Storage Items for Auction

This last Saturday my husband, myself, and my mother-in-law went to a personal storage facility for an auction they were holding. The auction was being held because the renters of a particular unit stopped paying their rent for a specified amount of time and now the items were being sold.

We were excited because we will be needing some items for our future house ,so we went to see what was offered. In the past they have held a huge yard sale with items laying out in the front of the business. This year they did something different. We didn’t expect what was coming. Instead of auctioning off pieces, they actioned off the unit. So, you and the rest of the people there go in the unit and look around-but the catch is you can’t open boxes to see what is inside. Most of them looked like people had moved into a place and this was leftover stuff they didn’t know what to do with and so they rented a storage unit only to stop paying so that someone else could have their trash. Seriously, there were abused recliners and lawnmowers and desks with broken pieces, etc. Some of those items are fine for some people who are good at and know how to fix things up, but the thing is, if you want that one recliner you have to buy the whole unit and clear it out with in 24-28 hours. In clearing it out you could come across something valuable or not so valuable things in a box, but that is along with the items to trash. It would not be a fun process.

I say all that to say that there can be good deals sometimes. Not all storage unit auctions are like this. Call around and find out what they do if people haven’t paid their rent and when they sell it or auction it off. That way you can go and see if there is anything of value. Not many people think about this but it could be a good find. It is also for those people who are good at getting great deals at garage sales. While we were there on Saturday, we were told about a previous unit full of boxes that was auctioned off and turned out to be full of vintage Barbies. The person turned around and made a good profit off of them. However, you take a risk if you purchase a unit full of boxes that could just be trash or clothes. People do like the mystery of boxes and are willing to pay more for it. A small 5x5 (closet sized) unit, full of boxes, was sold for $250!

So, the search continues…

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