5th, 6th & 7th Units

Still in the process of moving new stuff out of the units. These were won at an online 
auction. Paid $582.21 which included a packed 10x15'. Really good deal relative to my last trip, which costed more for only 2 small units (probably overpaid for those, but it's actually turning out alright). 

5th unit ($44) 

6th unit ($132) 

 

7th unit (Spider-Man unit) 

I call it the Spider-Man unit not only because it contains a LOT of Spidey merchandise (stuffed animals, action figures, cups, etc.), but there were several live spiders in the unit as well. This stuff has been here for awhile as I found a bunch of cobwebs. Seems like I will have to take the (really) bad with the good in this business. Lots of dust on everything as well, which severely triggered my allergies. I'd probably prefer live insects over piles of dust 

if they all weren't poisonous/lethal. Looking forward to finding a dead or live rat in the future (not really, but almost expecting it). 

This unit was packed pretty well for the most part. Looking good for $407. There's barely trash in the boxes. Lots of borderline valuable stuff worth saving though, such as a bunch of stuffed animals in good condition. Good for garage sales. Most of the stuff is of quality and neatly packed. The paperwork I found showed very few past payments due, so it's less likely she defaulted on the unit. It's not a top priority, but I'm somewhat curious to why certain units were abandoned. It kind of helps on generally valuing the contents as well. Apparently this lady SPOILED (and loved) her kid. Tons of toys and lots of boxes with his name on it. Doesn't strike me as someone hurting to pay on time. Maybe she's really well off and gave up on the childhood stuff.

On a side note, I think there's someone living in the unit next door. The light was on, door closed, and I heard a small noise while cleaning out my unit. Legalities aside, it's actually not a bad idea if rent isn't affordable. Plenty of space and quiet time.

4th Unit

I decided to get a dirt cheap unit so I looked at an online storage auction site. I won it for $11.81. The upside is that I can't lose much (it's possible that it costed more to drive to and from there). The downside is that it looked like trash based on the pictures. But, I was willing to gamble on finding an unexpected item or two. 

I didn't find anything that interesting. The baseball mitts as pictured could each go for $20-30 online, but that may take awhile. I did find something in a plastic bag (not pictured) -- a Calvin Klein suit in good condition, as well as Perry Ellis dress pants. I also found a small flashlight that I could use for future auctions. They're probably not that expensive, but I'm too lazy to go buy one anyways, so that works out. Not a home run unit, but should be able to make a few bucks.

I think if online auctions end at odd hours, it's likely that they can end up cheaper than live auctions as live seems to be more popular. Also, bidding wars seem less likely. I will integrate them into my business plan as it seems like an interesting and convenient option.

Gold & Silver Update

I brought in some potential gold and silver to my local coin shop. I'm still having a difficult time telling if metals are real or fake myself. Some pieces I thought were real were not real, and vice versa. I will probably have the rest of my vintage jewelry checked out as I don't want to accidentally let the good stuff go. I sold about $420 worth of metal, which came out to be $293.36 received (they take 70% of spot, which is pretty fair compared to typical pawn shops). As of today I am finally in the green after all 3 units' costs.

2nd/3rd Units & Update from 1st Unit

My first unit turned out to be a mild success; doubled my original investment by selling 
mainly skincare products. Most of them are sold. I definitely wouldn't mind finding another locker with those same items. Took a little over a week to break even; probably could've sold them faster if I had listed them right away. There's still some things of value left (mostly common household goods). They would be suitable for a yard sale, which I plan on running once the weather cools down a bit. 

I won my next two lockers at the same place last Wednesday. Felt like I overpaid a bit, given the situation. Got into a tennis-type match bidding war with another guy. $555 for both. The second unit was $165, a little more than what I paid for the first one and had less than half the amount of stuff in it (all of it actually fit in my passenger car). Neatly stacked. Lots of books and clothes. At first I thought it was stuff that belonged to a teenage girl, but later found out she was a lady in her mid-40's. Nothing of significant value that I could find. Very modern as I found a box for the Samsung Galaxy S4. There's some quality clothes. It's possibly to break even on this one, and possibly make a little, but it'll take a bit of time and work. At least everything is clean and smells good, which is more than I can say for the first one!

Paid $390 for the third locker. I think it was a 5x5', though it was pretty packed full of boxes. I noticed a chest as the door opened, as well as a wheelchair, walker, golf stuff, and massage equipment. I didn't think of it much at the time, but these are signs of an elder, or even someone who passed away. Of course, elderly people's lockers are more preferable than a college student's. Now I know that's one more thing to look for. 

The big stuff can be sold at a yard sale. This lady apparently kept a LOT of trash (mainly paperwork and lots of unopened bills). But she also left a bit of change and stamps all over the place, so I got a "rebate"...$26.44 to be exact. It's a start! So far I've found: 

- Minolta camera lens and accessories 

- reflexology foot spa, neck massager, Homedics, more massage stuff, etc.

- golf equipment 

- movie projector, vintage electronics

- bunch of books, some personally signed (no big names, though that would be great)

- shoes and belts (I think those are the only clothes I found; kind of a good thing as I already have a surplus)

- Jet-Stream oven (apparently they go for about $60-100 depending on condition...kind of annoying to ship, but can't complain)

- china set

- most importantly, a bunch of vintage jewelry and possible REAL gold! Going to get some checked out soon.

Again, a bit of work selling the small stuff, but at least there's moderate value. Some of the potential gold pieces are stamped 14k (more likely to be real, but we'll see). It would be great for them to at least cover the cost of the two units, hopefully more. It will take some time, but I should at least double or triple the original cost. This unit is considered a winner!

First Auction Unit!

I went alone to my first storage unit auction on Tuesday. It was somewhat intimidating, even with only 10-15 people there. The procedure you see on "Storage Wars" is pretty accurate (though for filming purposes they probably only air the good stuff found out of many, many units). Based on my research you will find lots of garbage, along with common household goods, and once in awhile a jackpot unit that pays off exponentially. 

The crowd walked inside upstairs to the first unit up for auction; a 5x5' with several hanged clothes and neatly stacked boxes visible. I made the mistake of not bringing a flashlight to briefly glance at the unit, though that was no problem as other people had them. The bidding opened at $25, which was a little more than expected. I've heard of similar type units starting at $1 and finishing at way less than $100. I think I was the 3rd or 4th bidder. I didn't hear any verbal bids from the other bidders, just hand raises. "$125, going once, going twice." I then raised my hand at the last second (I decided I really wanted this one). No other bids. I won my first unit! The crowd didn't look too excited. It was more like "that newbie just bid over $100 on that garbage."

It was actually $135 after everything ($125 + tax + 25 refundable cleaning deposit). Nevertheless, it was the type of unit I was looking for. I didn't plan on renting a cargo van, so my car would have to do. As long as the contents could fit in my car, with 2 or 3 round trips, with filled boxes, it's pretty much my ideal unit. I locked it up and had under 60 hours to completely clean it out. 

I was pretty excited and started going through some of the boxes (they were stacked a lot neater than above). Nothing really stood out, but not that much garbage either. A lot of personal effects as well as household items. 

I did find an NES (Nintendo) console along with seven games; if not good for resale value, it's worth the personal entertainment value alone. 

A breakdown of other stuff I've found so far: 

- lots of pictures in photo frames

- pots and pans, dining utensils, etc.

- IBM computer and many parts (keyboards, hard drives, cables, etc. some still sealed)

- Sony DVD player, PS2 controller and 16 games, DVD's, lots of CD's (original software. may be sellable)

- cookbooks, computer books

- lots of shoe shiner
- Brother sewing machine
- Craftsman toolbox w/ tools
- matchbooks, postcards, etc.

- clothes (at least one pair of pants with tags, leather jacket, lots more)

- jewelry box tucked away inside clothes! nothing special here, a few copper pennies and foreign coins, watches that I will probably sell/scrap for parts. hopefully some are made of silver/gold.

- sealed makeup and skincare products -- didn't think much of them at first, but they are going for decent prices online. I will probably break even on these alone.

Multiples of these! Found some Avon as well.

The worst thing about this unit was a bag of used clothes that smelled terrible! A room full of this scent could be a viable form of torture. Thankfully I haven't encountered many bad smells in my lifetime, but it's safe to say this is in the top 3 (one of those being the worst smelling person). Used underwear mixed in with other clothes containing beyond bad body odor. OK, enough about that. The good news is that that was the worst part. I didn't find any live/dead rats in the unit, insects, etc. As a matter of fact there was some sealed food that has yet to expire. 

So there you have it. I haven't looked through everything yet (there's like 15 filled boxes -- a good thing!), but I will update this if I find anything else worthy of sharing. Lots of common household items which I'd probably use and keep rather than selling and shipping. Optimistically there's a few hundred bucks worth of resellable items. Lots of stuff I currently don't need, but will be useful in the future (saving a few bucks!). I plan to break even before buying another unit. That way I can patiently wait to sell the remainder of the contents at decent prices.

Thanks to the show, finding something valuable such as bars of gold is almost expected, but the reality is it would be extremely unlikely. I would be happy finding a bunch of unused makeup, or even a unit full of Hunger Games merchandise. Hopefully this is the start of a successful journey.