Granted, I'm a relatively new follower to this industry - but I'm a little confused about the strategic positioning of these players.  I'll be at the ISS show and looking forward to what these folks have to say.

ST's banner and logo have appeared on SW w/ the Dotsons.  And supposedly there's some connection between them and Lance - meaning the Dotsons buy into the online model by promoting ST on the show.  Or maybe those shows were filmed before ST started doing online auctions?  I dunno, predates my knowledge, you guys know I'm sure.

And now the SB/ST merger announcement, which appears to be a validation of the online model and a logical consolidation.  Even perhaps an endorsement of online auctions by the Dotson, if in fact there's a connection between them and ST.

Then, Don tweets about the online model threatening the live auctioneers (twitter hashtag #StorageAuctions) - Indicating some degree of concern on their part that online auctions will really be taking off in coming years.  Or maybe just throwing a log on the fire?

And with all this focus on SB and OSA, what about these ibid4storage.com guys?  They seem to hold consistent online auctions (all in Canada), but haven't made a push into the US market.  I wonder why?

I'm definitely biased here, since I believe that doing these auctions online makes more sense in terms of logistics and efficiency.  It'll be interesting to see if these guys speaking at the show make a compelling case one way or the other, in terms of practicality, acceptance, or legal standing.

And now, for the most famous words in motorsports...

motorsportstalk(dot)nbcsports(dot)com/2014/03/06/the-dos-equis-guy-will-give-nascars-start-your-engines-command-in-las-vegas/

I think if you look at online auctions as trying to replicate what goes on during a live auction, it's hard to see how feedback adds anything.  Sure, the auctioneer knows the regulars and their bidding styles and which ones are reliable to deal with but in the end, the facility takes a cleaning deposit (or not from a regular) and sells to the highest bidder.

In other marketplaces, feedback ratings allow buyers and sellers to choose known good players to do business with.

Given that there's a legal framework around the auction process, I have a hard time seeing how this "value add" applies to lien auctions.

I think the earlier observations about SB's user interface and site performance are dead-on.  It's hard to build a business and invest in everything - marketing, sales, promotion, etc. and still continue to re-invent the site every couple years to stay on top of scalability and growth.  I'm working with a team to build a new offering in this space, at ebidstorageauctions (dot) com and we're excited to offer a fresh perspective in the market.  I think ultimately there's room for multiple players in online storage auctions, and the market will sort out which approach and pricing model is best over time.  Like Travis said, time will tell.