Storage Unit...

Do any members have any experience on bidding on abandoned storage units. Find any treasure....?

There is a storage facility destined to be destroyed near me for road widening.

Bid!

Who knows you might find the Lost Ark, or my lost socks!

Well according to the shows on TV, you find all sorts of cool stuff.

I think a guy bought one that had a Porsche 356 speedster in it(behind a bunch of sheets of wood of course).

I wouldn't expect that, but I'm sure the worst you could do is just find a few grand in cash, loose jewelry and probably a few rare antique guns.

originally posted by: zazzafrazz
Bid!

Who knows you might find the Lost Ark, or my lost socks!

I will have to rent a storage locker of my own to store all the junk I bid on.

But if I find the lost Ark of the Covenant; it opens up a world of possibilities eh Zazz? I'll buy you the bestest socks money can buy!!

originally posted by: olaru12

originally posted by: zazzafrazz
Bid!

Who knows you might find the Lost Ark, or my lost socks!

I will have to rent a storage locker of my own to store all the junk I bid on.

But if I find the lost Ark of the Covenant; it opens up a world of possibilities.

I know a few people that buy out lockers....

Usually, you end up taking 99 percent of it to the dump after you clean it out. There isn't usually much in there, I guess it depends on how much time you want to spend selling the less(no) value items.

a reply to: olaru12

Yeah, a girlfriend of mine used to watch Storage Wars while I puffed grass and played video games on my phone, paying half attention to my girlfriend and her show.

So yeah I'm pretty much an expert. The most important part is perfecting the "Yep!" call to indicate your interest in a locker. Practice it often. In the grocery store, in the shower, in your sleep, in your cubicle at work, as you and your lover simultaneously climax, or just any old time really.

The next most important thing you're gonna wanna do, is when you get there, you gotta figure out who your rival is going to be. Cause that will determine your behavior, your bids, purchases, everything. Whatever happens, you cannot let him get the better of you. Yes I said Him. Unattended females are not allowed on thepremises...this is man's world. Big money is being exchanged here. A woman would just get confused.

Okay, I think you're good to go. Glad I could help. *does a dramatic bow & scrape where he removes his top hat and crosses his legs*

originally posted by: MisterSpock

originally posted by: olaru12

originally posted by: zazzafrazz
Bid!

Who knows you might find the Lost Ark, or my lost socks!

I will have to rent a storage locker of my own to store all the junk I bid on.

But if I find the lost Ark of the Covenant; it opens up a world of possibilities.

I know a few people that buy out lockers....

Usually, you end up taking 99 percent of it to the dump after you clean it out. There isn't usually much in there, I guess it depends on how much time you want to spend selling the less(no) value items.

Copy that...

Sounds like a lot of work on the gamble of finding treasure. I think I'll take the gamble and make a video of my experience for youtube. Urban mining in the land of consumerism.

There are rumors of cartel units abandoned filled with bales of money in Arizona.

a reply to: olaru12

Had an uncle who did this for a while, likes been mentioned its the wading through the junk to find the treasure or spend your life moving collecting and selling stuff. Obviously find units in areas of wealthy people or shady people LOL

originally posted by: olaru12

originally posted by: MisterSpock

originally posted by: olaru12

originally posted by: zazzafrazz
Bid!

Who knows you might find the Lost Ark, or my lost socks!

I will have to rent a storage locker of my own to store all the junk I bid on.

But if I find the lost Ark of the Covenant; it opens up a world of possibilities.

I know a few people that buy out lockers....

Usually, you end up taking 99 percent of it to the dump after you clean it out. There isn't usually much in there, I guess it depends on how much time you want to spend selling the less(no) value items.

Copy that...

Sounds like a lot of work on the gamble of finding treasure. I think I'll take the gamble and make a video of my experience for youtube. Urban mining in the land of consumerism.

There are rumors of cartel units abandoned filled with bales of money in Arizona.

I would do it just for the experience. Filming it for us would also be cool. We could get a sense of your cinematographic tastes. I cant wait to see the wild camera angles you pull out of your... sleeve! Sleeve. I was gonna say sleeve. Make a documentary.

Storage lockers are where people with too much junk keep the junk they dont value enough to keep handy.
The only way you'd be bidding on one is if it was so worthless it was forgotten.

I think all these storage units are previously looked into by the owners of the storage units before going up for auction.

I think programs like Storage Wars are mostly staged, and if there is anything of great value it was decided to be left there for ratings.

a reply to: Sheye

Haha..exactly.

They even cut off the new lock they just put on for show.

originally posted by: olaru12

originally posted by: MisterSpock

originally posted by: olaru12

originally posted by: zazzafrazz
Bid!

Who knows you might find the Lost Ark, or my lost socks!

I will have to rent a storage locker of my own to store all the junk I bid on.

But if I find the lost Ark of the Covenant; it opens up a world of possibilities.

I know a few people that buy out lockers....

Usually, you end up taking 99 percent of it to the dump after you clean it out. There isn't usually much in there, I guess it depends on how much time you want to spend selling the less(no) value items.

Copy that...

Sounds like a lot of work on the gamble of finding treasure. I think I'll take the gamble and make a video of my experience for youtube. Urban mining in the land of consumerism.

There are rumors of cartel units abandoned filled with bales of money in Arizona.

Lots and lots of trash and very little treasure. Most people clean the unit out when they know their going to stop paying. Most people that can't afford the fee are # birds with nothing of value. One in a thousand ends up being an art hoarder or business person with expensive tools of the trade.

I think buying these is a wait and see kinda thing.

a reply to: olaru12

Aww thx buddy!

I guess the best you can hope for is a antique gun or first edition book or something they think is junk they didn't know was valuable.

It would be fun to do a live stream of going through!

a reply to: olaru12

Bid on every storage unit you can.

The key is volume, without it you lose money right off the bat. I hope you have some cash on hand.

Don't bid on the one Augustus defaulted on.

Trust me. Can of worms. AVOID.

a reply to: olaru12

Its funny you ask this question. I work for a storage company. so is it worth bidding on one? yes for the the right price and depends on what you see. trash bags in general are going to have just cloths and cloths hangers. The neater and more organized the unit is the better. that and units with big Tupperware containers is what you want to see in general so bid on those. if you see a unit filled to the top all cluttered and unorganized save your money and time its probably just junk. speaking from many years and many auctions of experience.

also dont be surprised to find sex toys. we found the on multiple occasions over the years

a reply to: robowarrior

Thanks for all that information. Is is possible to find out the name of the person who held the lease on the storage locker or is that kept confidential.

My plan is to find out when the auctions are held in upscale parts of town or even places like Scottsdale, Vail and Aspen, and if I can find out the leasers, it might be advantageous to make the trip.

the first thing you need to do is check out the laws in the area of the storage lockers.

Because that will determine the odds of something really valuable or just a bunch of low to no value things.

determine what liability you have for what you may find.

also what you can keep and/or what is needed to do to keep it.

Lets put this into practical application

the owners of the facility are there to make money.
if someone skips out or stops paying they have a set amount of time they must wait (along with maybe some notifications) before they can claim the contents.

In that time they are loosing money.
So anything they can do to recoup the loss they will do under the law (and sometimes inspite of the law)
so if they can legally go though the items and keep the most valuable they will.
this may mean that they will only leave what they dont value and let someone else clean out the junk.

If you purchase the locker then what is your liability for whats in it and/or what do you have to do to protect yourself.
for example if you find say drugs, chemicals, body parts , precious metals, actual cash, ect what do you have to do to prevent you getting into legal trouble.
especially with chemicals you may be on the hook for cleanup (due to you now own it) .

now some items like cars and guns you have very specific rules on how to get ownership or if you can even own it.

a car for example you may not own outright. if you do a title search and find a registered owner there are proceedures you have to go though to get it declared abandoned, then re title to you... that can be time consuming and expensive

some firearms you cant own (due to type, state or local laws, ect), need to be registered, and /or may need to be first checked out by police .

even some items like antiques may have been legal at one time now illegal to own, illegal to sell, or maybe only specific types , ages, ect can be owned/sold.
I know ivory and specific animal products fall into this category .

I guess to sum it up is this

1. dont believe the shows you see... they are bluntly mostly BS
2. do your homework
3. go in with realistic expectations.

lastly

have fun

scrounger

I look at it like this...

First, I don't believe ANY reality show, but I do believe one might be able to find value in something like this...maybe.

Second, people put things in storage units for a couple of main reasons:

1. Because they don't have room for it, but don't want to get rid of it.

2. Because they 'can't' get rid of it

The key here is the difference between 'don't want to' and 'can't'. There is potential value in #1, and there is potential liability in #2.

A trip to the dump will cost most people around $50 bucks, and that's IF you can get everything in a pickup. If you have to use a trailer this fee is going to go up (maybe $150 depending on location). But just remember, there's certain stuff you can't just take to the dump. Even something simple like an old (CRT) TV is not something you can just take to the dump as it is considered hazmat. Likewise with things like chemicals and batteries. These have to be disposed of at hazmat facilities and the fees are stiff (unless your county has something like an amnesty day where it's free).

Now, one thing I assume to be fake on the reality TV shows is this notion of auctioning a locked, sight unseen, locker. I'm guessing the reality is probably different in most cases and this is just done to add drama to the TV program. My suspicion is most of these lockers are opened for inspection prior to the auction, so you can at least get a glimpse of what's inside. You may not be allowed to dig through it, but at least you can see if it's a locker full of unmarked 55 gallon drums. I would also think most jurisdictions probably want to make sure they don't have a meth lab or something like that on their hands. Or, and illegal arms / weapons cache. That said, I suspect a jurisdiction would have no issues with you, as opposed to them, having to pay for a hazmat cleanup.

Always remember....Caveat emptor