I have around 200 33s of gospel/christian music from the 1960s/1970s. Let me know if that interests you.

I am going to enjoy the winter because I think come this spring we are going to have another large herd of newbies at auction with their tax return money. I am hoping this will be the last great herd caused by the TV shows and by next fall crowds and prices will start to come down.

Went to an auction in Memphis the other day.  It was a decent neighborhood which sparked the interest.  There were six lockers up for bid with about 17 bidders.  A buddy and I pooled resources in case we came across something.  We have a variety of experience between us, he has auto body and mechanical skills, I have been in the military and grew up traveling the world as a military brat.  The best part is that the money we pooled was just mad money that we really did not care if we lost or not.  The lockers ran the gamut of variety, one was a commercial HVAC locker, one was general household, a couple were just trash with miscellaneous household items.  We got our feet wet on the last locker of the bunch it was a straightforward locker with four factory ford chrome 2004+ truck rims.  Thanks to my friend he quickly spotted the six bolt pattern and said we could get our 50 dollars back.  The television and wood frame for a single bed were claimed before we made it home.  It may take a month to get rid of the rims but we had a great time and will take a bigger truck next time. 

Thanks again for the tips and advice everyone shares on this forum.  It is much appreciated.

Since you are in Memphis, next time you are at the auctions, yell out "Mr. Andersen!, Mr. Andersen!" If anyone answers ask them "How come you don't post on Storage Auction Forums anymore?" 

Did you even read my entire post? Even if 80% of the units are a bust, it does not mean they are worthless. It just means they lost money on that unit. They could have lost one dollar or $400 dollars. I explained in my post that at one auction they bought 11 units, nine of which they lost money, but the other two made them enough of a profit to pay for all of the units and make thousands in profit. As far as them driving around the country I believe they do that for the show. I also mentioned in my post that I believe they get payed to do the show.  What you seem to be saying is that if they are doing anything different from what they would normally do for the sake of the show that the show is fake. If that is the case then why didn't you just make a post called all TV is fake?

Yes I read your entire post. I just think people should be skeptical of a couple of guys who say there business model is predicated on losing money 80% of the time but they still make thousands in profit. That my friend is NOT a business or livelyhood, that is the definition of professional gambling.

Only people who are independently wealthy or have significant income from other sources can afford to live of off this method.

In the real world of storage unit buying not only are you tying up your money in the newly but inventory, but you are using up your time as well. There is NO way I could spend $4000 on 8 units,  spend a week processing those units 2 months selling everything from those units and still come out a couple of hundred to a thousand behind, with all the other bills that have to get payed during that two month period, turn around a buy 2 more units for $1000 and just KNOW I am going to make $10,000 in a week on those 2 units.

They are saying thier average is 80% unprofitable, weather that is $1 or $1000, and only 20% profitable, that could be only $1 or $1000. That is an average. What happens if they get a streak of 20 unprofitable units to 1 profitable?

Very few people can take a bad streak like that and stay in the game. I have seen people get knocked out of this business/hobby by buying ONE bad unit. These guys consistently buy 8 bad units for every 10?

Why are big items so much easier to sell quickly?

My bigs are nothing special but I swear I get double and triple the emails on big furniture at decent prices then I do on clothes at great prices for nice jeans and such.  What gives?

I ask because I overbid on one unit(by about $35) but the bigs are going to get me outta my overpaying.

It just amazes me.

Btw, scores from the last 2 units are a pair of Coogi Jeans and Jean Jacket(on eBay) netgear NIB router, JP printer(looks new) bunch of Art Van furniture(partical board, but still!), more lamps, clothes and shoes for my huge ass garage sale I'm going to hold in march(yeah glad I have Totes to hold those smalls).  One piece of .925.

The bad, bread that turned to black mush, dropside crib involved in recall, junk f'ing mail, I know where the gold in this unit is, dumb fugg pawned it, unless it's in the two baskets I haven't gone through yet(I know don't expect it, lol).

I am not sure this explains it all, but here is my thoughts. Clothes are in huge supply in this country and you can get brand new clothes very cheaply as a consumer with just a little bit of effort. Foe instance, at the flea market where I sell it is hard to for me to sell name brand jeans for more than $2-$3. Even if I drop the price to $1 they won't sell fast because of the issue of right size for right person. The reason it is hard to sell is because other vendors are selling new with tags, name brand jeans and other clothes for around $5-$12 depending. Most people are comfortable spending a few dollars more on new with tag clothes compared to used. Furniture is a little different because if you are selling a dresser, lightly used, no major damage for say $250 and the same one brand new is $500 + tax, that is a BIG difference in the consumers mind.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

First half hour is the California guys at it again.

Jarrod gets one for $2,200.
Dave gets one for $750.
Derrell gets one for $2650.
Barry rides away in his skeleton jacket on a motorcycle.


Jarrod and Brandi find a visible safe in their lkr..neither had seen it; THEN…
Jarrod finds….another SAFE ! (2nd time my two safes in 1 lkr theory has come through).

Dave’s estimates of his item values are off the wall ($300 to $500 for two networking items…they often don’t sell because they’re outdated by the time they see light of day).

Derrel…likes his for value...fancy old trunk ….inside NADA !  Cigar Humidor (bet even the cigars are still good!). Humidor worth…..$1,300 up !

Jarrod’s small safe….coins. Locksmith for big safe…he drills it out just like my guy did a couple of months ago. (back for the reveal)…AFTER THE COMMERCIAL!

J’s big safe…..incredible…actual gold coins, some from old ships (Spanish Reals). I had to smile for the couple they were having such a good time ! Coin guy estimates $3,500 plus for the balance of coins (J. already sold $800 worth).

Hester has an accident…LOOKED STAGED !


Second half hour is Storage Wars Dallas…..Yee Haw ! (sorry Texans…we are REQUIRED to yell Yee Haw for this show. As one of my area auctioneer’s has sometimes observed “it’s the law!” (he is wrong too).

WOW JUST WOW Spanish gold and Peter Max art, what am I doing wrong in this business, somebody tell me how I am missing all this great action! 

Does that mean that the shows are Fake? No. It does mean that if you decide to try your hand at Auction Hunting you might not want to expect that it is going to a big score every time. Remember that on Auction Hunters they say 80% of the units are a bust. That means that only 2 out of 10 units pay off.

So you believe these two guys travel around the country in an old bread truck spending thousands of dollars on units to end up only being profitable on 20% of them and still make a living? Do these guys have houses or wives or kids? Do they live out of that bread truck?

If you started a business/venture in your town and only making a profit 20% of the time, would you take your business model nationwide?

Maybe they should say 80% of units are garden variety used household merchandise that you can sell at the flea market and make a reasonable amount of return on investment if you don't over bid on the unit. If you purchase enough units maybe 10-20% will have something really nice in it that you can resell that will bring a nice smile to your face but will not make you filthy rich overnight. Riding around the country in a bread truck with your best buddy is for entertainment purposes only and should NOT be considered a realistic business model for doing storage auctions.

I like the title Auction Scene myself.