Too lucky on my first Unit?

Hi.  I decided to venture out and attend my very first auction a few weeks ago.  There were 6 units for sale and 9 bidders there.  The first two had nothing at all exciting in them (it looked like baby things and some boxes of paper work for a business) so I was surprised when they sold for about $50 each.  The third unit had tons of furniture but it did not look like very high quality furniture.  I was afraid of that for my first unit.  It sold for $180.  The fourth unit is where I bit.  It had an old steamer trunk, some musical instrument cases, a pottery barn type storage bench and various boxes and bags.  Even though it was my first auction ever I decided to go for it.  I made a few noob mistakes and bid against myself once (or twice.  I am not sure) but I won the unit for $280.  I was very excited since I thought I could make my money back just from what I saw in there.  Of course, as soon as I opened the first bag of drum cymbals and noticed that almost all of them were cracked my heart sank.  There was one good one in there though.

Anyways, at this point I spent $280 but I have made over $700 on the unit (only $420 in profit).  Some of my finds were $300 in gold and silver jewelry (which I sold to a jeweler but might sell to an auctioneer next time) some actual cash, $20 in foreign bills and $4 in change) the cymbal and some stands sold for almost $200, the furniture sold for $100 and some DVD's that sold as well.  (There were also a ton of empty DVD cases in a box too. Do people keep empty DVD cases?  That is weird to me) Anyways, I kept the steamer trunk because I really like it, as well as some collectible rocks and geodes.  Also, one antique Asian jewelry box is up for auction and might bring an additional $100 to $150 on top of all of this.

So, I am wondering if I am just really lucky or if if maybe I have a good eye for this?  I am not sure, but so far I am having way too much fun with this. Of course there was a bunch of trash and very strange items in the unit that I had to toss and go through (why in the world do people hold on to old batteries and sex toys?  Weird) but other than that it was not hard work at all.  Will the fun wear off, did I have some beginners luck?   I guess it waits to be seen . . .

Hi.  I decided to venture out and attend my very first auction a few weeks ago.  There were 6 units for sale and 9 bidders there.  The first two had nothing at all exciting in them (it looked like baby things and some boxes of paper work for a business) so I was surprised when they sold for about $50 each.  The third unit had tons of furniture but it did not look like very high quality furniture.  I was afraid of that for my first unit.  It sold for $180.  The fourth unit is where I bit.  It had an old steamer trunk, some musical instrument cases, a pottery barn type storage bench and various boxes and bags.  Even though it was my first auction ever I decided to go for it.  I made a few noob mistakes and bid against myself once (or twice.  I am not sure) but I won the unit for $280.  I was very excited since I thought I could make my money back just from what I saw in there.  Of course, as soon as I opened the first bag of drum cymbals and noticed that almost all of them were cracked my heart sank.  There was one good one in there though.

Anyways, at this point I spent $280 but I have made over $700 on the unit (only $420 in profit).  Some of my finds were $300 in gold and silver jewelry (which I sold to a jeweler but might sell to an auctioneer next time) some actual cash, $20 in foreign bills and $4 in change) the cymbal and some stands sold for almost $200, the furniture sold for $100 and some DVD's that sold as well.  (There were also a ton of empty DVD cases in a box too. Do people keep empty DVD cases?  That is weird to me) Anyways, I kept the steamer trunk because I really like it, as well as some collectible rocks and geodes.  Also, one antique Asian jewelry box is up for auction and might bring an additional $100 to $150 on top of all of this.

So, I am wondering if I am just really lucky or if if maybe I have a good eye for this?  I am not sure, but so far I am having way too much fun with this. Of course there was a bunch of trash and very strange items in the unit that I had to toss and go through (why in the world do people hold on to old batteries and sex toys?  Weird) but other than that it was not hard work at all.  Will the fun wear off, did I have some beginners luck?   I guess it waits to be seen . . .

For most people the fun wears out. For me, I get to excited during the bids, especially if I know I am winning at a good bargain. I get even more excited about going through the unit. I also get excited when I acquired something and end up selling it to someone that says that they have been looking for ever for one just like this. That makes my day.

The only part I have always hated, it hauling it all off. Everything else I love. This is the same with most people, however more than half of them start to hate it, just like they hate any other job they do. This can and does become hard work after awhile. So it depends on the individual's mind frame on this business.

As far as lucky, well truthfully, I do not know you, nor did I see what really went on at the auction, but even so, only time will tell if it is luck or skill.

Yeah,  I could imagine that for many people the "fun" would definitely wear off pretty fast.  All it would take is one unit of digging through some strange dirty things for some people to say it is not for them.  It waits to be seen if I lose interest over time.  For some reason I really enjoy it though.  Some of my fondest memories as a kid was rummaging through my grandmother's basement in Kansas.  My grandfather was a collector of all kinds of things, books, taxidermy, coins, etc.  As a kid I did not know the value of anything and I just enjoyed seeing all of the strange things there.  I think some people hit the jackpot at that estate sale 20 years ago when my grandmother passed. I was not able to go back and help clean out anything since I was in college at the time.  For some reason I feel like a kid again when I do this.  Maybe I am strange for feeling that way.

Well I have found alot of bad nasty things. Anything from used meth pipes, dirty needles, litterally piles of those. A pair of dirty underwear, one used tampon, 3 used rubbers, 2 *****s, 1 vibrator, 1 dirt diaper, one microwave full of rotten slimy ramen noodles, one fridge full of spoiled food, mmmm, that is all I can think of at the moment. My wife gets repulsed from it all. Me I only got sick from cleaning out the fridge and cleaning out the microwave. Which I kept because a week before that mine went out. Everything else didnt really sicken me to much. kind of expected to see all taht stuff. And expected to see dirty fridges and the like, but the smell, well ya, lets just say when it comes to strong odors like that I have a really weak stomach.

So words of wisdom newcomers, WEAR GLOVES, lol. Guarantee if you dont, when you come across some of this stuff, AND YOU WILL, you will wish you did have some gloves on.

I found 5 used vibrators in my first unit! There were a ton of batteries too.  Things that make you go hmmmmm. LOL 

Anyways, at this point I spent $280 but I have made over $700 on the unit (only $420 in profit).  Some of my finds were $300 in gold and silver jewelry (which I sold to a jeweler but might sell to an auctioneer next time) some actual cash, $20 in foreign bills and $4 in change) the cymbal and some stands sold for almost $200, the furniture sold for $100 and some DVD's that sold as well.  (There were also a ton of empty DVD cases in a box too. Do people keep empty DVD cases?  That is weird to me) Anyways, I kept the steamer trunk because I really like it, as well as some collectible rocks and geodes.  Also, one antique Asian jewelry box is up for auction and might bring an additional $100 to $150 on top of all of this.

$420 in profit? You did'nt use any gas going to the auction? You did'nt use any gas hauling the contents of the unit you won back to your house? You did'nt stop to get something to drink or eat lunch? The jeweler came to your house to buy the jewelry? Is the auction online or auction house? You don't pay for boxes, packaging, postage, EBay fees, PayPal fees? The auction house came and picked up your stuff? The auction house did'nt charge you a percentage of the sale price?

Not trying to burst your bubble, but if you are treating this as a business you must include these cost in your profit/loss analysis, along with other costs not mentioned. If this is just a hobby then fine. Just don't tell the IRS your "profit" is total gross sales minus initial investment, you will be doing yourself a great disservice.

I realize many people like to talk about the money they made in simple terms of what thier gross sales were minus the winning bid amount, but just in case you were'nt thinking about the other costs associated with this business, I thought I would mention it for you and other readers. I know people who actually do storage auctions and believe their "profit" is simply total sales minus cost of winning unit.

By the way, that was a great first buy!

That is a great first unit imo.  So what did you do with the $20 in foreign bills?  Ask as depending what they were those could be valuable also, or at least worth 5-10 bucks depending on the condition, country, etc.

CopiaVita has a point.  You really should factor in at least your variable cost (dump fees, postage, extra gas).  To me you would already have some sunk cost like lunch, drinks, gas for initial trip that you could include or not in your tally.  I don't since I'd be buying lunch and gas anyways for the trip to the auction no matter if won a unit or not.  But, I'm not doing this as a buisness.  If father decides to really get into this and we start buying under the buinesess license then we will keep better records.  Just don't try to claim any loss on your taxes if you are doing this as a hobby.  Plus, if you really start making some money better report the extra income not matter how much it sucks to pay the IRS.

That is a great 1st find! I have to agree with CopiaVita regarding the costs such as gas, food, hauling, listing on the internet (if not a flea market), time for separating items, washing to list or sale, trash collection etc. I also am not trying to burst the bubble but these are things people forget to tally. I have been doing this for quite a while and I have created spreadsheets to keep track. If you do this more than just a hobby these are things you might look in to. I have come across very good finds and very bad stinky finds. I hope you have lots of good luck storage hunting. :-)

I did not seriously calculate gas, but this storage unit was within walking distance of my house.  I did make about 4 trips over there and back but my SUV has pretty good gas mileage so it was probably about $5 to $10 lost there.  I sold the large items on Craigslist so the customer came to me.   As for taking the items to the jeweler and the auction house, I only made the trips when I was already in the area.  It helps to save gas by doing that.

Oh, and the $20 in foreign bills is what they are worth in US dollars.  There were 16 British pounds.  You never know what you are going to find!  I just with there were more "pounds" in there.

yeah like about 10 pounds or so of skunk buds.  lol

Good first unit though.  Just like Christmas when that happens.  Especially when you find something like that trunk you like.  I found a really nice kitchen table and antique buffet for my kitchen in my last unit.

Nice find hope you have many others you can have as much fun with.

Awesome job!

I found 5 used vibrators in my first unit! There were a ton of batteries too.  Things that make you go hmmmmm. LOL 

More like buzzzzzzz isn't it?  LOL!!

I went to 3 more auctions this week so I now realize that I was just very lucky my first time out!!!  The first auction had over 40 people there and everything went for ridiculous prices for what was in them.  It made my $280 locker look like the best buy ever if I compared it to what other people got for even more!  There was only one unit that looked really nice.  There were wrapped furniture that looked like it was of great quality.  I did not want to hassle with such large pieces, especially since this auction was about 30 minutes from home.  It went for $800 and I think that the person will definitely get his money back on that one.  The next auction was a POD auction and it was canceled.  I was not given a reason why.  The guy just said, "Corporate canceled it."  I did get a direct phone number to call the next time so I don't drive all the way over to the location to find that out.  It is close to home though, thankfully.  And the last auction had only one unit left after all the people were coming in the storage facility and paying while we were there waiting for the auction to begin.  Is this common?  I guess people really do wait until the last minute! The unit was filled to the brim with clothing.  It was not a very big unit either and it went for an asonishing $425.  I did not see any major name brands so I am not sure how the person expects to recoup the $425 on that.  I would think that clothing is not a great investment, personally.  I am a female too!    I really like clothing.   Maybe if I could see if it was all my size it might be worth it then.   All that said, I guess I had a little beginners luck with my first unit.  But that might be what keeps me on the look for another score.  Who knows. . .