This locker sounds just like EVERY one of the lockers that all of the guys on Storage Wars and Auction Hunters buy!!  LMAO

Did you film the trip to your appraiser for your B Roll for when you apply for the show?  haha

Just being cynical...sorry...great to hear you got a strong locker.....I think I'm just stating the obvious when I say we all know it looks so much easier and more profitable on the shows.

Hey, Thanks for your feedback and input!  I absolutely agree that having a solid network of buyers is the most important part of the game. Knowing who and where to go with specific items as well as what is best on ebay and Craigslist and doing it quickly and efficiently so you are not holding stock for very long.

On the truck I differ a little as I believe if you want to be efficient, you need to be able to load and move lockers and items you are looking to sell on a moments notice and be able to constantly transport big items so you are not limited in which units you can buy.

You can get a very usable box truck or step van for around $3K or less which in the scheme of business start up costs, is very affordable in my opinion as there are very few businesses you can start for around 10K or less and potentially parlay that into a 60K to 80K annual income or more

As far as a warehouse, you can easily start with 1 or 2 10X30's ...they are only $120 each near me
So for about $300 a month, you can have 2 10X30's and a spot to park your truck. 

Now take about 5K to 10K in additional funds for buying your first 10 to 18 units  (average) and if you bought right, you are officially in business!     

I would recommend a start up budget of 10K
$2700 for a truck
$300 for month one of the place to sort and store
$7000 for buying lockers

Then you turn the 7K into at least 11K (conservatively) and you continue buying and flipping units

I realize not everyone can start in the game with 10K and also that it can be done with WAY less using your
own truck or the trunk of your car and your garage or a spare bedroom for storage but in my experience...if you want to be able to make close to 6 figures annually...you will need the resources I mention above

Now, if you just want a little side income for yourself...that is a different story....buy I myself, don't work my tail off doing hard labor for peanuts so I want to have the tools for scalability and success at my disposal.

To each his own I guess

I am new to this biz and to the forum and I am glad I have found it!

I have been in the closeout and liquidation business for a long time and have done a good bit of due diligence on the storage locker buying game and I do think based on all the complaining I hear at auctions and read here about the popularity of Storage Wars and Auction Hunters the game has become significantly more difficult if only because there appear to be many more buyers who are not knowledgeable enough or do not have the discipline to keep emotion out of the equation and stop overbidding and overpaying for lockers.

I realize that many in the big crowds are just tire kickers and will never buy as they simply do not have the resources to pay for, transport and store all the goods ...let alone the network of buyers necessary to move and flip the goods quickly and profitably.  The amount of work, labor and time to win at this game is huge as well and many do not want to dig through dirty things in a hot sweaty environment and make trips to the dump.

I believe that in addition to profiling the demographic areas of the facilities, one must be able to size up competition at the auctions as well as be able to profile the contents of a locker and bid based strictly on business and profit and not emotion.

To me the proper tools and resources of the trade are key to ones success. I understand that not all have the cash or resources to start big but I think long term if you want to succeed, you need a good bit of coin to invest, a truck for moving goods, somewhere to store and sort the goods, labor to assist you in doing this and most importantly, a network of buyers to move your finds to quickly and profitably.

As many have said before, you are simply not going to win on every locker...so you need to be able to stay in the game long enough for the law of averages to work in your favor....and be a very smart and prudent buyer and seller..  I can't help but think that auctions early in the AM or on rainy days or very late in the day after a long scheduled day would have a better chance of dwindling competition and therefore pricing in the right range for profit opportunities.

These are just my initial thoughts and observations and anyone here can feel free to add to them or contact me to collaborate and brainstorm because if we move into this segment of the business....it will be balls deep from the get go.

Thx