Storage Auctions
The Storage Locker => Stories about Storage Auctions => Topic started by: MovieMan on April 30, 2012, 12:10:57 PM
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Spring seems to be officially upon us and hopefully will bring good things to all locker buyers !
Going to a "buy it by the piece" auction Tuesday, May 1, 2012. "Picking" like this has been a good way to
augment the full locker buys when prices and bidders get out of hand.
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I cant believe what Im reading...buy it by the piece auction is the worst way to buy merchandise, and in CA. the only auction company I have seen do this is American Auctioneers, went to one one time...first and last what a nightmare. There were over 200 people running up the prices on junk that hardly had any value to begin with. What a scam and they know it. The buy it by the piece auctions are really taking advantage of of the publicity and crowds....its the crowds and the publicity that is making them auction off each piece for maximum profits to the auctioneers and the storage unit owners.. pay attention people this is where it gets important....DONT GO TO A BUY IT BY THE PIECE AUCTION, I guarantee you will be sorry for wasting your time and money.
For the prices the junk was going for they might as well sell it by the pound.
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I cant believe what Im reading...buy it by the piece auction is the worst way to buy merchandise, and in CA. the only auction company I have seen do this is American Auctioneers, went to one one time...first and last what a nightmare.
Once again you are entitled to your opinion, however they are not the only company doing it. I (and others) in central California have been going to auctions of this type for almost 10 years. Best buy made by a friend of mine was an oscillosope for $100. He got $1200 for it on eBay.
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I just have a hard time believing anything you write about, you can get a new osscilscope brand new for 1200.00 TODAY...not even used on Ebay but brand new!!
You claim to have only been doing this for 8 yrs now you mention you have been doing it for ten yrs... I will give you this..you are a great story teller..
What Auctioneers in CA. other than American Acuctions makes the buyer by by the piece? Because when I went to my first and only by the piece auction it was the old timers that left in droves like the great exodus grumbling and mumbling the whole way out on what a scam it was. I now see these same guys on the circuit as I am a respected regular and they want nothing to do with the by it by the piece auctions!!
The merchandise is over priced, you cant get any volume for your money...as it is by the piece..so when its over the people buying just paid retail.How do you make money doing that?
Please enlighten me, Im not being sarcastic I truly want to know the secrets to this madness.
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I just have a hard time believing anything you write about, you can get a new osscilscope brand new for 1200.00 TODAY...not even used on Ebay but brand new!!
Interesting, just a while ago in another thread you were offering to converse amicably. I guess we have a different definition. You seem intent on insult over amicability.
I am simply conveying what my friend experienced about a year ago. He got it for $100 and sold it for $1200. I remember he told me it was a COLOR unit. Beyond that I'm sorry I can't tell you any more.
You claim to have only been doing this for 8 yrs now you mention you have been doing it for ten yrs... I will give you this..you are a great story teller..
I have been doing it for only 8 years. I mentioned that I AND OTHERS have been going to this particular set of auctions...single sales... for 10 years. More amicability ?
What Auctioneers in CA. other than American Acuctions makes the buyer by by the piece?
The auctioneer in question is Whitemore. EDIT: THE CORRECT SPELLING IS WHITTEMORE.
Because when I went to my first and only by the piece auction it was the old timers that left in droves like the great exodus grumbling and mumbling the whole way out on what a scam it was. I now see these same guys on the circuit as I am a respected regular and they want nothing to do with the by it by the piece auctions!!
The merchandise is over priced, you cant get any volume for your money...as it is by the piece..so when its over the people buying just paid retail.How do you make money doing that?
Just as in buying full lockers, not every buy will be a good one and there are more items one would pass on that buy for that very reason.
Please enlighten me, Im not being sarcastic I truly want to know the secrets to this madness.
Well, the wordS MODERATION and COMMON SENSE come to mind. I would guess that even YOU pass on some of those cheaper lockers if you don't see profit in it.
I hope that you are truly interested in being AMICABLE to everyone who participates in these threads. When I started the Lookey Loo threads in 2011 and then the Auction Scene threads in 2012 it was to TRY to provide an overview from people around the country who would let us know what was happening in their areas.
Differences of opinion are par for the course, but once again I think the ATTITUDE you put forward is over the top. I think people would value your ideas more if you just toned it down a bit. But hey, that's just my thinking. I might be wrong. You will do what you will do and there's nothing I or anyone else can do about it.
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There is no such thing as Whitmore auctions in Ca. Topeka KS. yes
Well, the wordS MODERATION and COMMON SENSE come to mind. I would guess that even YOU pass on some of those cheaper lockers if you don't see profit in it.
along with common sense and a sense of smell...hopefully the noobies can figure out the advice stinks!!
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Dan Dotson...is that you..Dan, please stop promoting your Auctions here..really dont you make enough money already....LOL.. ;D
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There is no such thing as Whitmore auctions in Ca. Topeka KS. yes
Well, the wordS MODERATION and COMMON SENSE come to mind. I would guess that even YOU pass on some of those cheaper lockers if you don't see profit in it.
along with common sense and a sense of smell...hopefully the noobies can figure out the advice stinks!!
You're right...in my original post above I left out one "t" and later an "e". It is Whittemore auctions. The amicability just keeps coming.
In regard to the common sense and a sense of smell, you continue to prove your real demeanor. No name-calling I could every engage in toward you could ever do as good a job as your posts do in showing who you really are.
I think your offer of "amicable" converastion was a sham and you seem to be proving that with every post.
Ready for that Google search on "Whittemore Auctions in California"? I'll edit the spelling in the post above.
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why do you get so offended...this is more amicable than yesterday is it not?
when I said the advice stinks how do you know I was talking about YOUR advice..why are you so defensive...all anybody can really hope for on this site is truthful advice..are they getting that?
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why do you get so offended...this is more amicable than yesterday is it not?
when I said the advice stinks how do you know I was talking about YOUR advice..why are you so defensive...all anybody can really hope for on this site is truthful advice..are they getting that?
That IS funny. I dare say anyone else following these posts would say I have showed MORE than an average amount of patience with you. AND, I thought you were commenting that the advice YOU gave was bad ! Silly me !
Are they getting truthful advice? Ask them. Start a thread entitled "Are you getting truthful advice on these threads?"
It will be interesting to see what they say. Of course of the more than 2500 members there are probably only 50 or so who ever post, and of those there are probably only 10 or so who post on a regular basis.
As to the improvement in amicability I guess you COULD say it was more amicable now...after all you haven't called me an asshole in HOURS!
Have you looked up Dale Carnegie yet? And how is that search for WHITTEMORE auctions coming along ?
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Ill say I have been just as patient with you and your dribble, made up stories and BS advice, you dont do this for a living and in no way should you be handing out the lame ass advice you think is helpful. Do you want to know why only 10 or more post here....Hmmm..do you
Let me tell you why, becuase ten of you get paid to dish out the bull**** lame ass advice for this site. I now know what this site is about, but I have to admit this is entertaining as I have no life and no interests if I keep myself entertained bantering back and forth with you over friggin storage lockers....LMFAO
See ya tomorrow night as I will be busy during the day buying up profitable lockers and making lots of $$$ ...hey have Dale do a book on that. ;D ;D
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Ill say I have been just as patient with you and your dribble, made up stories and BS advice, you dont do this for a living and in no way should you be handing out the lame ass advice you think is helpful. Do you want to know why only 10 or more post here....Hmmm..do you
Let me tell you why, becuase ten of you get paid to dish out the bull**** lame ass advice for this site. I now know what this site is about, but I have to admit this is entertaining as I have no life and no interests if I keep myself entertained bantering back and forth with you over friggin storage lockers....LMFAO
See ya tomorrow night as I will be busy during the day buying up profitable lockers and making lots of $$$ ...hey have Dale do a book on that. ;D ;D
So can we assume you will be leaving us soon? My oh my, what WILL/WOULD we do for entertainment without you?
I'm sure all the people who read your last post will appreciate it.
Meanwhile by way of apology to all those who put some faith in the Auction Scene threads as simple recordings of what is happening across the country, I regret that "alab" has driven the conversation in this direction...at least for this thread.
Hopefully the thread will get back on track with regular contributors letting us know what is happening in their neck of the woods.
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Hopefully the thread will get back on track with regular contributors letting us know what is happening in their neck of the woods.
OK~steering that direction~heading out to day 1 of CubeSmart. Don did PS today with minimal crowds and decent prices, but didn't buy a locker. Hoping for a nice girls locker tomorrow or the following day, as I've had enough guys stuff to last all of May~ :-\
Don said today showed a trend towards 'normal'~hoping to see that continue~
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Dan Dotson...is that you..Dan, please stop promoting your Auctions here..really dont you make enough money already....LOL.. ;D
Thread-jacking troll... ugh!!
Please keep this crap in the original thread so I don't have to wade through it in every thread on the board.
You do realize that Dotson is connected to Storage Treasures, right?? And that this is a different forum?? Yes?? Do you realize that this forum is run by a normal dude like you or me and not some messianic storage guru?? And I hope he's making a little money from it, just like I root for all our boardies to make money.
The fact is, you're original piece of advice was not wrong, but incomplete and you didn't want to hear it. If what you're doing is working for you, then awesome, keep going with it, but that doesn't mean it's the only way to make money in resale. And you should expect debate on a message board... that's kinda the point.
Anyhow, that's all I'm gonna say on the subject.
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I have been to one of the Whittmore auctions in my area. I wasn't very fond of the way they hold the auction. It took over an hour to sell half of what I thought was a crap unit. Just didn't have the time that day to stick around all day.
Auction started at 10:00 and I talked to some friends that stuck it out until 4:30 that afternoon. I will try another when they come back to my area if I have the time. We only have one facility on the coast that Whittmore auctions at and I don't think they do this one very often because it is off of their beaten path.
Please don't get me wrong I am willing to sit all day at an auction. This whole crazy thing started because I love buying box lots at the local Sunday auction house. One Sunday about a year ago they announced that they were doing a storage locker sale the following week. My mom and I thought what is a storage locker but a huge box lot? Let the crazy, dirty, hard work begin.
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This whole crazy thing started because I love buying box lots at the local Sunday auction house.
One Sunday about a year ago they announced that they were doing a storage locker sale the following week. My mom and I thought what is a storage locker but a huge box lot? Let the crazy, dirty, hard work begin.
Wished the prices were comparative... In our area the box lots are ten times better. Currently. :o
Been on vacation of the storage buying front (Husband's new job getting rid of current inventory~~~~Blah, Blah ::) ). Ready to hit the scene this month.
64 units advertised over our radius of 20 facilities through the 18th of the month.
30 of those are from same Auction company who in the past have had a large following. The # of units for them is low, only one facility in their caravan with 4 units. All the others 1 or 2... so over all looks a little bleak. On the flip two of the facilities are close to home so the buyers from town don't usually drive to them, Same goes we don't go to the one further south.
Will feel like a noobie again. ::)
That is the scene here in Central Florida.
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I myself hate "buy it by the piece" auctions as it takes so long if there is a large crowd, and I don't have the time during the week for them. However, if you stick it out you can pick up some good deals as people get tired and head home. With those you don't have to pay to haul the trash, etc. So bidding a little more is fine IMO. I still would prefer unit auctions, or hitting the yard sales on Saturday now when I'm not at the flea selling.
Auction Friday for me if work doesn't schedule any meetings in that slot. Already have a 10-11 w/ the auction starting at 11. Luckly it's just around the corner from work. Saturday is the huge yard sale/flea market at the local fort. Monday finds me at my 3 facility auction that I have had decent luck with.
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Let me tell you why, becuase ten of you get paid to dish out the bull**** lame ass advice for this site. I now know what this site is about, but I have to admit this is entertaining as I have no life and no interests if I keep myself entertained bantering back and forth with you over friggin storage lockers....LMFAO
I have never paid anyone anything on this forum.
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My first experience with storage auctions was a piece by piece one. I bought a Christmas lot for $1 and netter over $70.......plus I won't have to buy a strand of lights for the next 10 years! 8)
Now I will say it was in the first locker they opened (they were doing about 5) and it took a LONG time to get through everything. Luckily I paid & packed up and was on my way while they were on the 2nd locker. Actually wish they'd do another one of those. Would love to try it knowing what I know now~
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Yes, the Whittemore auctions do take a lot of time, to some extent because of the crowd (only about 40 mostly) but just from setting the stuff out more than anything else. There are bargains to be found, but they are often few and far between.
I got two I remember especially. One was a vintage wooden boat kit. Paid $10 and sold for $75 on eBay. Another was a Snap-On set...paid $75 and sold for $165. Other than that I have gotten more modest items which I doubled on when selling at the flea market and I have gotten things I have kept for myself.
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Rememer, Salvation Army and Goodwill have piece auctions also if you have access to a large enough community or two where they hold those. AND THOSE GO FAST ! The whole process takes about 2 hours and there are bargains there! As with any auction you have to be choosy and careful.
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UGH~day one of Cubesmart found a modest crowd with junk lockers. Prices stayed low as there really wasn't much to bid on until........
a 10X20 3/4 full. Lots of boxes, totes & bins. Little to no furniture or appliances. Looked like it had been turned a bit. Went for $900 to our whale. I told Don that prices will now sky-rocket as the frenzy had been started.
Sure enough.....every locker after that went for a minimum of double its 'perceived' worth. And the crowd picked up. Still relatively small at about 35 people, but just the kind that likes to run up the prices.
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The oddest ting happened today....
I had a Dr's appointment and decided to hit an auction on the way. It was the first in a 3 facility caravan and had 6 units up. Crowd was moderate, about 40 people but the units were junk....a lot of cheap furniture, dirty clothes and kids toys. I did not bid on anything but I noticed that one gentleman had won 3 and I passed him as I was leaving. Stopped and asked if he had found anything and he said.....wait for it....oh, I didn't bring any money. I was just bidding for fun! The idiot had won units and was just walking away! :o
I returned to the office and told the auctioneer but by that time 90% of the people had left. I had to leave to make my appointment on time but I am very sure that on the re-do the units would be lucky to bring $50.
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The oddest ting happened today....
I had a Dr's appointment and decided to hit an auction on the way. It was the first in a 3 facility caravan and had 6 units up. Crowd was moderate, about 40 people but the units were junk....a lot of cheap furniture, dirty clothes and kids toys. I did not bid on anything but I noticed that one gentleman had won 3 and I passed him as I was leaving. Stopped and asked if he had found anything and he said.....wait for it....oh, I didn't bring any money. I was just bidding for fun! The idiot had won units and was just walking away! :o
Unbelievable! It's all a game to soooo many~
Our auctioneer today announced that they take credit cards~oh boy......'hey look honey, we don't have to use Timmy's college fund'.........ugh........
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I have never paid anyone anything on this forum.
You paid me a compliment once!! :D :D
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You paid me a compliment once!! :D :D
Good one !!!! I tried to think of one. :-[
@bulldogmom unbelievable.... I would have called the Dr. and said I had an emergency.
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You paid me a compliment once!! :D :D
I doubt I had even done that!! haha JK!
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The "piece" auction I went to yesterday was a bust (for me anyway). They had 9 lockers; I stayed through the first 6 and figured the odds were the rest were crap too. I know, #7, #8, #9 MIGHT have been great (or at least one) but I had things to do so left the goodies to others there.
One big locker (10 x 30) they let us walk in and then could point out item we wanted to bid on. I didn't see anything with profit potential or that I wanted for myself. After they sold singles they sold the whole locker..it went for $160.
So, a bust, but worth a shot. Even the auctioneer didn't do well at that one! :D
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Ill say I have been just as patient with you and your dribble, made up stories and BS advice, you dont do this for a living and in no way should you be handing out the lame ass advice you think is helpful. Do you want to know why only 10 or more post here....Hmmm..do you
Let me tell you why, becuase ten of you get paid to dish out the bull**** lame ass advice for this site. I now know what this site is about, but I have to admit this is entertaining as I have no life and no interests if I keep myself entertained bantering back and forth with you over friggin storage lockers....LMFAO
See ya tomorrow night as I will be busy during the day buying up profitable lockers and making lots of $$$ ...hey have Dale do a book on that. ;D ;D
SECURITY? Can someone please shut this ***** up?
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SECURITY? Can someone please shut this ***** up?
These things have a way of getting straightened out. Sometimes takes a bit.
New member in question logged in at 6:22 pm on 5/2/2012 but did not leave any posts; guess he
had other things to take care of.
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that is very odd Bulldog. How or why would someone even think of doing that? Anyways pretty slow week as far as auctions go here in PA. Got a decent one on Friday, but looks like another week of weekend yardsales. Next week is very busy with auctions on each day and most days having several, so should be able to grab some units then to actually post some interesting stuff. Picked up a few pieces of furniture that should move fairly easy at a yardsale this weekend. Spent $30 total for a desk, 3 matching end tables, and a matching coffee table/end table set. Should be able to get around $150 for those items.
Are the auctions this past week and this current week slow for other parts of the country also?
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Well for me this week is auction week. Have a 3 caravan today at 4pm. Single place that normally don't hold auctions Tuesday. Then my 7 facility caravan on thursday. Today's auction is unusual as it's normally the 3rd Monday of the month but they skipped last month. Next week is a semi-busy auction week also. Then it slows down to maybe 1 a week. It's normally the 1st and 2nd weeks that we have multiple auctions. Just rare to have any multiples on the same day to thin out the crowd :(.
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Well today the crowd was what I expected. A good 50 people with most of them newbies or new (last 2 month) people. A few of the older regulars came back today to test the waters. Units were mostly furniture and prices all over the board. I didn't get a unit today but my daughter did. She loves this facility as she can make the auction with me after school. A 10x10 or so opened up with a scattering of cloths, shoes, a pillow pet in a walmart bag, a barbie car (think old pedal style - didn't get a good look), etc. Auction guy asked for bids and my daughter calls out $5. She almost had it also till one of the newbies said $7 at the 2 count. Daughter said $10, noobie $15, and at this point she calls out in a strong voice $20. At this all the regulars are cheering her on. They know her from past auctions and always joke with her. Noobie calls out $25, and my daughter goes $30 in a strong voice once again quickly. At this point even the auction is rooting for her and makes a comment. She gets the unit for $30 bucks and used her money. She may actually make money off the unit. We will see tuesday afternoon when we go to clean it out.
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Congratulations to your daughter Craig. ;D
Would have liked to see the newbies faces...
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Congrats to your daughter craiglst!!
I love it~hope she makes a nice profit!
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12 hour day today, Wednesday, May 9,2012.....
Went to 4 auctions. Got the last locker of the day, a 10 x 30 (Yikes !) 3/4 packed....paid $1900 for it and the last $1,000 in bidding was between I and a fellow who has been doing it for about a year. Of late he has been stepping up his bids, but didn't go all the way.
I've worked up a spreadsheet showing 64 items totaling proposed $3,100 in sales making this (so far) a $1K profit IF all goes well. Given that I've only looked at the top 5 feet all the way around, I think it's safe to say this is going to be a winner.
Here are a couple of pics and over the next few days (for relaxation !) I'll start a thread and post more pics. A super locker from a 50 year old couple who also had good stuff from grandpa !
Waiting for the right ones paid off this month...got one for $825 a couple of weeks ago that is panning out nicely too.
The doll house shown below is about 4 feet left to right and maybe two feet front to back. Some furniture showing through the windows. Two stories plus the attic. Maybe worth $200 to $300 (to the right buyer of course).
(http://webs.lanset.com/rjsmovie/images/dhouse.jpg)
Pic below is a slightly domed box about 18" left to right and 14" front to back. I was able to get it open by leaning over the dog cage and had gun cleaning stuff in it but I don't think there are any guns in the locker. All boxes that were at the 4 to 5 foot level had been opened at some time...this guy had defaulted and bailed out this locker about 5 times over the last year and a half as wittnessed by the locks piled by the door....never a good sign.
However, there are lower level boxes he couldn't get to, and he left a LOT of good stuff behind anyway !
(http://webs.lanset.com/rjsmovie/images/fbox.jpg)
Here's the link to the picture thread about this locker:
http://storageauctionforums.com//index.php/topic,2579.msg18061.html#msg18061
Now it's 7:30 a.m. Thursday morn and have to go WORK IN IT !
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Looks good Movieman.
Auctions still slim pick-ins down here.
See all the treasure will be nice.
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WOW nice buy Movieman! I'm excited to see more. Would love to grab a locker like that!
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Great looking locker Movieman.
Looking forward to more pictures!
Happy diggin'
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Very nice MM~looks like a fun locker to dig in!
We've got a caravan today with a Phoenix auctioneer (who was once on AH). He has a bit of a crowd, but I like his style. No nonsense and he lays the rules and everybody follows them. I also like that we pay as we go. You buy a locker, he collects and writes the invoice as we walk. Moves along nicely.
Hoping for a decent unit because we are now once again getting down to the dregs (and hard-sells) of our inventory.
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Today found me at my 7 facility caravan once again. Like last month the units were slim. First place only had 1, next 0, next 1, then finally a 3 unit spot. Crowd was what I'm considering normal right now at about 50 people. Only a few new faces, everyone else was mostly new faces I've seen at the last dozen auctions. Units were priced high again IMO. It seems we have more and more out-of-town buyers coming in needing inventory for their stores. How they make money with the prices they pay + travel is beyond me.
I took a gamble and split off 1/2 way in to hit another auction on the industrial side of town. They had 5 units out of 6 left when I called at 10am for a 1pm auction. Four of us showed up. Units were CRAP. All of them looked to have been searched/tossed or were very empty. Two went to one of the regulars, two to a newer regular (beat me by a quarter), and I got one. Was a silent bid auction. I paid $10 for a microwave, macbook box, broken hamper, some cloths, and 1 box of random items. I really bid on the Office Prof 2010 student edition box I had seen. Disk wasn't in there but I do have the product code which I needed. Pair that with some disk I have and can sell it for $25 or more. All depends on ebay pulling listing or not.
I did already make 1/2 my money back in change. I laughed when found a broom and 1/2 roll of trash bags in the unit. Was like sweet - it is a self contained unit for cleaning it out :)
So nothing steller for me this week. Should make money on both units if get a chance to sell this weekend.
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Attended an auction today.....small privately owned facility, 4 - all 10X20 lockers and about 20 bidders. Three were owned by the same elderly woman who had passed away last year (all this according to the manager) and evidently the family lived out of state and had no interest in the units. When the doors rolled up....oh my, dust, dust, dirt and cobwebs! I bid on two but I guess I was not the only one there that loved the mystery of them. I dropped out at $400 as they were all only about 1/2 full of boxes, bags and a small amount of antique furniture. The last unit was the one I wanted....man stuff! It was a 20X20 that was owned by a plumbing company that had gone belly up. It was a disappointment. It was only about 2/3 full and that was scattered, looked like the owner had gone thru and taken most of the high dollar tools. It ended up selling for $1300.
No other auctions until the 25th.
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I did already make 1/2 my money back in change. I laughed when found a broom and 1/2 roll of trash bags in the unit. Was like sweet - it is a self contained unit for cleaning it out :)
So nothing steller for me this week. Should make money on both units if get a chance to sell this weekend.
Sounds good. Your caravan sounds like ours this week very low unit #'s. Have one next week that looks promising.
Don't forget this is Mother's day weekend. Not sure if good or bad to try and sell. ???
If taking Mom out to the Flea for a day out is common then good. ;)
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12 hour day today, Wednesday, May 9,2012.....
Went to 4 auctions. Got the last locker of the day, a 10 x 30 (Yikes !) 3/4 packed....paid $1900 for it and the last $1,000 in bidding was between I and a fellow who has been doing it for about a year. Of late he has been stepping up his bids, but didn't go all the way.
Waiting for the right ones paid off this month...got one for $825 a couple of weeks ago that is panning out nicely too.
Here's the link to the picture thread about this locker:
http://storageauctionforums.com//index.php/topic,2579.msg18061.html#msg18061
Just wanted to say Congratulations on your locker.
I am unable to participate in the thread listed above. :(
Just cannot pull it off with this equipment. (laptop). After 4 attempts and crashing my browser, did an update on computer reloaded some programs. Was able to read the post but no pictures. but that took 15 minutes Learning ::) some patients here. Had a similar problem on the Safe thread but it would load. ???. Am sure it is hardware not operator error. ;)
Really glad you got a good one.
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Just wanted to say Congratulations on your locker.
I am unable to participate in the thread listed above. :(
Just cannot pull it off with this equipment. (laptop). After 4 attempts and crashing my browser, did an update on computer reloaded some programs. Was able to read the post but no pictures. but that took 15 minutes Learning ::) some patients here. Had a similar problem on the Safe thread but it would load. ???. Am sure it is hardware not operator error. ;)
Really glad you got a good one.
Thanks, Money !
As far as the threads not coming up it might be a combination of the picture sizes taking a lot of load time, and the processor in your laptop AND maybe the connection speed as well.
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Thanks, Money !
As far as the threads not coming up it might be a combination of the picture sizes taking a lot of load time, and the processor in your laptop AND maybe the connection speed as well.
You are Welcome
Think you are right on the picture sizes / processor / and Internet speed.
Boy driving me nuts not being able to see the loot. :'(
And to add something for the other thread, The cabinet on the doll house might be a selling point. Somewhere to put the thing. Good Luck.
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And to add something for the other thread, The cabinet on the doll house might be a selling point. Somewhere to put the thing. Good Luck.
Turns out the green "grass" beneath the dollhouse IS fastened to the oak cabinet, so pretty much a done deal that NOW I will be offering all as one piece, and it does make sense as a place to put it. Children could then be standing while playing with it, or pull up a 30" stool to do so. I think it will take some time to sell it.
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Recently bought a unit with a ton of sports memoriabilia in it. Rare cards, autographs, jersies were all found as a part of the collection. Is anybody on here interested or a collector of sports memoriabilia. Prices on the items are definitely reasonable. We would be looking for someone to help us in regards to what it is worth and if you can help us gain some knowledge we are willing to sell the pieces to you at a very fair price.
Any advice/recommendations/interest in this collection?
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I know it's only the middle of May but this will be my last report for this month because I am going on Holiday for a couple of weeks. It means I will miss our two biggest caravans for the month and they are the best auctions for determining trends in attendance and prices.
So far as I have seen this month, **cross fingers, twirl in circles, pray to the Lebrchuans** It appears the numbers of regulars, 6 monthers, AND newbies or dropping. Last two auctions had less then 15 folks in attendance. Of course the couple of newbies that did show up ran the prices beyond reasonable, but we might be turning a corner here.
Someone mentioned the new season of Storage Wars (or whatever show, don't watch) is starting in June, so we will just have to see what affect it has on crowds and prices.
The way things have been going this month, when I come back from my holiday in June, I may not recognize a soul at the auctions!
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The way things have been going this month, when I come back from my holiday in June, I may not recognize a soul at the auctions!
Sorry we won't have your attendance reports for those several auctions...would be good to hear.
I haven't been to any of the big auctioneer's auctions for awhile in my area and haven't talked to the other guys about crowds. The last unit I got (big one) only had 10 in attendance, but 30 miles away other auctions were going on that had drawn most of the regulars.
Yep, SW (the original) starts season 3 in June.
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Crowds for me are still very sporatic. One auction we will have 30-50 with a bunch of newbies. My last auction with a auctioneer only had about 35 in attendance. He normally brings people in from all over. Prices for units are still all over the board also.
Trend from last week was still pretty high numbers. Most of the people last week were regulars / older newbies. I have seen newer faces but they are mostly out-of-towners coming to larger city since the small auctions are drying up.
Do have one new guy that must be an out-of-towner that is killing the other stores. He is in a walker so must have a crew to clean out his units. He has been buying up large units and paying some big $$ for them. I have yet to figure out if he is making money or just pissing it away. So far he has bought 5 $400-$800 units this month.
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Went to an auction today (#5 rated auctioneer in the area) and facility had 11 units. There were about 20 people with 10 of them being regulars.
Units went at reasonable prices ($500 for 10 x 20s), $400 for 10 x 10, $75 for 5 x 10; almost like the old days.
Because I've bought a few high dollar units lately I was mostly there for the entertainment factor...there was some of that.
I didn't bid on a single unit, probably should have for one 5 x 10 mostly boxes...I like a good surprise if the price is right. It went for $200.
So, maybe a bit of a slow down in crowd size. Only another 6 months to a year will tell the real story.
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Went to an auction at a single facility today. Close to 50 people, but only about 30 signed in to bid. Hung out with a few of the regulars and one of the "new regulars" that started buying about two months before the shows started.
There were 13 lockers up for sale, and the majority of them went in the $250-$500 price range, except one locker that went for $775. Two regulars got in a bidding war on that one because they saw a case for a french horn. Horn was in it, but it was kind of corroded, but there was also a brand new looking trumpet in the locker too. Still, I think the winner is going to be lucky to break even on that one.
I ended up spending $450 on one that I wish was a little better! One of the items I saw that I thought was gonna get me my money back right away turned out to be something else.....dang! I've got it all emptied out except for a few Goodwill items and some paperwork, and I'll make a little on it, but it's gonna be a lot of work for not much money!
One thing I did think was kind of interesting though was the absence of a few key new players. There's a couple of new guys that have been bidding on and buying a bunch of lockers at every auction......... and paying ridiculously high prices! Maybe it's a fluke, but they did not show up today and hopefully they have moved on to easier money!
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Went to an auction yesterday (South-eastern PA). 11 units up for grabs. There were about 20 people there with about 10 people serious about bidding. The units that were all mystery (boxes/bins) were the most expensive. All went around $400. The rest of the units were very reasonable prices. I got a 10x15 that was only about 1/4 full, but I noticed a box with some collectible model cars sticking out the top and figured (hoped) the person would have some collections in the unit. There were about 5-6 boxes in the back corner. There were also some yard tools and baby items (car seat, high chair, etc. ) that would sell pretty easily at a yard sale we are having this weekend. The unit cost me $95. I almost won it for $40, but another bidder hopped in and we went back and forth to $95. There was a Direct TV HD DVR (how do I find out if it is sellable or not??).
When I got the chance to dig through the unit I did indeed find a few collections. There was a bunch of Budweiser holiday steins (1989-2007) including a few anniversary and members steins. There were about 10-12 model cars all in their boxes. I also found about 10 porcelain eggs. There were even a few vintage items. A genesee 12 horse ale crate with checkerboard top was in the unit, as well as a singer sewing machine.
All in all I think it is a decent unit and should have no problem doubling (or more) our money on this one.
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Disappointing morning to say the least. Two auctions at facilities literally right across the street from each other. One at 9:00am and the next at 10:00am. Close to home, nice places, friendly management....
Auction #1 - I arrive at 8:35am, sign in as bidder #5, and am told there will be eight units. I then spend the next 25 minutes watching three tenants pull into the lot, go into the office, and pay up their units. So we're down to five. Good new is only about 10 bidders and 15-16 people total. Unfortunately, the units were: 1) crap $50 2) crap $60 3) crappier $20 4) crappiest $5 (this unit was a 5x10 LOADED with furniture, but all broken - the crowd scattered like gas-on-ants :)) 5) junk - not quite crap! $275 Mostly broken furniture, matresses, box fans, tons of clothing....these units were so bad even our local whale only bought one $60 unit. (He was outbid by another guy for the 5th locker). Things were so bad even the photo I took of Unit #5 didn't turn out on my phone..... >:(
Auction #2 - About seven or eight of us drive across the street to the other place - it's a nice facility where I've gotten some nice smalls in the past - and we're told "all paid up - nothing to auction." Figures...
Bottom line: In my area, it seems both the crowds and the prices have come down - but now the quality of the merchandise has also gone down. There have been some great lockers, but they are now about 1-in-20 or 1-in-30. Anyone else noticing this in your areas?
Good luck out there !! ;)
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Been awhile since I've reported here, would like to get back in the habit - ;D
My most recent purchase was also my biggest in terms of size and items - 10 x 40 packed full, it was a baby store that had closed down with some personal items in the back. Tons of clothes/strollers/car seats/cribs - and alot of buisness type items like shelving, water dispenser, fold up tables. I paid $200 for it, and paid so cheaply because all the other regs focused on the parts side of things. (And there were a TON of parts, a type of locker where you dont want to throw anything away until you've been through it all). I bought this locker about a week ago, and am in $350 pure profit with two sheds full of items still to sell.
Hope everyone else has been enjoying similar success.
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Went to an auction yesterday (Thursday, May 24, 2012) and only 15 people there for the 4 lockers.
There were 2 of us old-time regulars, 2 year-old regulars, and the rest newbies. So, good odds.
The lockers though were not partiularly interesting and the other long time regular got 3 of 4 mostly at reasonable pries, though one 10 x 10 at $925 seemed a bit of a stretch to me though with a stainless fridge and a rug doctor he said he was half covered so may work out OK.
I left before #4 was sold as it was a junker. But, perhaps more proof if you can find the occasional sale with a small crowd the odds go up for getting a buy.
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Took off early friday for a place that has auctions every other month. First location was down to 1 unit, with the second location down to 2. I've had small crowds and decent prices before here. This month was good also (just not for me). Five people at the first location, 2 old regulars, myself, and 2 6 mo old newbies. Unit sold for $30 - nothing special. Second location was 5 of us again, with 2 regulars, 2 older newbies like myself, and 1 6mo newbie. First unit was like $225 and second unit was $325. Was packed full with boxes and some appliances and furniture. So was a good day overall crowd and price wise.
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Love good news.....
My $1900 lkr purchased May 9 is "clear" now after 3 Saturday flea sales and one big sale today...sold the China Hutch for $475. Was asking $550 and he came back at $450 and I countered with $500 and I think he would have gone for it, but as he hesitated I said to take it for $475 and that sealed the deal. Now I don't have to worry about that elephant.
Looking forward to cruising into the profit stage now with I think about $2K in sales left in there...mostly bigs, but fair number of smalls left too. ;D
Make that TWO sales:
Three hours after the hutch sale a guy drove 50 miles based on the pictures on Clist and bought table and six chairs for $400, making me one happy camper today.
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Today I snuck out of work to hit two auctions. The good news - crowds were low with less then 20. The bad news - the lockers pretty much sucked. There were two auctions at 10am so I hit the one with less units thinking smaller crowd. Crowd was about a dozen, 1 regular, a 6mo newbie, and rest new faces to me but don't think they are too new. This place cuts the locks in front of you. First unit was a 5x10 with 6 boxes and a washer/dryer with the washer stacked on top of dryer. Nothing great - $60. Second unit had a shelf, fake tree, and lamp for $5. The last unit was a 10x10 and slap EMPTY. Was even swept out.
Second auction was also at 10 but is part of a caravan and they normally run slow. 1.5 hours later the auctioneer finally shows up. Only 3 units down from 7. I bid on the last unit but the local whale got it. I ran it up to $170 and stopped. With a 10%bp and tax it was getting close to $200 and it was only a $100 unit. Looked like a school / daycare type stuff with a ton of arts & craft supplies, etc.
Auction wednesday but I have meetings so will miss them. That will finish up the month for us. Next month we start with U-haul so will see if June is kinder to me.
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Went to a "piece by piece" auction the other day. Twelve lkrs opened and 12 to 15 bidders there...usually about 30.
First 3 were dogs, but #4 was a 10 x 30 and had good stuff...took a while to sell it all (maybe 45") but I made out well and other people did to.
With the 10% premium I paid a total of $132 and project the stuff will sell for around $450 or so. That works out to a pretty good hourly rate for the 3.5 hours I was there.
Stayed for a couple of more lkrs being opened, but left with 4 still to go...figured I had enough.
I know alab (haven't heard from him in weeks) has great disdain for these kind of auctions, but they sometimes work out and no complaints from me...and I didn't have to take my 80' semi to load the stuff ! ;)
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Nice size crowd for a change. I sort of hate piece by piece auctions unless I have nothing else to get done that day. If you have the time and patience they can be profitable. Just like yard sale picking. Only one place in my area does them and I'm normally working so have only hit the place once.
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Nice size crowd for a change.
The sale fell on a day when one of the regular fleas was going on about 30 miles away...guess that pulled some of them. Anyway, 3 or 4 of the regular buyers weren't there or there would have been more cash flying.
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Pretty dead here today...last day of May, 2012. Where are our two active female buyers...Money and Rockin' ?
Anyway, June is just 7 hours away...to midnight anyway...and maybe a busier month for auction buying and picking.
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I sure hope so. Units have been slim in my area with lots of hungry regulars. If it wasn't for yard sale picking I'd not have much inventory to sell at the flea. Will see how the month looks on the 8th.
I'm holding out hope that AAA this month does have the 7 units of auto/car stuff he told everyone about last month.
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Pretty dead here today...last day of May, 2012. Where are our two active female buyers...Money and Rockin' ?
We are HOT!!!!! Physically. LOL 95 degrees + humidity 100%. Just standing outside dripping wet.
Really slow for us will update my other post.
Sure Rockin is busy with end of the school year stuff with the kido's, or killing it with her recent purchases. ;D