Storage Locker, Auction Finds?

[Bassmaster96]

Yep, keep them coming Carol, it is okay.

 

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[Baltimore]

Ditto what the others have said, I'm sure everyone who checks this site regularly is the type of person who can read this kind of stuff all day! I know it makes me want to get out there!

 

[Rawhide]

well heres what i did last week end,

i bought a jug of change for $2 dollars, it had $6 dollars in it. I feel off my truck later that day helping neighbor and broke my arm........ug

 

[Carl995]

well heres what i did last week end,

View attachment 1206270View attachment 1206271View attachment 1206272i bought a jug of change for $2 dollars, it had $6 dollars in it. I feel off my truck later that day helping neighbor and broke my arm........ug

I feel sad about your arm!!
Looks like you got an ancient coin or copy of one?

This lady I knew, She bought a locker with a small industrial safe that was on top of a stack of vcr's.
Safe slid down & broke her foot!!
And yes the safe was full of carded old silver coins!!

 

[Beachkid23]

This thread is awesome! Gives us who don't buy storage lockers a chance to learn more about them and some of the awesome thing to find. I mean if I didn't have the site I'd probably be homeless still trying to buy stuff and make a living. I've learned so much from the side over the last couple years I couldn't even tell you how much!

My neighbor wanted to get into buying storage lockers him and his wife went in they came home with a really nice disgusting queen mattress. I think he paid $100 for the unit but he did get some decent things I just don't recall off the top of my head what they are. It's on my list of things to do though!

Believe me I'd rather check this site for awesome things people find then do the dishes any day of the week! !

 

[Carl995]

This thread is awesome! Gives us who don't buy storage lockers a chance to learn more about them and some of the awesome thing to find. I mean if I didn't have the site I'd probably be homeless still trying to buy stuff and make a living. I've learned so much from the side over the last couple years I couldn't even tell you how much!

My neighbor wanted to get into buying storage lockers him and his wife went in they came home with a really nice disgusting queen mattress. I think he paid $100 for the unit but he did get some decent things I just don't recall off the top of my head what they are. It's on my list of things to do though!

Believe me I'd rather check this site for awesome things people find then do the dishes any day of the week! !

You have to do it on your own, I have never seen partners work out.
Go by yourself, no kids, no friends etc. & keep to yourself.
If you become friends with someone they might come up you you & say
I want this one or can I have/buy this, or it's my turn. You get the idea!!
Buy it & move it yourself & if someone asks you later on, say it was alright, so so, nothing great.

Save up 3 grand then determine if you have the willpower
& decide if you want to possibly blow your money!

Once you get that great locker you will be hooked.
It takes a lot of bad lockers to get a good one.
Anybody can bomb no matter how good they are at reading the units.
It doesn't take many bombs to put you out of business.
Just telling you how it is.

I spent $1350. on a 10X10 half full of new in box Craftsman tools.
That was the unit I lost the most money on, I lost $500. I didn't realize Craftsman tools were so cheap!!

Other small amounts I lost because not all locations are honest &
THATS THE BEST LESSON IS TO KNOW WHICH LOCATIONS ARE HONEST & KEEP IT TO YOURSELF!!!

There is all kinds of tricks they pull.
One of the best ripoffs i've seen is a location here in Phoenix, they learned that after they go through all the stuff & take what they want.
To hide their footprints & to make it look old, they use their blower to blow dirt back in the unit!!!

Thats just one trick, there's many more!!
Gold at over $1000 per ounce can entice the most honest people.

There's a storage place here that the managers picks up TV & other electronics boxes out of Fry's Electronics trash,
fill them with cloths or trash/Tape the boxes to give that new look & make up their own locker up for auction.
I didn't get burned, I listened & found out from others & I have seen it with my own eyes as I was picking up my units!!

I learned everything from experience which takes a long time.
And there's many more things to learn!!!

There's a start!!
Not trying to scare you, you just got to listen & be alert!!

 

[Carl995]

I tried it when the show first came out but people were paying ridiculous prices for the lockers so I never bought one a couple years went by and I decided to try it again and the prices drop dramatically I wind up buying three units for a total of $85 two for $5 and one for $75 one of the $5 units was my best find it was a 18k & sterling silver konstantino topaz bracelet
View attachment 1205672

I knew a guy that would buy 4 or 5 cheap ones a day. He finally got a watch he sold for $2750 on eBay. I can't remember the brand.

 

[jeff of pa]

Thanks to the TV Show.... to be honest.
If I had a Storage Locker,
And knew I was going to have Financial issues, I'd visit Electronics stores
that advertise they Install .
I'd ask them if they have any large Empty Boxes. Big Screen TV's etc.
perhaps a few Gun Boxes , That you can just get a Peak of from outside.
And I'd store all the empty boxes in place of what I originally Had, then let the
bill Sit.

Especially If I lived in California & other places these TV shows Film.

and If I think this, I wonder how many others actually do it regularly for cash.

of course in my case, if I can't store it for free. here where I live, I don't need it

 

[diggummup]

A lot of items at yard sales are from storage units, either direct or thru a local auction house.

Yes, I've been to plenty and know plenty of people who buy lockers and sell at yard sales.

Years!? Old chests around here sell well. We grab all we can if cheap enough. Crazy that everyone missed such a huge opportunity. Bet they still talk about it. I would. I still talk about units I passed on that I had second thoughts about later.

I can't see a chest for $1 sitting around anywhere for that long myself.



This is a great thread. I would love to get into buying storage lockers but it would demand too much time and effort for me personally. I do rent a couple units though! lol

 

[jerseyben]

I knew a guy that would buy 4 or 5 cheap ones a day. He finally got a watch he sold for $2750 on eBay. I can't remember the brand.

I mean this in the nicest way possible.

You have some amazing scores but I cant help but think... Why is he selling this stuff so cheap? Your method for flipping your finds seems to be "turn and burn". You seem to be leaving a lot of money on the table.

 

[Carl995]

Thanks to the TV Show.... to be honest.
If I had a Storage Locker,
And knew I was going to have Financial issues, I'd visit Electronics stores
that advertise they Install .
I'd ask them if they have any large Empty Boxes. Big Screen TV's etc.
perhaps a few Gun Boxes , That you can just get a Peak of from outside.
And I'd store all the empty boxes in place of what I originally Had, then let the
bill Sit.

Especially If I lived in California & other places these TV shows Film.

and If I think this, I wonder how many others actually do it regularly for cash.

of course in my case, if I can't store it for free. here where I live, I don't need it

Jeff, there is a couple storage places here that let you put your stuff in it to be auctioned off,
manager gets a cut & the auctioneer gets his cut.
I only got stuck with one of those type units. $100 for junk made to look real nice. They opened the door
& I saw nice clean things, a real nice wooden bar stool behind a fake tree. When I started moving the unit,
it was only the top of the bar stool sitting on a box that made it look like a full bar stool.
I talked to the manager in disgust & they told me what their doing & i'm welcome to do it as well.
I never did it, I felt it was too dishonest!!

 

[Carl995]

I mean this in the nicest way possible.

You have some amazing scores but I cant help but think... Why is he selling this stuff so cheap? Your method for flipping your finds seems to be "turn and burn". You seem to be leaving a lot of money on the table.

Turn & burn is absolutely correct with me!!!
I was doing it for a living, not working part time. I had to make enough for my family.

If I sold the stuff myself trying to get top dollar, it would tie up a lot of my time & I wouldn't be able to buy
as many units as I did to achieve getting the monster jackpots (not listed in this thread).
The ones I have listed here so far are the ones that were cool to me. I like vintage electronics, motorcycles,
music equipment & that's what fueled me to keep going, to get something for myself & my family as well as make a living.

 

[reapp]

Carrol, im a vintage guitar guy. Whats the most notable instruments you have found over the years? My best score was a Left Handed 1963 Fender Jazzmaster which I purchased at an estate auction.

 

[Carl995]

Carrol, im a vintage guitar guy. Whats the most notable instruments you have found over the years? My best score was a Left Handed 1963 Fender Jazzmaster which I purchased at an estate auction.

That's fantastic!!! a 63 Jazzmaster!! I bought my son the Kurt Cobain Signature Jag new!!
I never found in a locker anything that great!!
Here's a early 60's les paul Japanese copy that was trashed & I totally rebuilt it.
Loved it & played the hell out of it till the upper fretboard started wearing off.
My SRV hat!! Miss that guy!!

 

[Peyton Manning]

after the shows started I watched the paper here, thought about going just to see.
they are all during working hours! guess I'll have to wait till I retire or get hired as a high paid mod like Jeffofpa

 

[Ryans Rust]

after the shows started I watched the paper here, thought about going just to see.
they are all during working hours! guess I'll have to wait till I retire or get hired as a high paid mod like Jeffofpa

Use a sick day! The auctions on the weekends go for a lot more for the very reason you mentioned. I work a full time job and once a month, I'm "missing" for half a day. Or you can look for local ones online. Many around here are now online. But they go for more most of the time and it's harder to read the contents/previous owner(s).

 

[Ryans Rust]

Here's a early picture of one of our first finds. We just started doing units and we knew someone whose Mom had a sign shop going out of business. Invited us to go picking. It was the first time we ever went picking. This is a small sample of what we found. Neon, lockers, old hand tools, 8' tall Taco Bell and 7' long Lincoln signs plus so much more. What's sad is there were so many Chevron, Jack in the Box etc Lexan signs cut in half in their roll off bin. It was so much fun though. We must of went back 5 times. From that day on we've been hooked. Now when I drive by a open garage, I must look like a burglar scoping out the place.

 

[Ryans Rust]

Around here one company opens the units and parts out the contents until the debt is paid off. All the X-Mas together etc. It's great if you are only looking for certain items and don't want to deal with all the trash. Too time consuming for me. But we went once and scored this beauty. Paid $80. Wish I still had it. Sadly I had to sell it as it was before I had a store and I already had a Superman telephone booth and many other neat things overflowing my garage.

 

[Carl995]

Around here one company opens the units and parts out the contents until the debt is paid off. All the X-Mas together etc. It's great if you are only looking for certain items and don't want to deal with all the trash. Too time consuming for me. But we went once and scored this beauty. Paid $80. Wish I still had it. Sadly I had to sell it as it was before I had a store and I already had a Superman telephone booth and many other neat things overflowing my garage.

That's in great condition too!

 

[Rawhide]

I feel sad about your arm!!
Looks like you got an ancient coin or copy of one?

This lady I knew, She bought a locker with a small industrial safe that was on top of a stack of vcr's.
Safe slid down & broke her foot!!
And yes the safe was full of carded old silver coins!!

yes carol it was a copy, wondered how long it would take someone to notice the greek coin.

i went to the emergency roon, didnt even get a aspirin. but they gave me a sling for my arm.......basic and timley care. anyways, my doctor calls me two days later. say i also have a fractured neck......im in so much pain. i will see a surgeon today.