Has anyone seen the new show Storage Wars on A&E? Last night I watched and a buyer bought a unit for $400 and didn't really want it. In one of the boxes was a coin collection worth approximately $4,000+...so he made 10x what he payed...Has anyone seen this show, or tried buying units at auctions?
I haven't see the show but I played this game a long time ago. Just like I imagine happens in the show, you win some and you lose some. The storage contents I bought had mainly personal belongings from someone who more than likely had been evicted and just put everything they owned in a locker. I paid $75 for four locked suitcases and a dozen cardboard boxes. Most of it was clothing but in one of the suitcases was some jewelry and a couple of cameras. After I sold them, I cleared about $100. I did see a few people that found watches, rings etc, in their buys. Most of the stuff was pretty mediocre. The show is going to show you big finds which like anything is rare.
I do like pawn stars and american pickers. Ive thought about giving this show a chance but when scrolling through the guide I usually pick some other show or rerun *like family guy*.
There's another show that is similar called "Auction Hunters." Being an auction addict, I find these shows quite interesting.
Ive actually seen the previews of it and some interviews on daytime talkshows, never had a interest to see that one.
Storage wars does bring to light a problem. I've done some research and there have been cases (not on the show) where storage lockers were busted open and auctioned by mistake. If this happens you have no recourse unless you have insurance and even then you won't be fully covered. I looked into getting one at one point because I was trying to buy one house and sell another and I was afraid I might be temporarily homeless. Safe depost boxes are only so big. You can't fit everything in there that you have that is valuable. I would bet that there are quite a few coin collectors that also are gun collectors.
I have seen the show. I also know a bit about these auctions, and although I would never dispute the television drama presented, I have never been as "lucky". No I have never found a Jackson Pollack at the dump either or a Monet hidden behind any art I purchased at auction. My thinking goes "If I had a $4,000 coin in storage, why not sell it and settle my bill ?" I mean, you have access for a pretty good time span before it is in default. I mean you must know you own the coin, after all, you put it in there ? Seems, strange that vast numbers of people forget they have cash and other liquid assets or valuable art or jewelry sitting in storage and don't go get them out immediately when money gets tight. Even if you were in jail, you could send your attorney or family member with the key. Just saying that it seems strange to me. As was previously stated, you gotta wonder how many of these renters are getting ripped off ? I mean, some serviceman's check get's "misplaced" and his stuff gets sold out from under him or something. I think there needs to be some sort of investigation as to what "tenant's rights " should be and perhaps it should be uniform by Federal Regulation or something ? gary
I was thinking maybe some of it is from people who pass away and don't tell anyone they have such stuff in storage...or they have no close relatives...or their relatives don't find out about the unit?
People will watch anything. I'd like to rent a storage building, fill it full of lead lined empty boxes, put a lock on it, and leave town. :rollling:
A long time ago, a friend of mine purchased the contents of a storage unit at a public auction. The contents were listed as card board boxes, 22 ea. He paid about $80 all said and done and when he went to claim the contents, it was all leather sandals in shoe boxes and they weren't even his size. He gave away as many as he could, the rest that had mildewed were eventually tossed in the dumpster. Lost his behind on the one time he took a gamble.
Sometimes I get ticked off at the Post Office and I'd like to put some bricks in one of those flat rate boxes and ship them to a business that I hate. Or maybe use a fake address and fake return address and insure it! Wait, I think that's illegal, darn!
Hmm? Unsearched storage lockers? What makes you think some of them will be any different than some of the SleazeBay sellers offering unsearched bags? Chris
I would have to wonder the same thing. The only way this could happen was if somebody died and they had no living relatives nearby or didn't tell their relatives about the unit or what was in it. The reality of it is that 99% of these storage units are filled with JUNK that nobody has room to store at their house, but it's not stuff that should be thrown away. I can't imagine why anybody would store valuables in these units. Most are not temp controlled. The cheap little padlocks that go on the doors will keep kids out but not a professional thief with a pair of bolt cutters. I wouldn't put anything in one that I wasn't willing to have stolen, personally. It would be hard to want to pay for that for decades. One time I saw a woman and who was most likely her son, go to one of these units and open it up. They pulled the door up, and once the light of day shown upon the contents, all I heard was "Oh......My......God!!!!" And I was quite a distance away. It looked like somebody had professionally packed that thing, left to right, floor to ceiling, packed solid! They apparently were checking it out for the first time! I'm afraid somebody would have to pay ME to go through storage units like this. No way in hell I'd be wasting my money on buying trucks loads of somebody else's junk and then have to handle it myself. Surely wouldn't buy it all blindly.
I have to admit that I do find this show somewhat amusing/entertaining. It is sort of like roll searching...you never know what you are going to get. TC
