Exactly!
Plus as others on here have said before, imagine if the auctioneer or storage facility rummages threw the unit and say takes a watch or ring or something of value and then the owners pays up right before auction, can you say lawsuit!
It would be theft to take from a locker before the auction at least in WA. State law requires the contents be auctioned. If there are no bidders at the auction then the managemnt can do what ever they want. I see the locks all pre cut now they generally cut them the day before to see if there is anything in the locker and to do a inventory for the report. The inventory just says like furniture boxes bikes whatever they do not go through the unit in detail. I have seen them fill out the inventory the day of the auction as well. If a unit does not sell they ask peopel to sigh a statement there was no bid.