Storage Wars :)

packerbacker · Oct 28, 2014

Any of you folks bid on storage lockers? My son and I decided to give it a try just for the heck of it. We found these lures in one locker. The 2 white "bone" lures we're told are worth between $25 and $50 each but the other 2 could be worth about $350 to $400 each to the right buyer but more likely we'll get maybe $150 each, hard telling. Here is one on ebay like we have.
Creek Chub Jointed Pikie Striper C C B Co No 6807 Wood Fishing Lure | eBay

I think maybe we should have a "Storage Wars" section if there are enough people on here doing it. It would fit right in with "Dumpster Diving" and "Garage Sale Finds" don't you think?

releventchair · Oct 28, 2014

Nice!
Creek Chub Bait Co. History

dejapooh · Oct 28, 2014

Yeah, but even if you find $500,000 in gold, you will never get a banner

batcap · Oct 28, 2014

dejapooh said:
Yeah, but even if you find $500,000 in gold, you will never get a banner

And thank goodness for that! If all the coin shooters knew how well the pickers do, there would be a flood of used metal detectors on eBay.

tamaco · Oct 28, 2014

Nice find!! We went to one once. The auctioneers' assistant just grabbed a hat out of one and KEPT IT. wtf? But, i definitely want to try an auction anyways. i'm certain there are treasures buried in some :thumbsup:

billjustbill · Oct 28, 2014

batcap said:
And thank goodness for that! If all the coin shooters knew how well the pickers do, there would be a flood of used metal detectors on eBay.

The retired guys I have breakfast with ask me what I've found lately while metal detecting. New guys to the group ask how much I find....

I look at them and simply say, "You wouldn't believe what I find going to garage sales instead metal detecting! Treasure comes in all forms from old tools to fountain pens to gold and silver. I find 10 times more gold and silver at garage sales than I ever did when regularly going detecting! Plus, I'm usually back home to show the wife my purchases by 10:30 or 11:00."

When the new guy asked what's the most I found, I have to smile and tell about the week when I went on a Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Spending under $150 on silverware and sterling jewelry, that weekend I brought home a total of "3 TROY POUNDS" OF Sterling..... When I called my brother, who lives in Hawaii and uses his MineLab Excalibur on Waikiki Beach , he nearly dropped the phone...."

What's best about Garage sales is the same saying metal detector people say: "Nobody gets it All"

packerbacker · Oct 29, 2014

I don't have a pic but I'll get one today. Now we have found a jewelry box in one of the units. We took just one of the rings in and it was appraised at $1600 if it was being bought new. She said that used it should bring $400-$500. There are also a bunch of old bottles and some nice dishes, nick knacks and some antique kitchen ware. Even the clothes are pretty nice and sellable.

Rodbuster209 · Oct 29, 2014

billjustbill said:
The retired guys I have breakfast with ask me what I've found lately while metal detecting. New guys to the group ask how much I find....

I look at them and simply say, "You wouldn't believe what I find going to garage sales instead metal detecting! Treasure comes in all forms from old tools to fountain pens to gold and silver. I find 10 times more gold and silver at garage sales than I ever did when regularly going detecting! Plus, I'm usually back home to show the wife my purchases by 10:30 or 11:00."

When the new guy asked what's the most I found, I have to smile and tell about the week when I went on a Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Spending under $150 on silverware and sterling jewelry, that weekend I brought home a total of "3 TROY POUNDS" OF Sterling..... When I called my brother, who lives in Hawaii and uses his MineLab Excalibur on Waikiki Beach , he nearly dropped the phone...."

What's best about Garage sales is the same saying metal detector people say: "Nobody gets it All"

I have to agree with you, I too have found way more pm's going to garage sales than metal detecting and the people are inviting you over to their place instead of having to secure permission which is really hard to around here! Good Luck!

billjustbill · Oct 29, 2014

Your storage bay find is great!

Around my area, a smaller town outside of the Ft. Worth, Tx. Metroplex, the owners of these storage businesses just dumbfound me. They place an ad in the newspaper telling of their storage bay auctions.... Then they list the contents!!!

An opened storage bay, selling off used furniture, assorted items, and used clothing, to Second Hand store owners and "end of use people who buy for themselves", are the only bidders.

Makes me wonder what the owners have already carted off?

packerbacker · Oct 29, 2014

Another of our lockers had some higher end fishing poles with reels, a rollaway tool box full of tools and a whole box of pornographic vcr tapes.

Paleo_joe · Oct 29, 2014

A couple of friends of mine got heavily into buying storage units. They did pretty well on some, but it was a lot of work clearing them out. They ended up having to use a rent house one of them owned to store stuff in. They couldn't find a good outlet for things like furniture that have too much value to throw away but not enough value to justify putting a ton of work into it.

The people who did the best owned small town auctions and they'd just trailer it all up there and sell it.

dejapooh · Oct 29, 2014

I know a lot of people who wanted to go into it, and bring me in with them. I said I would join in as soon as they could reasonably answer one question... What are they going to go with all of the stuff that is not treasure? most lockers have a ton of stuff and no treasure. It is the rare locker that has a gun or rare collectible in it. Once you figure out what to do with the clothes, pots, pans, and so on and make enough money to pay for the room and our time, I am in... No one ever answered the question well enough for me to go in.

They all lost money and kept at it until their houses were full of stuff.

packerbacker · Oct 29, 2014

We figure whatever we can't sell on ebay, craigslist or yard sale we can just donate to Goodwill or the Salvation Army and maybe get a bit of a tax write-off too. Here is the jewelry and just the beginning of all the other stuff. We built some shelves in one of my son's storage sheds so we could start setting stuff out to sell. We found a little more jewelry since the pic was taken.

Gold Maven · Oct 30, 2014

That Jointed Pikie is not only a cool find, it is a deadly Pike and walleye lure.

My Dad and Uncles all had great stories about them, and a couple chewed up veterans survived the old days, but most of them reside on the bottom of Canadian Lakes.

Nice finds.

dejapooh · Oct 30, 2014

packerbacker said:
We figure whatever we can't sell on ebay, craigslist or yard sale we can just donate to Goodwill or the Salvation Army and maybe get a bit of a tax write-off too. Here is the jewelry and just the beginning of all the other stuff. We built some shelves in one of my son's storage sheds so we could start setting stuff out to sell. We found a little more jewelry since the pic was taken.

Most of the stuff on the shelving unit looks like the stuff I would normally walk right by. Most of that stuff is just too cheap to sell on Ebay or Amazon. The local market is almost non-existent. As I say when I come to the typical garage sale with that stuff... "Slide on by, jello puddin, slide on by!"

releventchair · Oct 30, 2014

They retired, but a family ran a second hand store in a nearby community. A great source for well priced furniture plus all other decent items from storage facilities,(seen them at auctions) plus other sources. Did the community good by providing affordable furnishings. A dumpster, a pole barn and they did well. We have a site several miles away I have not sold at that sees thousands of people over the course of a day about four times a year. Other shop owners sell at it as well as just individuals.

cheech · Oct 30, 2014

I've done a couple storage wars I started about two years ago I didn't really buy nothing that it was too expensive back then now that it died off a little about two months ago I picked up three units for $85 did pretty well made my money back and found some decent Jewelry plan on doing it again

frankendime · Oct 30, 2014

Nice score on the old lures. Bought a storage unit this past weekend. Been a couple years since I bought one. Paid $170 for a 10x10 and should get money back on misc; and not much trash. The thing that made me bid on it was the Franklin Electric 5HP submersible pump and motor that was standing at the door. Took and had tested and checked good 170psi deadhead and 78 gpm open flow and 68 gpm at 100 psi. About a $2000 dollar setup. I happy...

packerbacker · Oct 31, 2014

Yep, we're already in the black ourselves. Yesterday we sold over $350 in jewelry alone plus a lot of other stuff. We have paid for all 3 units, a moving van rental, a one month storage on the locker we still have and the dump fee for the stuff we took to the dump so now what we make is all profit. We still haven't gone through everything we took to my son's house and we still have a storage locker half full of things we haven't gone through yet.