There are many different aspects and reasons why people choose to participate in auctions. Many have no clue where to start and how to begin. Auctions are a great way to meet new people, sources and ideas to either grow a business, a hobby or just intrigue your interest.

"A Modern Day Grab Bag Opportunity"

We all know and have heard of grab bags, the past time we all enjoyed where the mystery of buying undisclosed contents added to the perceived value and intrinsic joy of giving away money without know what your buying. Sometimes this would pay off and we'd get something we didn't even know we liked, or found a new passion for what was new. Other times we'd wish we didn't even buy the dumb bag in the first place. Auctions in many ways are just the same! What I mean is, often times auctions pay off incredible or hardly at all. The value is in never knowing what you could get - there are always surprises to auctions and many pay off very profitably.

Storage Unit Auctions

Storage unit auctions are usually live auctions in which the contents of the unit are being sold to the highest bidder due to rental tenants failure to pay the rental obligation to the storage company. Storage unit auctions are held in every city that has storage unit companies. How to go about finding these auctions is relatively easy, grab a phone book, call every storage company you can find and ask them when they will be holding their upcoming auctions (speak with the manager if the receptionist isnt giving you what you need).

• Low cost to start - the average amount paid at storage unit auctions is normally between $100 and $300, although there can be stiff competition for a unit which would decrease the chance of you purchasing a unit for a lot cheaper. However keep in mind the units with stiff competition is because the bidders see something of moderate to extreme value. Always remember bidders never plan to buy a unit for more than what they believe they could get for the property inside.
• Never-ending supply of merchandise - storage unit auctions are abundant, in any big city and even in medium to small towns. Wherever you find a storage company you will surely find tenants that either could not pay or didn't care for their property anymore and in return the company auctions off the property within the unit.
• Profitable opportunity - many of times things left behind in storage units are of priceless value, you could literally find anything. Remember tenants aren't paying a monthly fee to house trash whatever they have is still believed by the renters to be of value.
• Excellent product sourcing - storage units auctions are very diverse, the potential to procure a variety of products at the cheapest prices makes storage unit hunting unbeatable.

Okay you've decided to give storage hunting a try. First after you have called all your local storage companies and ask for their upcoming auctions dates there are a couple things you need to know.

1. Bring a high-powered flashlight - when storage auctions begin often times many companies will not allow you to completely inspect what is inside the unit. Most companies only allow you to look into the unit from the edge of the door. This is why it is paramount to bring a high powered flashlight so you can observe without obscurement exactly what is inside the unit.
2. Bring a lock N Key! - after you have successfully won a unit it is now your property and responsibility, you must lock it up until you plan to come back and remove the units contents. Many companies only allow you a 24 hour grace period for you to remove and clean the unit. Yes I said clean! nothing extravagant but you must sweep out and remove everything in the unit to avoid losing your down payment which is normally $40 to $150.
3. Dress for whats ahead - storage unit removal is often a dirty job, so be prepared to get a little dirty. Wear work clothes and try to enjoy the only dirty part about storage hunting.
4. Call the morning of the auction date - it isn't very often when storage companies cancel or re-dates an auction but it does occur. So to avoid any troubles call and confirm the auction date and how many units are being auctioned that same morning.
5. Arrive early - "To be on time is to be late and to be early is to be on time" - I don't recall the source of the quote but I do remember it. Showing up early for any event is always the wisest thing to do! so catch the worm!
6. Resale/sale tax license - if you have a resale license or state tax license bring it with you. Often times this will prevent you from having to pay sales tax on the unit you purchased. (A resale license is not required to attend these auctions, any and all are welcome just as long as you bring CASH!)
7. Name yourself on the auctioneer's mail list - normally a licensed auctioneer handles the auctions for the storage company. Every auctioneer will have a mailing list for you to join and by doing so allows you to save time searching for any future auction locations and dates.

The Inner Workings

The majority of storage unit auctions are verbal, or live auctions. The auctioneer and the bidders all meet at storage auction location and the auctioneer conducts a live auction acknowledging the bidders and giving the Going once, Going twice, SOLD routine. Terms and conditions vary from auctioneer to auctioneer so it is very important to pay close and full attention to the auctioneer when he is announcing conditions of sales before he starts the auction. Most and normally all storage unit auctions requires the winning bidder to pay in cash, the closing price of the unit plus a deposit and sales tax. The deposit is just to assure the storage company that you will clean out the unit once you remove the merchandise (normally between $40-$150). Before the actual bidding starts you are allowed to view the unit only from the edge of the doorway. Most storage units are the size of a small garage so the door will be lifted up and all will be allowed to view the unit from the edge of the doorway. Now many times the unit will be block by a big object at the beginning of the door way obscuring your view of the entire unit. When this occurs it is very critical that you have the eye of the tiger and make an informed price decision based on the actual items you can see. This is called the risk / payment ratio - the more risk that is present the less you should bid. The less risk taken the more you should bid. Like I mentioned earlier most storage unit auctions are between the price ranges of $100-$300, although many of them can dramatically increase in price due to valuable contents spotted by bidders. Its very paramount to understand exactly what a product could be sold for either through online auction sites like eBay, flea markets, garage sales or wherever you choose to venue your new products. By doing so you assure yourself that your going to keep a profit.

The Best Times For The Cheapest Deals!

The best times to attend a storage unit auction is on holidays and work days. This is because the less people who show up for the auction the lesser your competition and the cheaper you'll receive a unit for. This automatically increases your profit per unit, so if you can find auctions on holidays go get them! I promise there wont be many people there to compete with in price.

What You Might Find!

• Money
• Jewelry
• Collectibles
• Electronics
• Furniture
• Antiques
• Cars
• Computers
• Many Things Of Value!!!

Practice Makes Profit

The more auctions you attend the more chances you stand of running into some really invaluable merchandise. Also like anything, you'll begin to understand the process a hole lot more giving you a sharper ability to realize profit from loss when it come to bidding on units.
Profit In The Buy

Just like the stock market principle "buy low" "sell high" the same is true for any auction. You want to purchase merchandise as low as possible and sell for as high as reasonable. Of course your prices wont be retail but there still will be enough room to normally double your investment. Unless of course you come across an antique of some sort and quadruple your money or even more!
Presale Research Is Key

If you are like me and want to make a profit from these storage units you've got to do a little research. Many bidders attend auctions for the low prices of merchandise, but what is also equally as important is presale research of your selected venue. If you choose to sell everything at a yard sale like I normally do, it would be smart for you to check out your local yard sales and determine what products are going for what prices. The same is true for any venue, be that eBay, flea markets or wherever you choose to sale. See what the competition is selling the same product for and this will give you a current mind set of what people are willing to pay for certain items. This will greatly allow you to increase you profitability when it comes to you deciding what to pay for a storage unit.