Storage Unit Auctions Yield Buried Treasure

Here is a little-known technique for finding merchandise to resell on eBay or in your local area.

As you probably know Storage Units are rented to people who need extra temporary space to store their household items. You have probably rented one yourself or know someone who did.

What most people don't know is if the renter doesn't pay the monthly rental the storage company owner will auction the contents of the unit to the highest bidder. This allows anyone to buy used (and sometimes new) merchandise for pennies on the dollar.

Sometimes these units are auctioned "winner take all" where the entire contents are auctioned to the highest bidder. I have seen units go for as low as $25.00 for a small unit up to $300.00 for a unit with lots of meechandise and closed boxes.

Other times the auctioneer will pull items out of the unit one at a time and auction them individually.

One thing that is common to all auctions is the "grab bag" aspect. If there are closed boxes in the unit the auctioneer will not allow anyone to open the boxes. They are auctioned site unseen. If the auction is for an entire unit the bidders are not allowed to go into the unit to inspect the merchandise. You must assess the contents from the outside to determine if and how high you want to bid.

Here are some tips for assessing the contents:

Bring a high powered flashlight with you. The units are usually dark and since you can only view the contents from the outside a flashlight will help you spot clues that others may miss.

Look for "Name Brand" merchandise. This generally means that the owner of the contents is brand aware and appreciates higher quality merchandise. This is a big clue that other unseen items (such as items in closed boxes) are of higher value.

Look for well organised stacked boxes that are sealed. This indicates that the boxes haven't been tampered with by the Storage Unit Company prior to the sale.

Dust on the contents. Usually means that the contents have been stored for many years. There could be items in the boxes that are now collectible.

Addresses on boxes. If you can see an address that is from an upper class neighborhood it increases the odds that there are valuables in the unit.

Moving Company Boxes. A person who goes to the expense of hiring a moving company likely has some high quality items in the unit.

So where do you find these auctions? They are sometimes listed in the Auction Section of the newspaper. If a Storage Company goes to the expense of advertising the auction in the paper it usually means they have a lot of units to auction off. But it also means there will be a lot of bidders and more competition.

The best thing to do is call Storage Companies in your area and ask when they will be holding their next auction. Many times a storage company will have a small unadvertised auction with only a half dozen or so units up for bid. These can be real bargains because fewer bidders show up and you have less competition for the units.

Storage Unit Auctions can be a great way to pick up resellable mechandise cheap but you must be careful you don't get burnt. The best way to learn the ins and outs is by attending a few auctions as an observer only. Don't bid, just watch. You'll quickly learn what others are willing to bid for a unit of a particular size and with particular types or merchandise. You can then determine after the bidding is over if a unit was over bid or if it was a bargain. Knowing this will help you determine how much to bid when you are ready to participate.