Here in Memphis we have the same problem. Alot of passive onlookers. all they do is taking up space and making it take longer.

The real problem as i see it, is that they don't know the unwritten rules of the game, and they cause so much anger among the people who do this for a living or a side business.
So what have happen here in Memphis is that some of the old timers has started to give the newbies a taste of their own medicine.
Last auction this newbie know it all guy was bidding and thinking he was all pro. Well some of the regular guys bid him up on a unit and it stopped at $1425, for a unit that normally would have gone for 250-300

10 min later they guy was gonna pay for it, but did not have the full 1425, so the auctioneer guy said to the people that was in the room, " anyone wants to make a second bidding. Two og the regulars was then bidding again and it sold for 330.

Now that is JUSTICE !

I've got about 300 sq ft storage in my basement, and the same in my attic.  Both are easily accessible, but larger items (dressers, sofas, etc) will not get up in my attic.  The auction I attended, it seemed like the bigger furniture went cheapest, just because nobody wanted to move it.  That's the only reason I asked about renting a 1 month special.  If I can get a 10x10 with a nice couch, love seat, and chair, a 4x6 chest freezer, and loads of boxes for $80 (that's what it went for) I figure I HAVE to buy that unit and find a way to store/sell the goods.  Curiously, all the smaller lockers that looked like junk went for just as much or more.  I'm willing to work hard/think outside the box to make this work...

Everything you said here makes sense....especially the part about working hard and thinking outside the box...the latter is the hardest part.

Regarding the scale....just weight something of a known weight...say a 10 or 25 pound weight you get in a locker or borrow from someone.

Some scales are adjustable to zero....you might get one of these in a locker. A brown mechanical scale you see in a locker about 12 x 12 x 3 is most likely a UPS scale and is adjustable to zero.

Jump in. Sell something cheap on eBay to get started; if you make a mistake you won't lose much, and it could be a cheap lesson.

I'm about to become your new best friend regarding both your questions.

On eBay, weigh your items before you list them. You may want to add a pound or two for packaging and an inch or two on all the dimensions; or put it in the correct box and go from there.

THEN, when you list an item, used the CALCULATED approach for shipping. This charges the buyer what it would cost to THEIR zip code from yours. You can give them options of several shipping agents. UPS and USPS are the two most common.

This is an easy way to do it. Now I'll respond to your second question.

hey hows it going everybody i just starting this adventure im hoping to find sum cool and interesting stuff i live in modesto ca some of the storage unit in this town are in really bad parts of town and then some storage are in really really gud (rich) parts of town

Been about a month now since you joined the forums. Have you bought any lkrs ?

Check with your local trash pickup service....is yours run by the city or county?

They will charge you for additional pickup, but still if you don't want to drive 30 miles, that might work.

In my area there are 4 or 5 county dumps.....a pickup truck load goes for around $15 or so stacked as high as you can.

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If it's small stuff, invest in a couple of extra garbage cans and rotate them through your pickup cycle.

Finally, buy smaller lockers with less trash !

I use the option to have them call me at home rather than answer by email. This totally eliminates the spam factor.

When they call if they get my answering machine I call them back and we talk about the item. If they give any indication they want to make an appointment for the next day, I have them call me back the next day a half hour before they want to see the item....that tends to either weed them out completely or give me a good indication of their sincerity.  They give me a time frame on the first call...say 10 a.m. for a meeting, so I have them call me at 9:30 am the morn of the meeting to confirm.

Oh, and since I don't want them coming to my home I have them meet me at my storage facility where the advertised item is stored. If the item is actually at my home....I take it with me to the storage unit and get there earlier than they do.

Showing them the item in the storage lkr is good too as they sometimes see other things they are interested in.