J.W., a vendor at one of Tammy's Antique & Flea Market shows, has attended these auctions. He said now that the TV show has become popular more people are attending and the prices paid for storage units are going up. But he noticed that people with winning bids not showing up for later auctions. He thinks they paid too much and lost money, found out lots of the stuff is worthless and it costs to haul it to the landfill, and found out most units don't have hidden treasures like on the TV show.
At the 2 pm auction there were four units sold. The first unit was sold before we arrived. The second unit was half filled with what looked to be tanning equipment and duct work. The unit sold for $200. The third unit was quite full of household stuff and sold for $800. Man, stuff is selling high. The last unit was a half sized unit at 5' by 10' with junky household stuff. That unit sold for $225. All told, the 2 pm auction was over in 35 minutes.
When we arrived at the 6 pm auction people were still in the viewing mode for the first unit. The way the auctions work is they cut the lock and we have five minutes to file by and look at the unit from the outside. We can't go inside the unit. Some people had flashlights but on this bright sunny day they weren't really needed. People murmured to their friends about items they saw or what could be in some boxes. Toys, tools, mirrors, cabinets, furniture, vacuum cleaners, etc. Tammy seemed to think any older unusual furniture could be antique. I don't think so.
Mattresses, couches and vacuum cleaners were common. Many units looked to be an entire household's contents. One could tell the difference between family and single men units based on the stuff inside. Some units had stuff stacked and arranged nicely; other units were a jumble of stuff tossed in there willy-nilly.
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| First unit viewing at the 6 pm auction |
Would you pay $300 to $400 for this storage unit?
I was surprised this unit sold for only $500.
This unit sold for $50. It had a look that the unit's renter had gone through the stuff and took the good stuff and left the crap.
One unit hardly had anything in it and the auctioneer closed it up right after opening it as it wasn't worth selling.
The 6 pm auction of eight units lasted 50 minutes. Most unit went for lots of money. The highest priced unit went for $1100. The unit had a lot of stuff in it but it looked like household stuff. Was it worth $1100? Not to my eyes.
Just like the TV show all the winning bidders paid cash for the unit. In this case immediately after winning the bid.
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