Why I Take History With A Grain of Salt

Just came across this press release. Jim Grant, former owner of Storage Battles and Storage Treasures sent it over. After selling out, and waiting for his non compete agreement to expire, he's back in the business with SelfStorageAuction .com. Wish him the best of luck.

Before I go any further, I appreciate the donations Jim has made to the self-storage associations which have helped reform laws which make online auctions legal. I did have an issue with some of the statements in the press release (text in red) and my comments are in blue text.

PHOENIX, AZ--(Marketwired - May 4, 2017) - SelfStorageAuction .com recently made a significant financial donation to the California Self Storage Association (CSSA) in support of its lobbying efforts on two state legislation reform bills that deal with the advertisement of lien laws and requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Contributing to the successful passage of legislation that helps self storage operators and managers is a priority for SelfStorageAuction .com, an online auction platform that provides bidders with a centralized place to bid online for self storage auctions.

The first reform bill is AB1108, which is a lien law that would alter parts of the original California Self-Service Storage Facility Act to allow self storage facilities to use email as well as regular mail to contact renters who cannot pay their bills. This bill also would require the advertisement of lien auctions to be published either in newspapers or in any other media that is responsibility calculated to provide notice to potential buyers and the general public or both.

"When I first came up with the concept of combining Storage Auctions with an Ebay platform online in 2011, most people discounted the idea," said SelfStorageAuction .com Founder Jim Grant. "  That's probably because the other online self-storage auction website that was established in March of 2007 had failed miserably due to our lien laws being antiquated. The first online self-storage auction website to gain ground was Sealed Online Bids. The founder was Kevin Gorzney. That site became profitable in 2010/2011 and Jim Grant purchased it shortly thereafter. OnlineStorageAuctions.com also owns OnlineStorageAuction.com which was the domain used on the site that was established in 2007 (see attached screenshot), but we don't claim to have come up with the concept of online self-storage auctions. I'll try to dig up the historical WhoIs records from 2007 and provide the name of person who developed the first online self-storage auction website, just for history's sake.

The CSSA was always very supportive in my efforts by giving me suggestions and advice. SelfStorageAuction .com offers free automated online advertising for facilities to post their lien sales, and I know that this will be embraced by the California storage industry. We are honored and very fortunate to be a member of the CSSA and be able to help continue their future efforts for the self storage industry."

The second legislation reform bill is AB1148, which is called the ADA Commercial Code 1938 Cleanup. This bill redefines commercial property "for the purposes of that provision as property that is offered for sale or lease to persons operating, or intending to operate, a place of public accommodation or facility to which the general public is invited at those premises." Basically, this bill would allow self storage to be excluded from some of the obligations it currently falls under, relieving facilities of a significant burden.

"The CSSA is very grateful for the support from SelfStorageAuction .com," said Erin King, CSSA's executive director. "We are very proud of our legislative efforts as we believe they truly benefit the facility owners and the tenants."
The CSSA estimates that the proposed changes to the law will help self storage operators save approximately $1,500 minimum each year.

Grant, who is the original conceptualizer and founder of online storage auctions, And this is how history gets distorted.

created the former online auction site Storage Battles in 2012 and merged it with the web site Storage Treasures in 2015. Grant recently launched SelfStorageAuction .com, a state-of-the-art platform that promotes online and live onsite auctions of delinquent storage units across the country. The mobile-friendly website combines the simplicity, reliability and exceptional customer service of the original platform with new features that ensure stability and are more user friendly.

this is interesting news. It'll be interesting to see how the precedents here are going to stream down to other online storage auctions or physical storage auction events in other places across the world. It sounds like it's going to be quite a fair amount of reading to do to catch up with what's going to change though so here's hoping there'll be some summary of the changes coming up in the next few weeks for us to get acquainted...

this is interesting news. It'll be interesting to see how the precedents here are going to stream down to other online storage auctions or physical storage auction events in other places across the world. It sounds like it's going to be quite a fair amount of reading to do to catch up with what's going to change though so here's hoping there'll be some summary of the changes coming up in the next few weeks for us to get acquainted...

There is no doubt that Online Storage Auctions will eventually be global. Australia, the UK, China and a handful of others will be some of the first to come aboard.