things that suck

feel free to add you own storys 

#1 went to an auction last january and bought a 5x10 packed to the roof with small stuff , the locker was jammed to the point the owners had a card table wedged across the doorway so stuff wouldnt spill out. I wasnt thinking i was going to get rich off of it but it came cheap and the room triggered that little voice inside that says "i want it" .
i bought a second room 5x10 which was a pile of crap(you could tell from the door opening it was a loser at best) figuring i was already going to be at the facility so why not take a shot)
we got done with the auction , went to the office and i found out the room i wanted was paid for while we were in the building , leaviing me stuck with the add on room

#2 anytime you go to an auction and see someone pull up in a semi , never a good sign

#3 several years ago i saw  a beautiful 10X10 gorgeous room , you could tell that a woman owned it there was a headboard out front everything was as neat as a pin and there were 40-50 storage tubs , i cannot emphasize just how good this room looked , in todays world it would have gone over 1k .I won the room for $500 .When I went through the room it turned out it was 2 women owned it and every stupid tub was full of holiday decorations  to make matters worse it was may and not a holiday in sight . Who would have thought 2 women could pack a locker and not have a stitch of clothes in it
learned 2 lessons that day
1 that gay people have nice stuff doesnt always apply
2 sometimes it better to chuck everything and lose the money than sit trying to break even on a unit eventually

#4 i was going to auctions for about 4 years when the realization hit me that even if they are cutting the locks off in front of you , it would cost the facility owner a whopping 3 or 4 dollars to cut the lock toss the room and put a new lock on it to cut again in front of you.
honest people are honest people and dishonest people are dishonest people

#5 if a facility is constantly rescheduleing , do some homework . One place i went to would place the auction ad in the paper and reschedule every month , when the auctions came up he was selling the rooms from a month previous. He was waiting untill the auction date to see if the customer paid , if they didnt he would toss the rooms take what he wanted and auction those rooms the next month

feel free to add your storys here

went to the office and i found out the room i wanted was paid for while we were in the building , leaving me stuck with the add on room

#4 i was going to auctions for about 4 years when the realization hit me that even if they are cutting the locks off in front of you , it would cost the facility owner a whopping 3 or 4 dollars to cut the lock toss the room and put a new lock on it to cut again in front of you.

That's just wrong what they did. IMO, once the auction starts the owner is out of luck. After all, it's not like they didn't know about this for several months.

As to your cut lock theory, think about what happened to you in losing the unit. What if that owner came in right before the auction and found their lock was replaced!

well the auction that got paid for out from under me , its known if the person pays at the office before auction payment is made the auction buyer is out of luck , it stinks but the rules are the rules


the lock cut theory is really not a theory , its a fact in some places
the place in particular im speaking of would place the unit say for example  room 001 up for auction in may and if the customer didnt pay would cancel the auction toss the room and auction it off in june , they would advertise room 002 to go to auction in june and cancel it and put up  mays auctions for sale in june , i watched this and looked at the room #s in the papers to confirm it


i also bought a room back in 2007 from a place that cut the locks in front of you and there was an empty big gulp cup on top of a tv with ice still in it (5 feet into the room so it wasnt an auction buyer )

some additional caveats...

About #2, If you show up to an auction in our parts driving a box truck or pulling a big trailer and nobody knows you, be prepared to pay BIG money to win a room!

About #4, I like to look at the type/quality of lock either cut or more importantly laying inside the door. I have a hunch that a small cheap lock means really nothing great in unit, and a nice big top quality lock means the poeple cared about what was in the unit and wanted to protect it.

About #5, Definitely be on the look out for the "switcheroo". I always take a copy of the auction listing and make sure the unit being auctioned matches what was advertised. When they auction a unit not listed it could mean it's a "build up unit", where the facility piles up all the stuff left behind by other renters in a unit and when it fills up they auction the unit off. Could be a "garbage unit" where the facility literally puts thier garbage in a unit and they auction it off. Could be a "garage sale unit" where the facility manager puts stuff he/she or friends and family want to sell from thier personal property that they realize with the popularity of storage auctions they just put it all in a unit and sell it at auction instead of trying to hold a garage sale to sell it all. The most disappointing option, they are actually auctioning off the wrong unit, so if you win it, you will end up having to return the property or be involved in a legal dispute.

Other things that suck, finding all the seat cushions for the couches and loveseats ripped up in the unit you won.

obnoxious newbies, looky-loos and sneaky, mousy girls that try (to no avail) to befriend you and then bid you up!

Oh and dirty laundry, porn and vacuum cleaners~

dragging couches full of rat pee to the dump in the heat of summer

bumping a matress standing up on the side of the room and getting hit in the head by whatever was on top of it

Storage locations that will give your address to the unit owner. Yep, had one show up in our driveway. Not cool! Didn't get too ugly but it could have.

Unit owners that attend auctions. Nothing against them, it's just kind of sad.

Magazines! Seriously why do people keep and store boxes of old magazines. Those suckers are heavy.

Huge boxes of heavy crap. Everyone knows, the big boxes are for light stuff like comforters and stuffed animals not books or the entire contents of the cabinet beneath your kitchen sink.

Finding something valuable in a bag of dirty clothes. Sounds like a good thing but now you have to actually go through all the dirty clothes. Yuk.

Finding personal stuff like baby books and wedding albums when the storage facility says they have no contact with the original owners and won't take the stuff off your hands.

Boxes that leak mystery liquids.

Mildew!

Some magazines, or articles in the magazines can be worth some money.  There was a guy at the flea market that would take old pictures, magazines, news headlines, etc. and put them in picture frames.  Would then sell the "art" or whatever want to call it for $50 and up.

As for those huge boxes with books, etc.  All I can say (while ducking my head) is a women packed that box.

As for those huge boxes with books, etc.  All I can say (while ducking my head) is a women packed that box.

Better stay ducking. !!!!!! No a man leaving his wife packed that box in a hurry. Or brought it in and repacked it in the storage unit while looking for his brain... LOL

As for those huge boxes with books, etc.  All I can say (while ducking my head) is a women packed that box.

ahem......I do believe you should take money's advice and stay low~

 

Laugh - since I work with 175+ women and it's all female at the house I have to get my licks in when I can

Other things that suck -- finding a jewelry box, bags, and other pouches with jewelry and it all be FAKE.

Only 1 sterling silver gold color bracelet (.925 italy).

since I work with 175+ women and it's all female at the house I have to get my licks in when I can

Licks in? Biting tongue, biting tongue, biting tounge...

another one: little velvet or wooden jewelry boxes with nothing in them but a tiny note describing the item that should be in them. "Mom's antique 18k necklace", "Dad's gold cufflinks".....

Going to auctions for an entire month without winning a unit. 60 bucks in gas, many hours and zip, nada, zilch. Bring on March!

another one: little velvet or wooden jewelry boxes with nothing in them but a tiny note describing the item that should be in them. "Mom's antique 18k necklace", "Dad's gold cufflinks".....

I have found Pawn tickets for for all the gold that should have been in the unit that was a Doctors estate.  I think it was over 30 grams of gold the son pawned.