How to Buy & Sell Auctioned Storage Units
- By Jan Maupin
- Published 05/8/2008
- How To
-
Rating:
Jan Maupin
Jan Maupin is an advancing writer of social issues and interests. I am a member of ~ cafemom, changing times network, printnpost, helium, lindyslegacy. I hold many jobs for "non-fear" of working. My husband and I both maintain full time jobs (to pay the bills), but also hold our own business selling : Scentsy, auctioneed storage units, raising and selling cattle, gardening and whatever else we may find.
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Buying auctioned storage units is easier than you may think. A couple of years ago we were discussing this with some relatives.
I kept hearing, "I wish we could do that, Jim, over in Nevada buys storage units and is always making money and some of the things he comes across is unbelievable!"
Well, I'm not much of a talker, and wisher. When I set my mind to something, I dig in. Not knowing exactly where to start I opened up the trusty "phone book" under storage units and started making phone calls. After the first two phone calls I knew what to do!
Four years later my husband and myself have become experts. So here are your tips and get ready to make some money!
First, call some local storage units and ask "when is your next auction going to be", and who is your auctioneer. These are the two questions and very important questions. One, they will give you the next date, two you get to know who the auctioneer is. Ask the storage unit facility if they have his phone#, if not you can probably find it on the internet. Now you have a beginning. You see auctioneers usually are contracted with these places and have specific rights to that one storage place or corporation. Once you get his phone # or website you can go in and set yourself up on his mailing list and your on your way!
Now on your first visit you will have to sign in and get a bidder's number. Some auctioneers will have you keep that number for future auctions. Also these are generally "CASH ONLY", so don't take anything else.
If your just starting and do not have a lot of start up cash, don't worry about it. We started with $200.00. We pitched in $100.00 and our relatives pitched in $100.00. Believe me we have bought units for as little as $15.00! So starting out you don't have to have alot of cash.
Let's run through the "auctioned storage unit day". After you sign in and "read" your form so you will know what is expected from you, look around at who your competitors are, get a feel for these people. I like to do this to see who has the "deep pockets" which is what my husband and I call the person who is a regular. He's been here quite often, maybe has a store somewhere, flea market, etc., someone that knows the ropes. This is your "intimidator". This is the guy or gal who is going to try and out bid everyone if he sees something he likes. ( Don't worry too much about him, you will be in his shoes soon enough)! The others are just icing, they may be there to try and buy back their own unit, maybe they come to a few here and there, it's the big guy your watching.
So now your ready to get started, some places will open the door, but generally that's as far as you can go. You are not allowed inside or to step inside. You have to view everything from where you are standing. A lot of times, you may notice some people making their way to the front to be "the first". Don't worry, you'll get this down to. But move your way in. Don't let anyone "intimidate" you, pretend your pockets are full and you've done this a hundred times. Some even come with flashlights to shine the light as far in as they can. Yes, we did after we saw this the first time, but after a few times we didn't find it to be very effective so we stopped. Your going to get what you buy. Period. Now, some other units I've heard do not let you view the unit, you bid on a "closed door" unit. I myself would not unless you really like surprises. At least the ones that open the door you have some sort of sense of what you are buying.
Now, some that are small should not go for very much, here is where you may want to start. Start small and work your way up. Or, if you came with a lot of money by all means get in the game. But watch, some of these can also get ridiculous, have some sort of sanity to know when to drop out! My husband and myself have each other. One to do the bidding, one to watch the others and keep the bidder in line. You can get carried away sometimes. I have found that sometimes the auctioneer may have someone with him just to run the bid up. That's why you really need to watch or have someone with you to watch the other people. This auctioneer is getting a percentage off of what he sales these units for so he is looking for a daily income also!
So what do you want to bid on or sell? Does it matter? Starting out, it shouldn't, bid on what you can get. You really never know what your getting. I, myself like to bid on a unit that has a lot of boxes. Why? Because people pack away all kinds of good stuff, and they pack junk! But you can make your money back if there are alot of boxes, dishes, linens, jewelry boxes, etc., there is a lot of quarter to a dollar and up in here and it's good to start. The big guys are usually going after the furniture units or ones with appliances. Now, warning, washers and dryers......
how new do they look? Same with refrigerators.... how new, how good does it look from your vantage point? If it looks in pretty good condition, these units are probably going to go for about 200 and up. Now if you came with money, you can easily make your money back. We have. Now at this point I just want to remind you to watch the bidders and listen to the auctioneer, some times they will start with a low amount to get the auction off, sometimes someone has already given the auctioneer a starting price "deep pockets, hello". He wants that unit and you may not get it, oh well, try another. Don't let anyone intimidate you, believe me they will try. So, get in the middle of it, stick your chest out and don't be afraid to be heard.
After the auction is finished you are expected to pay and some will give you 1 to 3 days to pick up your unit. Also come with some of your own locks. After you buy that storage unit, "IT'S LEGALLY YOURS" and so LOCK IT UP with your own lock. Don't trust the storage place, although I'm sure they're okay, and you can sometimes buy some of their locks at a ridiculous price. So, bring some of your own and be prepared to lock your unit until you can get it unpacked. So in actuality your done and you got your feet wet and know you know a little more than you did when you first walked in there. So next time, you'll know about how much more money you may need to bring and what kind of units you want to bid on. I always say start small until your comfortable, then go for the gusto! See, the first time we did it, I think we bought a couple of small units for about 30.00 and 50.00, very small and in truth, they let us have them! They were letting us into the game. Which was okay, because in about 6 months time, we were at all the local sales with our own "Deep Pockets" and "Intimidation factor" and we were the ones all the others were backing down from!
So, pack up, go home and unpack and see your treasures.
What did you get and what do you do with it: Go through everything, every purse, every piece of paper ( this may be tedious) but we have found money left in these places. We once bought a small unit for $35.00 and by the time we went through all the purses that were packed away we came out with $45.00 in change and cash! Also, don't just sell, research some items, jewelry for instance. If you know a little bit about jewelry then your okay, if not take some to a pawn shop ( don't sell it there) or a jewelry shop, research, research, research! All antiques, all jewelry, etc. Don't assume, research. Check stuff out on ebay, yahoo, google etc. See what some items are selling for. Sell some on ebay and other auction places, have a yard sale or take your finds to a flea market ( more visibility).
So good luck, chest out, stand up straight, speak loud and start small. Oh, one more word to the wise. What ever your sales are, keep back what you want to take with you to the next auction! We started as I said earlier with $200.00, we made about $800.00 on our first sale, we paid ourselves back each $100.00 for our initial investment and agreed to put the remaining $600.00 into our next auction. From there on out, we now make from about $1500.00 to $3000.00 or more a sale. We may buy 3 or 4 units or more and store them and have one big sale.
Some units we've bought and sold:
1. Bought a unit full of appliances, washers & dryers, furniture,, etc., No other bidders bid, either they didn't want it or they were not paying attention. We paid $5.00. No lie, $5.00. I sold the refrigerator for $200.00, called all local appliance stores for the washers & dryers, sold all for another $200.00 and then the furniture for $200. 00. All together we made around $800.00 off of that $5.00 unit!
2. One was full of toys and furniture, we paid about $35.00. Didn't know until we unpacked that one set of toys was a full collection of the BRAT Dolls, sold that whole collection for about $75.00, all profit on the rest!
3. Word here: ADVERTISE, ADVERTISE, ADVERTISE! If your going to have a yard sale, do not just put out signs. Call local papers and give your address, some things you have to sell, directions. Our relatives procrastinated on spending an additional $50.00 for paper ads, at their sales we would make about $600.00 a weekend, good enough for them. At our sales, I paid for the paper advertisements and we always, always made about $2000.00 a weekend! IT PAYS TO ADVERTISE. You have to bring the people in!
Good luck!
Places to check out:
www.auctionzip.com
www.ebay.com
Google auctioneers or auctions in your state.
I kept hearing, "I wish we could do that, Jim, over in Nevada buys storage units and is always making money and some of the things he comes across is unbelievable!"
Well, I'm not much of a talker, and wisher. When I set my mind to something, I dig in. Not knowing exactly where to start I opened up the trusty "phone book" under storage units and started making phone calls. After the first two phone calls I knew what to do!
Four years later my husband and myself have become experts. So here are your tips and get ready to make some money!
First, call some local storage units and ask "when is your next auction going to be", and who is your auctioneer. These are the two questions and very important questions. One, they will give you the next date, two you get to know who the auctioneer is. Ask the storage unit facility if they have his phone#, if not you can probably find it on the internet. Now you have a beginning. You see auctioneers usually are contracted with these places and have specific rights to that one storage place or corporation. Once you get his phone # or website you can go in and set yourself up on his mailing list and your on your way!
Now on your first visit you will have to sign in and get a bidder's number. Some auctioneers will have you keep that number for future auctions. Also these are generally "CASH ONLY", so don't take anything else.
If your just starting and do not have a lot of start up cash, don't worry about it. We started with $200.00. We pitched in $100.00 and our relatives pitched in $100.00. Believe me we have bought units for as little as $15.00! So starting out you don't have to have alot of cash.
Let's run through the "auctioned storage unit day". After you sign in and "read" your form so you will know what is expected from you, look around at who your competitors are, get a feel for these people. I like to do this to see who has the "deep pockets" which is what my husband and I call the person who is a regular. He's been here quite often, maybe has a store somewhere, flea market, etc., someone that knows the ropes. This is your "intimidator". This is the guy or gal who is going to try and out bid everyone if he sees something he likes. ( Don't worry too much about him, you will be in his shoes soon enough)! The others are just icing, they may be there to try and buy back their own unit, maybe they come to a few here and there, it's the big guy your watching.
So now your ready to get started, some places will open the door, but generally that's as far as you can go. You are not allowed inside or to step inside. You have to view everything from where you are standing. A lot of times, you may notice some people making their way to the front to be "the first". Don't worry, you'll get this down to. But move your way in. Don't let anyone "intimidate" you, pretend your pockets are full and you've done this a hundred times. Some even come with flashlights to shine the light as far in as they can. Yes, we did after we saw this the first time, but after a few times we didn't find it to be very effective so we stopped. Your going to get what you buy. Period. Now, some other units I've heard do not let you view the unit, you bid on a "closed door" unit. I myself would not unless you really like surprises. At least the ones that open the door you have some sort of sense of what you are buying.
Now, some that are small should not go for very much, here is where you may want to start. Start small and work your way up. Or, if you came with a lot of money by all means get in the game. But watch, some of these can also get ridiculous, have some sort of sanity to know when to drop out! My husband and myself have each other. One to do the bidding, one to watch the others and keep the bidder in line. You can get carried away sometimes. I have found that sometimes the auctioneer may have someone with him just to run the bid up. That's why you really need to watch or have someone with you to watch the other people. This auctioneer is getting a percentage off of what he sales these units for so he is looking for a daily income also!
So what do you want to bid on or sell? Does it matter? Starting out, it shouldn't, bid on what you can get. You really never know what your getting. I, myself like to bid on a unit that has a lot of boxes. Why? Because people pack away all kinds of good stuff, and they pack junk! But you can make your money back if there are alot of boxes, dishes, linens, jewelry boxes, etc., there is a lot of quarter to a dollar and up in here and it's good to start. The big guys are usually going after the furniture units or ones with appliances. Now, warning, washers and dryers......
After the auction is finished you are expected to pay and some will give you 1 to 3 days to pick up your unit. Also come with some of your own locks. After you buy that storage unit, "IT'S LEGALLY YOURS" and so LOCK IT UP with your own lock. Don't trust the storage place, although I'm sure they're okay, and you can sometimes buy some of their locks at a ridiculous price. So, bring some of your own and be prepared to lock your unit until you can get it unpacked. So in actuality your done and you got your feet wet and know you know a little more than you did when you first walked in there. So next time, you'll know about how much more money you may need to bring and what kind of units you want to bid on. I always say start small until your comfortable, then go for the gusto! See, the first time we did it, I think we bought a couple of small units for about 30.00 and 50.00, very small and in truth, they let us have them! They were letting us into the game. Which was okay, because in about 6 months time, we were at all the local sales with our own "Deep Pockets" and "Intimidation factor" and we were the ones all the others were backing down from!
So, pack up, go home and unpack and see your treasures.
What did you get and what do you do with it: Go through everything, every purse, every piece of paper ( this may be tedious) but we have found money left in these places. We once bought a small unit for $35.00 and by the time we went through all the purses that were packed away we came out with $45.00 in change and cash! Also, don't just sell, research some items, jewelry for instance. If you know a little bit about jewelry then your okay, if not take some to a pawn shop ( don't sell it there) or a jewelry shop, research, research, research! All antiques, all jewelry, etc. Don't assume, research. Check stuff out on ebay, yahoo, google etc. See what some items are selling for. Sell some on ebay and other auction places, have a yard sale or take your finds to a flea market ( more visibility).
So good luck, chest out, stand up straight, speak loud and start small. Oh, one more word to the wise. What ever your sales are, keep back what you want to take with you to the next auction! We started as I said earlier with $200.00, we made about $800.00 on our first sale, we paid ourselves back each $100.00 for our initial investment and agreed to put the remaining $600.00 into our next auction. From there on out, we now make from about $1500.00 to $3000.00 or more a sale. We may buy 3 or 4 units or more and store them and have one big sale.
Some units we've bought and sold:
1. Bought a unit full of appliances, washers & dryers, furniture,, etc., No other bidders bid, either they didn't want it or they were not paying attention. We paid $5.00. No lie, $5.00. I sold the refrigerator for $200.00, called all local appliance stores for the washers & dryers, sold all for another $200.00 and then the furniture for $200. 00. All together we made around $800.00 off of that $5.00 unit!
2. One was full of toys and furniture, we paid about $35.00. Didn't know until we unpacked that one set of toys was a full collection of the BRAT Dolls, sold that whole collection for about $75.00, all profit on the rest!
3. Word here: ADVERTISE, ADVERTISE, ADVERTISE! If your going to have a yard sale, do not just put out signs. Call local papers and give your address, some things you have to sell, directions. Our relatives procrastinated on spending an additional $50.00 for paper ads, at their sales we would make about $600.00 a weekend, good enough for them. At our sales, I paid for the paper advertisements and we always, always made about $2000.00 a weekend! IT PAYS TO ADVERTISE. You have to bring the people in!
Good luck!
Places to check out:
www.auctionzip.com
www.ebay.com
Google auctioneers or auctions in your state.
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1 Response to "How to Buy & Sell Auctioned Storage Units"
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said this on 09 May 2008 8:13:53 PM EDT
Excellent article - thank you! I have always heard about this type of "fun"....But never really went to try it. I was already intimidated just hearing about it! Thanks to your excellent description of how the process works, I feel like I could totally give this a try!!! Thanks again!
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