Finding Unexpected Items in Storage Units
Expected Items
These are the items that you have an idea of what they are worth and most of the time these items are what is going to drive the price of the auction up or down. Items like motorcycles, antiques, tools, and other materials that are boxed up and brand new are what people are basing their bids off of. These are the items that you feel safe bidding on as long as the items look like they are in good condition. The only problem with expected items is that they are not always exactly as you expect. Example: If you see a box full of jewelry you might think that this unit must be very valuable but this is not always the case. Sometime the jewelry in the unit can be fake items or be costume jewelry and not be worth much money. It’s also possible that motorcycles or ATV’s won’t even be in working condition and this can drop the price of them drastically. Most people don’t buy broken motorcycles and having to invest in your items to be able to sell them takes away from your profit. I suggest that if they don’t look brand new or at least in somewhat good condition, don’t even waste your time and money because fixing engines on any vehicle can get costly and resale isn’t that great because of depreciation.
Unexpected Items
Unexpected items in your storage unit are likely but I wouldn’t bid on the unit with the expectation that there will be items of value that you don’t see. You never know what can be in the locker but sometimes that works in your favor. Almost everyone has seen the TV shows where the people who are bidding on the unit only know what to bid on by what’s in sight. Now just imagine that you bid on a unit that appears to have a 1,000 dollar value and you end up buying the unit for 700. There is always a chance that in that unit, there will be items that you didn’t see right away that are valuable. I have seen people think a unit is total crap and no one bids on it and it ends up selling for 1 dollar, only to find out that there was jewelry or something small but expensive in the unit that was worth good money. Just purchasing storage units in general gives you the chance that you will find items that you weren’t expecting. This also sometimes works in your favor and sometimes doesn’t.
Storage Battles
Fake or Not, Storage Auctions Make You Money.
There are stories about storage auctions on TV being fake but in all reality the show was created for a reason. Any Storage Hunter knows that the way that TV portrays storage auctions are somewhat false but in all actuality very real indeed. The idea about buying storage units to make money has been around a lot longer than any of these TV shows. At any storage auction you would expect there to be bidders that plan on purchasing units so that they can sell the items for profit. Bidding will also be similar to how the TV show portrays it. Everyone will get to see the unit and get a general estimate in their head of what they think the items are worth. There will also be unexpected items in the unit that no one will get to see. This is just a hit and miss game. There could be a locker that looks like it has 40 dollars’ worth of stuff in it and come to find out that it has a valuable item in the unit that makes it worth 400 or even 4,000.
Most of the time, your unit is going to be exactly what it looks like. IF it looks like there are only 3 trash cans and a couch are in the unit, that’s probably all that is going to be in there. Most smart bidders know that you do not bid on unexpected items. You bid on what you think you can get out of the items that are in the unit. The last thing you want to do is assume that something valuable will be in there if you can’t see it. Play it safe and bid on what you know and if you happen to find something unexpected of value in one of those units, then its all profit and you don’t risk the chance of losing money. Plus you will have a longer career if you know how to bid on units to make profit.
Storage Battles
