Storage locker auctions

[Mean_Mr.Mustard]

Has anyone participated in one of these?

Storage locker auctions are held regularly. When the locker’s tenant becomes delinquent, the facility auctions off the contents to the highest bidder. The locker door is opened, but you are not allowed to enter or touch anything; your bid is based on what you can visualize from the doorway. Average winning bid, according to what I’ve read so far, is $100-$300.

It’s a crapshoot for sure. I’d probably end up with someone’s old socks and boxers, but it sure is tempting.

mmm

[needscoffee]

Up here about 10 years ago, a guy’s wife got sick of paying the storage fee for a locker her husband was paying for many years in some facility in the midwest. After enough months went by, the storage facility went to do a quick check of what was in the locker before getting rid of it. They found his first family. Who knows, you might get lucky.

[NurseCarmen]

This American Life.

Act One. Needle In A Crapstack.
If you don’t pay the rent on a self storage unit, eventually all of your stuff can go up for auction. But the people bidding aren’t allowed to dig around. They just peer in from the outside with flashlights, guessing where there are valuables. Jon Mooallem visited auctions in Northern California, and learned the surprising techniques people use to tell junk from treasure. Jon writes for The New York Times Magazine. (16 minutes)

[astro]

Isn’t that how Michael Jackson lost a ton of his personal memorabilia, when one of his storage lockers went unpaid and was sold off?

[Mean_Mr.Mustard]

The more I think about it, the more it sounds like a bad idea.

Typically, I imagine, you’ll just end up with a crap-load of, well, crap that you now must unload somehow.

mmm

[Ruken]

@Mean_Mr.Mustard

The more I think about it, the more it sounds like a bad idea.

Typically, I imagine, you’ll just end up with a crap-load of, well, crap that you now must unload somehow.

mmm

If you live somewhere that allows you to take stuff directly to the local trash dump for free, it’s not a big deal. You were going to have to move the stuff anyway.
But I’ve never even heard of one of these auctions. I know that they exist, but I’ve never noticed them advertised.

[filling_pages]

There are several people locally who buy out storage spaces and then sell everything at the flea market (well, everything that will sell). Then they do it all over again. It’s not a good living, but it can be a good way to supplant your regular income.

[joebuck20]

@Ruken

But I’ve never even heard of one of these auctions. I know that they exist, but I’ve never noticed them advertised.

That’s a good point. How do you typically find out about them?

[blondebear]

There’s a guy in my neighborhood who does this. He doesn’t haul the stuff to the flea market, though, he just has a garage sale every weekend. I think it’s against city ordinance to have more than a couple a year, but I guess nobody complains.

[Mean_Mr.Mustard]

@joebuck20

@Ruken

But I’ve never even heard of one of these auctions. I know that they exist, but I’ve never noticed them advertised.

That’s a good point. How do you typically find out about them?

Try Googling ‘Storage Locker Auctions (your state)’.

This link alone show around 50 in Michigan in August.

Apparently, though, some get canceled at the last minute when the tenant ponies up the cash.

mmm

[filling_pages]

@joebuck20

@Ruken

But I’ve never even heard of one of these auctions. I know that they exist, but I’ve never noticed them advertised.

That’s a good point. How do you typically find out about them?

Around here they are listed in the local free advertiser paper. There’s a whole section for police and storage auctions.

[Mr.Accident]

@joebuck200

That’s a good point. How do you typically find out about them?

In Ga the auctions are advertised in the notices section of the local paper a month or more ahead of time.

[RalfCoder]

I almost went to one a few years ago. I saw an ad in the paper about it. I was looking for a bow, and that was an item listed in the ad. The manager of the storage place took me to the locker, opened the door, and let me look in. I couldn’t do anything more than look, though - no touching or examining. Also, I couldn’t buy just the bow and leave the rest behind. I had to take the whole kit-n-kaboodle. The bow was right-handed (and I’m not) and the rest of the stuff looked like junk, so I never went back to the auction. I’d be curious about the next one coming up, though. I bookmarked the site, and added a note to my calendar. Who knows what might be there?

[Sateryn76]

@NurseCarmen

This American Life.

Act One. Needle In A Crapstack.
If you don’t pay the rent on a self storage unit, eventually all of your stuff can go up for auction. But the people bidding aren’t allowed to dig around. They just peer in from the outside with flashlights, guessing where there are valuables. Jon Mooallem visited auctions in Northern California, and learned the surprising techniques people use to tell junk from treasure. Jon writes for The New York Times Magazine. (16 minutes)

This is a good episode, and I highly recommend it. One good anecdote was of an auction that went at a high price - it was full of boxes labeled “Crystal”

Turns out, the boxes were full of “Crystal’s” old clothes and junk :smack:

[Mean_Mr.Mustard]

@Sateryn76

@NurseCarmen

This American Life.

This is a good episode, and I highly recommend it. One good anecdote was of an auction that went at a high price - it was full of boxes labeled “Crystal”

Turns out, the boxes were full of “Crystal’s” old clothes and junk :smack:

Yeah, I’d probably end up with boxes of Pearl’s old sweaters.