Doofus. Storme is only the Prince Doofus & has to wait until Movieman retires from the forum to become King Doofus. 

Then again, NOBODY can overthrow the retired Emperor Doofus of the Forum, Mr. Andersen! 

I was just looking at the Nielsen cable TV ratings for this week. I find it amusing that Duck Dynasty and WWE wrestling occupy 5 out of the top 10 spots in the USA.

I wondor if since Duck Dynasty is sooo popular if there have been a rush of people trying to get in to the business of making wild game calls or other hunting gear?