How do I go about finding when storage place hold their public auctions?

12/4/2010 11:23:22 PM

call and ask

?

12/4/2010 11:24:20 PM

A friend of mine did this. He got outbid but stuck around to see them open the unit. All that was inside was a nasty old couch and some magazines

12/4/2010 11:48:43 PM

^ ew

The storage unit we used in Charleston told us they would auction off the stuff (item by item), not the contents of the whole unit. I assume you just call the management and ask about it.

[Edited on December 5, 2010 at 10:35 AM. Reason : clarify]

12/5/2010 10:34:58 AM

^^ I thought they typically open up the unit and let you see inside before the auction. I mean, I know you can't dig through it or anything, but you can at least get an idea.

I could be wrong though.

[Edited on December 5, 2010 at 10:38 AM. Reason : a]

12/5/2010 10:38:21 AM

Somebodys been watching storage wars

12/5/2010 12:03:56 PM

^^ there's no set way. Some auction contents, some auction open units, but I've seen many auction closed units with no preview.
http://www.auctionzip.com/storage.html has listings along with several other auction sites that I use (more locally and not for storage units).

12/5/2010 12:34:48 PM

Quote :

"Somebodys been watching storage wars"

12/5/2010 12:46:34 PM

With getting a storage unit auctioned because the holder failed to pay the rent, I wouldn't think you would get that much good stuff out of one.

12/5/2010 4:48:56 PM

12/5/2010 5:13:54 PM

Quote :

"With getting a storage unit auctioned because the holder failed to pay the rent, I wouldn't think you would get that much good stuff out of one."

Could be worthless, could be worth millions, you never know.

But the storage companies that do this auction them off to not have to deal with trying to sell every separate item to recoup their losses. Its just easier to recoup as much as they can if not more from an auction and let someone else deal with all the worthless (or sometimes $$$$$$$$$$$) shit. Most of the time its 3-6 months before they cut your lock and auction your shit. If they can auction it off for 600-1000+ they have made back their money and maybe a little more.

And yeah, one dude on storage wars bought a unit that had tons of restaurant equipment in it. Paid like 2500 for the unit and profited like 25,000 of it.

12/5/2010 6:31:23 PM

I've been to one. They opened the door, people walked in and looked around for a couple minutes, and then they auctioned the contents. No time to dig through boxes or any of that stuff...It was a very quick process. Then they moved onto the next unit.

12/5/2010 7:04:17 PM

Paris hilton rented one and I think thats how they ended up with her sex tape or something like that

12/5/2010 8:22:31 PM

^the guy who bought that got a

HELL OF A DEAL

12/5/2010 8:29:15 PM

Quote :

"I've been to one. They opened the door, people walked in and looked around for a couple minutes, and then they auctioned the contents. No time to dig through boxes or any of that stuff...It was a very quick process. Then they moved onto the next unit."

Actually they're breaking the law to let you walk-in and look around.

The process is:

1. They open the door

2. Everyone gets a quick peek. Flashlights are acceptable.

3. Start the bidding.


You are not allowed to walk in because you're trespassing on someone else's property.
You cannot walk in until after you win the auction.

Chances are, the rule will be broken without consequence, however, if it's your stuff and you watch the auction, and you see this technicality broken, then you can go to court and have a high probably of winning a settlement.

12/6/2010 3:48:56 AM

The advertise them in the classifieds on the N&O.

12/6/2010 10:07:54 AM

I'd imagine if they do a "closed door" auction, then they have already opened it and know there is nothing of value inside.

I would think the storage unit company could make a lot more money if they give the bidders a quick peak of what's inside, unless they know it's all junk.

12/6/2010 10:34:46 AM

^^^ Can you cite a NC general statute to back that up? Sounds like something someone just made up to me. The property is owned by the storage facility and there is no current leasee because the previous tenants have either defaulted or allowed their lease to expire. If the owner (the storage facility) allows you to enter the property I don't see how it could be construed as trespassing.

[Edited on December 6, 2010 at 11:34 AM. Reason : l]

12/6/2010 11:33:32 AM

^ that makes sense to me.

12/6/2010 11:40:29 AM

Makes sense to me too, but there's got to be some reason that people are not allowed inside. Maybe the storage owners don't want people to see that it's all garbage, but it seems like there would be huge upside if there was actual treasure.

12/6/2010 7:27:57 PM

Because it would be a clusterfuck if they opened a door and it was stacked floor to ceiling with shit and ppl wanted to see what was in the back and tried to get to it by moving shit out of the way. You have the potential for breaking stuff also.

12/6/2010 11:23:01 PM

Never been to an auction, but saw a Craigslist ad that a guy had a storage locker full of horse stuff, and wanted to sell it all off.

Stuff wasn't junk, but it wasn't top notch. We made a little bit of money, but what made me happy was we wore the same size shoes and I got some nice boots to wear (more of the things in there were useable by us - so I guess we saved money?)

12/7/2010 1:24:08 AM

^^Fair enough.

Btw, that Storage Wars show is my new trash tv favorite.

12/11/2010 3:37:58 PM

I went to one at the storage place at 40/42, and they were open door whole-unit auctions, but you couldn't walk in or touch anything. They moved pretty quickly and I was surprised how much some of those units end up going for. Much more than I would be willing to pay based on what was visible. There were also quite a few people there that bought and sold this stuff for a living, so I assume you learn what's really junk and what's not after a while.

12/13/2010 10:12:30 AM