Welcome to the forum.  I am pretty new to the forum and storage auctions myself.  I joined the forum a week ago and have not been to any auctions yet.  I have done estate and regular auctions (have a regular to hit in 2 days with major sports memorabilia).

I have also bought the equivalent of a full storage unit full of antiques and collectibles from a buddy of mine a few days ago.  This is going to give me practice.  I can say that just bringing his stuff to my house and working on inventory and pricing is exhaustive, though I am enjoying it a lot.

So far I have inventoried 5 boxes, and have about 25 to 30 more to go.  I have only had a chance to list 1 item on CL, a 1982 military gasoline lantern.  We will see what happens with it while I continue the inventory process.


Now, I have a big suggestion for you if you are insistent on quiting your job completley.  Take the first month and spend some of your seed money to attend truck driving school and get your CDL.  There are thousands of trucking companies still hiring, even with the job market supposedly in the tank.  This will be a very nice safety net.  If you have your CDL, you can pretty much get a job and start within a few days.

Anyways, Wishing you the best of luck.  Check out the "What's it Worth" section.  I am going to post a link tonight for an antique pricing site, which I received from a shoe manufacturer while I was researching the price of an extremely old ladies boot.   After I check out the site I will start a thread with a small write up on it.

Awesome feedback Rollinradios
It is crazy that you mention the CDL because it is something my father mentioned to me last night for the first time.  That is an intriguing possibility for a second income.  Thanks again for your feedback.  Like I said this move wont be for a bit so try to keep some updates on here as to how things go for you.  Where are you located at?

First off, I am agreeing with what Movieman is saying to you.

And to put forth my own input as well. I am not saying in any form or fashion that you are not a hard worker. However let me strongly advise you NOT TO QUIT YOUR JOB. Yes you can make a living doing this, and you have plenty of money saved up to last for a good long while to support yourself and this new business venture. I have seen people come in and do extremely well with less than what you have. However I have also seen people with even more money come in and lose everything within 6 months.

This business is unlike any others, most of it is a gamble, and you might not be buying any lockers, for a decent price, everytime you go out to auctions. The bigger your city, the better chances you have. But that is not always the case. And to make a living in this business will take time, it does not happen over night. (For the most part that is). You would have to learn the resell business inside and out. Build a contact list for inventory, and establish a relationship with these people. Also need to learn how to value things on the spot so you do not overspend on a unit. If you have the space, I would concentrate on lkrs full of furniture. Solid wood furniture that is. That seems to do better than anything else.

My suggestion to you is, wait till you have vacation from your job, during this time, try out the storage auction business. This way you can get your feet wet, and get a feel for this business before you quit your job. At least then you will know whether or not you will like it.

Real storage auction, IS NOT LIKE THE SHOWS, I REPEAT NOT LIKE THE SHOWS. They dont show all the hard work, or all the crappy units they buy before they get a good lkr. Keep these odds in mind, for every 20 lkrs you buy, expect 19 of them to be utter crap, especially in the beginning.

Good luck, and I hope to hear how things go.

Jross
Thanks for your input as well.  Because of my extended time frame, I do have some time to think about this and try to get see if it is for me.  Why are all auctions on weekdays?  Don't they know how hard that makes it for me to make it?  lol. 

Does anyone on this board do auctions full time?  I am not totally opposed to working part time and trying auctions full time if need be. 
My biggest concern is indeed failing miserably at identifying quality units and running through my nest egg in 2 months only to find myself unemployed and broke.  I'm not looking to make $100,000 doing this, just enough to get by and a bit extra.  If there is one thing I have learned since graduating from college it is that a great paying job that sucks is not nearly as gratifying as crappy paying job that you love.  I love going to auctions and estate sales and seeing what new things I can find. 

Thanks again for your input.  Since I am not looking to make this move full time until January, I will try to keep updates as to how things unfold in the meantime.

Hi Everyone.  First I want to say thanks to everyone that posts here.  This forum has been quite the learning experience for me.

I am a bit different than most.  Right now I have a typical office job.  I work 8-5 and have no time to go to auctions because they are all on weekdays.  Let me start of by saying I hate my job.  It is ridiculously boring and the more I work in an office the more I realize I don't want to.

Next January, I plan to quit my job and start buying and selling Units.  I am fortunate that I am not married, and have little bills.  I will have roughly $15-$20k to get started with and many other good things going for me. 

First, my sister is a stay at home mom.  She has agreed to look items up for me on the internet and see what they are and how much they are worth while also finding an avenue to sell them.  I also have a buddy that has agreed to help me out on site for minimal charges.

With the above being said, what do you guys think?  I am a hard worker, and willing to put in the time and effort if it is something I am interested in.  Will this be something I can sustain on over a long period of time, or will I be looking for another office job a couple months later.

Steve