Lookey Loos Part 7.....July, 2011

Another month begins and promises to be a hot one...at least as far as mother nature is concerned.

Post notes in this thread about the crowds, the prices and any lkr buys you want to talk about, good or otherwise.

Edit July 4, 2011:

Going to one auction on July 5 and four on July 6. Always hope for a good one ! 

Went to my first July auction today, July 5, 2011 and here are the results:

Well known auctioneer group, maybe 25 people with perhaps 18 newbies...and again I MEAN NEW. There seems to
be an unending supply of new folks and with new episodes of Storage Wars starting July 20 there will be a new batch for awhile (IMHO).

Prices were somewhat decent for content; first 10 x 10 showing washer/dryer, Dell desktop, etc went for $400. There will be some profit.

Others I don't remember all that much except for a couple that went in the $200 to $300 range, and one for $35.

The one I remember the most was a 10 wide by 5 deep. Clearly showing a go cart leaned up against the wall. Engine was there but had been taken off. Also showing a little scooter that looked pretty good...gas engine, clean.

Before the auctioneer could start someone said $200, and auctioneer said.."I've got $200 but I'm looking for $500." At that point I said $300, first guy said $400 and I went to $500. He said $600 and I stopped; others joined in and it sold for $1300.  Even if the winner wanted those two things for his kids he could have bought them cheaper than that and there wasn't anything else of value in the lkr. Oh well...another day at work with no work to do !

BUT, I did buy one piece of specialized equipment from a newbie lkr buyer who didn't know what he had and I'll make 10 times the money on my $30 investment. Knowledge is a wonderful thing.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Went to 3 of 4 possible auctions today with 1 being one auctioneer and 3 being another auctioneer.

First one had 4 lkrs; I didn't bid on a one. Crowd about 15 with 5 regulars. Prices OK.

I didn't go to the next one because I don't care for the clientel there, but a friend got a pretty good one for $295 and said crowd and prices were good.

The third one of the day (#2 for me) only had 2 lkrs; crowd of 15, prices OK for what they were. I didn't bid.

The fourth of the day (#3 for me) similar story; 2 lkrs, crowd of same 15, nothing worth bidding on.

So, a nothing day for me, but crowd and prices OK. I don't know what out of town auctions might have been going on that might have siphoned off some crowd.

hi movieman! wish u wouldnt be so secretive bout your 30.00 purchase!  i'll bite...lol no i know if you wanted us to know u would have said it...
my ? 2 u is how did u approach the newbie about the item u bought?  were u bidding on that lkr too?  i will report tomorrow about the auction caravan tomorrow evening. hope to uy my third.  i know exactly what i am looking for for an upcoming yard sale so i hope i get it for under 300.00!  40 units tomorrow- probably 25 sold to the public...

we will see-  i know i will enjoy the dig!

hi movieman! wish u wouldnt be so secretive bout your 30.00 purchase!  i'll bite...lol no i know if you wanted us to know u would have said it...
my ? 2 u is how did u approach the newbie about the item u bought?  were u bidding on that lkr too?

I saw the item before the bidding started and was interested in the lkr, but just watched the bidding and saw it going at $400 to relative newbies and thought I would try to just buy the item.

Went with their kid to lock up the lkr and took a closer look.  Went back to the parents and said "when the auction's over I'd like to look at one of your items."

When we went back at end of auction I pulled it out and it was something I had good luck with before. I asked them "what do you think? How much do you want?"  She tried to look it up (unsuccessfuly) on a cell phone, and said "maybe I should wait until I can google it at home". I told her to throw me a number and she said "my husband thinks $200". I just laughed and said "I was thinking $25." She hemmed and hawed and I said "look, we don't even know if it works. I'll give you $30 and take the chance."  She bit and I walked away with it.

Nope, can't mention the item here. I probably will never meet anyone on the forums to compete with them at an auction, but selling on eBay or Clist I might put my item up against their's, and that could be a problem.

This is a neat way to turn a buck without as much work. Washers/dryers and bigger stuff aren't my thing for the most part, though I will buy a lkr with those items in it IF I see a lot of "smalls" that I like.

Went to an auction today; only 2 units up for sale, about 20 people there.  First unit: 10x10, looked real good, saw a king bed, sectional sofa, a large dresser, nice hope chest looking piece, lots of stereo furniture, and lots of boxes.  I'm feeling like it's a $600 locker (based on similar looking lockers sales in the area)  bidding quickly got to $500, I bid $600, then it slowed down and started getting 50 and 25 raises.  regulars dropped out after $800, and it was 2 ladies left, one I've seen at one other sale (where she also overpaid for a locker) and a new lady that I've not seen before.  the first lady won the unit for $1075.  (a side note about this lady...she brings her little dog to the auctions...not one small enough to hold in your hand, but not all that big..I don't know the breed, but it's ugly and barks a lot.  I find it very annoying, and wonder if she thinks she's Paris Hilton...yes, I have a major pet peeve against people that bring their little dogs with them *everywhere* in stores etc.  this is FL people, it's hot! leave the dog at home where it can be comfortable!)
anyway, we go on to the second unit, a 5x5x4 unit.  showing some made in china tools, some paint buckets, rollers, paint pans, a children's tv/vcr combo, and a cardboard box with a leather jacket on top of it.  looked like a $200-$250 locker tops.  nope, same idiot with the dog bids against a guy and buys it at $575. 
Oddest lookey loo moment:  a couple brought their kids who were throwing a football back and forth while the auction was conducted...it's a circus out there.

Went to an auction yesterday with 8 units, had 25 registered bidders and about 35 people total. Bigger crowd than I expected considering 92 degrees and blacktop. Didn't win one, only liked 1 unit and it went higher than I wanted to go. Most went for 125.00 to 300.00, and a unit that looked staged went for 425.00. This is in Nashville TN area.

Went to an auction yesterday with 8 units, had 25 registered bidders and about 35 people total.

In my area 2 of the 4 major auctioneers throw a hissy fit if you don't sign in. Example: "How is it that everyone says they've signed in, but I count 24 and only 15 have signed in?"  This guy is an a**hole deluxe and other is about the same.

The first guy says..."It's the law; you have to sign in". I say..."Baloney".

I wish everybody would send some luck my way! Had an unusual Saturday auction today in a small town. About 90-100 people. A few of the regulars were there as well.

I think most of this was staged. They let us go inside the units. Stuff was arranged that looked like it could be easily seen. It was odd. And apparently some guy called in and left $400 bids on each unit, sight unseen??!!! I call BS. But all the units went for more that $400.

One of the regulars I saw after the auction said the auctioneer came up to him after the auction and told him somebody bought one and didnt pay, and wanted to sell him the locker at a reduced price. This facility was rigged and to be honest, I'll never go there again.

Hey guys... Wish I was experiencing your small crowds.  Understand this, I may be a car salesman, but I don't exaggerate or try to "one-up" people...I tell it like it is.  My nephew and I went on a caravan to 5 facilities and 40 units avail... I must admit- it was taxing in the heat... anyway, we counted 78 people.   >:(DAMN!!!! largest auction I have been to.  the funny thing is 99 percent of them went to the first 4 places, then it got down to about 30-40people at the last facility... auctions were in st pete and lots of lookie loos but about 25 regulars and prices were sky high.  I missed the perfect unit I knew I would find by 25 bucks.  i know sounds lame-- but it went for over my budget for what i saw---  yeah i couldv'e won it for 375 but i set my budget at 325 and it went for 350--- im gonna try and post a pic-- been having trouble with that lately... (I still have a lot to move from my first 2 lockers so maybe it was meant to be that way so my wife doesnt kick my ass!

Have a good night and....

Enjoy your dig!

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hey gapajeff--- i feel for ya brotha- throwing you my crowd at least it's smaller.. lol  I feel it will all fade away soon enough- America takes up and throws away trends faster than wrapping paper... it will all fade away soon enough, like that Orlando woman Casey Anthony.  Don't even get me started, right?

Hey guys... Wish I was experiencing your small crowds. 

Well, you just ran into ONE of the two realities of our biz in July, 2011.

1) The crowds are going to be here for a while yet....what with BOTH TV shows starting new episodes in about 10 days.

2) You will see more lockers than you will ever buy (a good thing I think).

I want to give you all report on the first week of auctions in my area.

Basically, the weekday auctions have quieted down to mostly regulars. The three auction runs, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday averaged about 12-25 people, 90% bidders, 80% regulars. Bidding was reasonable, there were a couple of units that were bid up pretty high. Saturday, Oh my, different story. Started with about 40 people grew to over 50. Maybe 50% were regulars and only 15% were bidding. The newbies made up 50% of the bidders and they won probably 70% of the units. Winning bids were to rich for my blood, but not as bad as I remember back in February & March. Won two units during the weekday, one for $15 and another for $140. There was one I liked on Saturday I would have had to drop $500 to win. I figured with the downward trend in bidders and prices during the weekday auctions I would just wait. There is always another storage unit!

@copiavita... congrats on ur two wins! Keep is updated what u find!
@movieman... yeah I feel as if I am seeing a lot and purchasing none... want to get back in the game...