I hear a lot of people rag on ebay's fees, but as far as I'm concerned, it's still one of the cheapest selling venues in the marketplace.

ebay & paypal = 11.9% + .30

antique mall = 10% + rent (2.60/sq.ft. locally)

local auction house = 38% for lots under $100

consignment shops = 20%-50%

flea = depends on sales divided by space fee

garage sale = free!! but try getting ebay prices and many are only allowed 2 per year


I'm now thinking this should've been it's own thread but too late now!!  

What’s my point? The web site clearly says it is offering Abandoned lockers. In my book that means somebody has already gone through the contents of the locker and numbered locker seal integrity is not honored.

I think you're on point with most of your comments, but in reference to the specific auction above, they clearly state that the auction is in compliance with Chapter 59 of the Texas Code, which is the storage lien auction law. It also states that the owner can pay it off any time prior to the end of the auction and reclaim their locker.

I haven't checked many of the auctions on that site, but this one is clearly listed as a lien and not instigated by the locker's owner.

There is only on unit being auctioned by this facility. I wonder if they went this route to not have to have a whole live auction for one unit that might be redeemed before the auction, anyway.

I wonder who put's it in storage thinking "I might need this someday!!"

Not to mention, who would use it after three years in storage?!?

BTW, welcome to the boards, Boss!

From the sealed online bids site:

sealedonlinebids (dot) com

This seems to be the first and only auction listed in the Central Texas area.

I could see it being a popular alternative here due to the outrageous summer heat, but we all know how distrusting auction buyers are!!   

I'll be watching it just to see where it ends. If you want to throw out your guesses, please chime in!!

A good lesson for all of us, here!!

Think of some of these examples next time you're out at the flea picking for ebay!!

Ebay has been a little slow for me lately, but otherwise, it has been a good venue for me so far.

If they don't want such big crowds they they should not use sites such as auction zip  and such.  A lot of folks don't know to look in the paper to find auctions.

You are right about that. I expected our Public Storage auctions to draw a crowd, being a household-name and having a 3 day caravan each month, but is typically 1/3 the size crowd of anything listed on auctionzip.

I think it's a new era of people thinking you can spend 10 minutes online and find everything you need to know about anything.

Glad you're enjoying some time away from home. A little rest and fresh perspective is always good!

As for forum activity, I was curious and checked some things out.

When I first joined in early November, the average "new users" was over 10/day. It's now down to 8.8. Doesn't seem like a lot less, but when you consider how averages are calculated, that is quite a slow-down.

I haven't been posting as much lately, but have been reading daily. Mostly because after hitting a few auctions and reading the reports around here, I realized I would do better with picking and Goodwill auctions. If things continue to slow, I might be hitting storage auctions again. I've got some good fundraiser garage sales (church and school) this weekend, so hopefully I'll find some gold!

Good luck at the fleas!!

I just wanted to point out something I had missed until my wife pointed it out.

Moe is not in the credit sequence and has been replaced by Roy Williams. If it is a permanent change, that is one step towards a better program.