Don't judge a book by its cover. Those storage facilities in the bad parts of town can have some really profitable units. People live in those areas because they don't know how to prioritize their money. They spend on themselves first, pay rent, keep the lights on, buy food later.. and what they buy for themselves is usually high end. The biggest thing to be wary of is, they sometimes keep in storage, what they don't want to keep in their homes.

HomeGrown,

One thing I have noticed about "ghetto" units. The good stuff seems to be in female owned units or atleast units with the presence of an adult female. Units that look primarily male owned tend to be much lower quality. I've gotten burned a several times now on male owned units in poor parts of town.

Went to an auction today that 3 months ago never drew more than 15 or so people, but today there were 40 and 30 of them were new....and I mean NEW people. The newbies bought perhaps 7 of the 10 lockers and they paid their dues. The regulars weren't even bidding on these due to the high prices for the quality/quantity shown.

It was common for a 10 x 10 (half full) to go for $400 or so.  The last three were ok and 3 regulars got them. A 10 x 10 went for $350. First 10 x 20 (packed with big furn) went for $900 and the 2nd (and last lkr) was a 10 x 20 only full to about 4 feet high and pretty scattered with not much showing except a super clean large mobile spray system (for crops ?) with a good looking Honda engine and pump. Lkr went for $650. I think that spray system would bring that, but not much else in there.

Thanks to crowds and prices I have been able to keep my new year's "resolution" NOT to buy lockers that aren't world class !  Like a recovering alcoholic I am taking locker buying "one month at a time" and have not bought one in 2013.

Yep, I've been fighting them off since the first of the year and so far I have lucked out with winning units for higher then I normally pay, until the last 2. Real Dogs!  Guess I pushed my luck to much trying to fight of the newbies. Think I will sit back for a while, sell through what I have, and wait for things to calm down (hopefully) come late Spring, early Summer.

Looks like I was justified in switching from Bud when they sold out to a foreign company!

  http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/02/26/more-water-less-buzz-in-bud-michelob-beer-lawsuit-claims/?cmpid=NL_morningHL 

No wonder the DUI rates have been dropping in this country! and I thought it was do to better education! 

I agree! I often use the reaction of others to gauge how much I'm willing to spend, or bid others up. There's always the chance of a loud mouth spilling the beans on something I missed!

This is always a double edge sword for me. Sometimes i'm like "Shut up dumba$$!" and other times i'm like "Thanks for pointing that out dumba$$, didn't see it!"

Hmm, don't think I have found much high-end stuff that was new. Mostly used stuff & the mark up is so high on new retail I'm not sure there is much difference in selling a used counterfiet purse compared to an authentic one. When I'm at the flea & I have a nicely used coach handbag I might get $10-$20 for it. It's caveat emptor for the buyer to decide if they think it's authentic or not.

Well, the couch turned out to be a partial loser. It needed repair but my wife really only wanted the chase lounge and the small part of the sectional, so it worked out fine. The big surprise was that the king size sleigh bed wasn't just your run of the mill bed. It's a super high quality, extremely ornate bed with claw feet. It needs a little touching up but should sell quickly. I'm having trouble pricing it because I can't find a used bed like it on on Craigslist . Most of the beds similar in quality are 2 grand and up new but that really doesn't help.

The other unexpected surprise was the 2 marble top night stands that match the bed. They were hiding behind the sofa and you couldn't see them in the photos. They are top quality as well. It took two of us to lift one night stand!    They were probably around $500 each when they were new. They should bring at least $400 for the pair.

I average about 30% of retail price on used furniture in my area on Craigslist so I would list it about $800, sell around $700. If I had a store, I would probably bump it up another 15%. I had a 4 piece set like you are talking about except bed was queen, 1 of heavy night stands, and dresser with mirror and chest of drawers. I think I sold the whole set for $1200, your results may very do to local economy.

I here the economy is real good in Texas, but I don't know if that helps you or not.

So yes you have to pay taxes, but keep good records and you can deduct all your expenses.  That might be the way to go for me.  Flea markets and yard sales you almost have to give the stuff away, bigger ticket items don't do good on eBay.  My wife loves going to those shops,and for what I notices their prices a higher then normal.  Thanks for the info....

It's always a balancing act trying to figure which marketplace realizes the best profit margin. Flea market always come home with "profit" but average sale is about $2. I have had some months were I lost money at my vendors booth, but average sales per item have been between $10 - $30.

Flea Market cost per weekend is $30 table rental & $45 in gas $20 in food so $95 total cost. Flea Market revenue per weekend is $250 per weekend so take home from flea market is about $155 go twice a month so $310 per month.

Vendors Mall cost per month is $200 plus 10% sales, about $15 in gas no food or other expenses. Vendors Mall revenue per month has been as high as $750 but as low as $200, but averaging around $500 per month. Take home from vendors mall about $235.

Flea Market makes more "take home" money but I spend about 40 hours a month at the flea market and only about 15 hours per month at the vendors mall.

Flea Market $310/40 = $7.75 per hour (yea, minimum wage!)
Vendors Mall $235/15 = $15.67 per hour (working class wage)

Consider the more recent months at the vendors mall $750 - $200 - $75 - $15 = $460

$460/15 = $30.67 per hour (professional wage!)

Best weekend at flea market $380 - $30 - $40 - $20 = $320

$320/20 = $16.00 per hour (working class wage)

So as long as total sales stay $500 plus, vendors mall is the way for me. There are many things that can't and won't sell at the vendors mall so I save those items up for yard sales.