Now all you have to do is buy a locker, move the stuff, sell the stuff !

The easy part, right? 

Also mattress' are a tricky item.  I hate them and rarely buy units with them, unless they are in IMMACULATE shape.  Otherwise, I view them as a dump run item.

I was talking to a couple of regulars at the auction after we saw the unit with about 7 mattresses in it and they said that they sell all day around here. Good news for me, I suppose since it seems most units have them...

I really forgot about drugs and porn... I imagine there will be laughs and awkward looks when I find some...

Shmoopy - those units went higher then what I would pay that is for sure.  However, of late those are about normal.  You currently have more newbies with money then sense.  Next month or even next auction they will be gone and a new crop will come in.

Found an auction for Monday at 1pm.  Not sure if will try and make it or not.  All depends on work that day.  Already taken off for the 12th so will hit my 7 facility caravan.

ugh. I was hoping to use my first few units to supplement my learning of prices. I guess I just have to keep going to yard sales and doing research while hoping for a nice payday...

Also I am super jealous of your caravan. I've called all 20 or 30 storage places within a 20 minute drive and I only have 4 auctions for the rest of the month. None of them are listed on auctionzip, though... hopefully a good sign.

We were lined up like herds of cattle. Moooooooooooooooo

I KNOW! People weren't MOVING. They were also just bunching themselves in an immovable massive crowd right in front of the bin. The auctioneer didn't seem to care and she just started the bidding when less than half the people had SEEN the damn thing. I am NEVER going back there. Horrible first experience  . I found four more auctions (shorter drive away even) but they're not until the 20th-27th so I'm just gonna go picking at yard sales until then...

Went to my first auction today. Found it on AuctionZip which may attribute to the shenanigans that were afoot. Went from 8 units to 3 in the matter of a few hours (damn last minute payers).

1st unit: A neat clock with roman numerals, what seemed to be brass siding and it was about 2 feet high on its stand. There was also a mattress and some boxes. The interesting thing is that there was quite obviously a car kept in there since there were several oil containers and an old matted rug that looked soaked in oil and resting on top of it was a car starter. Strange. Anyway, the unit ended up going for $525. I thought that was rather high. Little did I know that would be a continuing theme for the last two.

2nd unit: This was a packed full 5x10 that looked like it was just a bunch of junk brought out from a college dorm. An unfinished art project, boxes labeled clothes, shoes, bags, etc and a few lamps is all I could see. This one went for $700  Seriously, what's going on?

3rd unit: This was a 10x20 with 6 or 7 mattresses, a beat up couch that would definitely need a reupholstering job and a nice looking antique-style table. This one was interesting because I know you can sell mattresses on CL for around 75-150 bucks depending on the condition so I estimated the value of the unit to be around $800...... It went for $1775.

I don't know if it's because I'm new to this or because of the giant crowd (around 100-150) but I think most of those bins went for around double what they were actually worth. Oh well. Hitting yard sales tomorrow. Hopefully that will go better!

Good luck at your first!  One thing I challenge you to do is to get involved with the bidding atleast once. You'll be surprised at how many nobodies find that first hand raise hard to do. Even if you know you won't win the unit just get in the mix up it will make you feel more comfortable with everything

Yea I'm taking my tiny $100 just in case  with 13 units I'm almost sure I'm going to be bidding at least once.

It is easier to start with something that is already a hobbie, you like fishing? Research vintage and modern fishing tackle and concentrate on "picking" these items from flea markets and yard sales only. Great way to develop your base of knowledge. The best strategy would be to concentrate on something of relatively small to moderate value, that the average picker or shopper cares nothing about, and the average seller is basically giving away.

This is fantastic advice, only my interests are computers and magic: the gathering. computers don't age well and magic already has a huge market that's been booming for years so I guess I'll just wait until something catches my eye and stick to that.
Thanks for your other advice, too!

Many people will bid the $1 just to keep the facility manager happy. 

Well I'm buying every $1 unit I can find because it will just be pure profit (disregarding time and effort, of course). Also I'm not doing this as a business, it's more of a hobby kind of thing... Hopefully I can get some auctioneers on my side 

Thanks for your help!

The classified ads are rather dead in our local newspaper, but craigslist is always roaring so I suppose that makes up for it. I never thought about consignment because who would want to go into business with an 18 year old with an unreliable schedule due to school? I do know of a thrift store very close by that I may check out... I don't know.

As for yard sales etc, I know for a fact that there were at least 50 locally (within 20 miles) the weekend before Christmas (17th/18th). Unfortunately, my interest in these sorts of things came right around the holidays so I'm not sure about statistics during the rest of the year. I figure I live around a ton of suburban areas so yard sales should be rather easy to come by.

Thanks so much for your advice! I never thought about doing strictly yard sales for a while. Should really help! Time to do a bunch of research regarding prices and such!

I'm going to an auction this Friday. As of the 30th, there are still 13 units left for auction so I feel pretty decent about my chances of snagging a really cheap unit. Even if I don't, that's 13 experiences where I can assess my value determining skill.