Ten ways to make money at storage auctions

Ten ways to win at storage auctions

Your blood is pumping, your mind is racing, you’ve just broken out in a sweat much like a gambler at a poker table. You are a storage auction buyer! Buying the remains of someones unclaimed life can be very profitable or very dangerous.  The truth is you just don’t know what you’re in for when you buy the contents of a storage bin at auction. But there are some ways you can hedge your bets, here are  my top ten.

1. Consider continuing the rental on the space. I see so many storage buyers fret what they are going to do with the cumbersome contents of a storage space. Often they’ll go through a lot of extra, unnecessary expense to get the unit cleaned out by deadline. Why not consider renting the unit out for an extra month. In some cases, it may even be possible to buy an extra week or two from the storage company. For an extra $50 to $150 you can leave the item right where they are, and in many cases, re-sell the contents to another person. Market it on Craiglist or eBay etc.
2. Pre-sell what you have. If you are a regular buyer of storage bins, or you always have a supply of merchandise for sale. Run a perpetual “items for sale” ad.
3. Study the local of the auction. Generally speaking, auctions in wealthier areas will yield better lots, items in poor areas, not so much. This isn’t a foolproof method of course, but remember, we’re trying to work with odds here. The auction business is a statistics game. Rarely is a fortune made or lost in a single buy.
4. RESEARCH your unusual finds. I can’t stress this enough. If you think you’ve found something rare, don’t just blow it out to keep liquid. Take a take some time to research the more rare items. (art, coins, precious metals, sports memorabilia and other categories often deserve a closer look)
5. Keep liquid. This may seem to conflict with the point I’ve just noted, but it really applies to the items you have more knowledgable with. Don’t try to get the last buck out of anything. If you want to build a good customer base with dealers, (and you should because they buy a LOT more than retail customers) leave room for profit. When it’s prudent, selling fast will keep your cash flowing.
6. Plan your time, plot the geography. If you’re familiar with the biz, you know that a lot of auctions get cancelled. With the high price of gas, it’s a good idea to have a backup plan in case you get there and all the auctions are cancelled, or you don’t get any units. Are there yard sales in the area? How about cruising Craigslist to see if there are any bulk buys being offered in the area?
7. Don’t let other buyers influence your bidding. Period. Ever. Keep to this rule and you’ll see it’s wisdom in every buy. Buy the locker you want at the price you want (or less) regardless of what others are doing.
8. Change your bidding strategy as often as possible. Bidding at auctions is a lot like poker, don’t show your cards.
9. Learn the auctioneers style. Some auctioneers close the bidding quickly, others wait longer and give an obvious indication that they are closing. Learn their style and techniques. Often the auctioneers are much easier to read than your competition.
10. Don’t bet the rent. Do NOT go to an auction if you don’t have the cash to gamble with. It’s likely going to take at least a few hundred dollars to win the bid on a unit. Although you can get a unity many times for less. Sometimes you can buy a locker as cheap as $5. But those cases are rare, and if you’re going to go out, make sure you can afford to lose the $ you have. While an educated guess, can help you from losing money, there is always the possibility that it can cost you more to clean out the unit than it will bring, compounding the initial investment loss! Bidding with money that you can’t afford to spend also clouds the decision making/bidding process. Desperate bidders are often foolish bidders.

Keep those ten rules in mind and you should win a lot more than you lose. Be kind to other’s and remember, the fun is all in the hunt!

Buy better - sell more

A diamond in the rough - Parker duo-fold jr. sold for $150 at auction.

Who want’s to buy this piece of crap at a a ridiculously high price? Yeah, that’s a stupid way to open a sales pitch. Isn’t it? Yet every day many thousands of Internet  sellers effectively say just that same thing in their listing descriptions.

Oh of course they don’t use that exact phrasing, but they might as well. You see, most people offer dull, boring products at average prices. But an average price just doesn’t cut it when on the Web, people can find uber competitive prices with just a few clicks.

Do you sell common inventory? No problem, IF you sell it at an uncommon price, or with exceptional circumstances! If everyone else is selling widgets in the price range of $4.99-$5.99 and these widgets are plentiful, the only way to excel when selling them is in one of four ways:

• by beating everyone’s price by a significant margin
• by bundling the product with others to make a unique offer
• by providing uncommon service
• by associating yourself with a cause

Of those four options, the most likely room for improvement for the average, (you’re going to see that word used a lot here) seller is in the first two bulleted point’s above, so let’s deal with those first.

First and foremost, what every seller can and should do no matter what their sales are like, is become a better buyer. The cheaper you can get your products and supplies, the  lower you can price your product. So many times I consult with new sellers and they ask: “How can I sell more?” Or they’ll say “I started out so good, now sales are dead. What is happening?”
 Many times after taking a quick look at their situation, I tell them that they have to become more savvy when buying. Here’s what happens so often with new online sellers.

They have good luck the first few times around, usually selling things they found in their attic, basement etc.
After the initial sales, they invest in new stock and F-L-O-P! Why? Because they items they sold to begin with were things they owned already, they didn’t have to buy them for the business, so any money made was all profit. Then they go out in the real world to invest their newfound wealth, and pay too much for inventory in an effort to stock the shelves. Huge mistake, in fact of the people that quit selling online, this first critical error is the one that usually knocks beginners out of the game.

You MUST become a good buyer if you’re going to win at this. There are many ways to do this, and we’ll talk about those in the future, but for now, take this advice and drill it into your head. Get good at buying, because well bought, is half sold, as the saying goes. There is not one thing you can do that is more important to your bottom line.

Of the four bulleted points above, the next most feasible option for the average seller, is to bundle common products with other items to make a unique offer.
Do you have 500 Beanie Babies to sell? Well Beanie Babies have trended out of the market’s favor, but they can still be sold if you spice up the offer with a fun related item.

I’m sure you have a lot of your own ideas on how bundling might work for you and on ways you can become a better buyer of great items. So get to work on those and your sales will jump by leaps and bounds!

I’m skipping the last two points here, because without strict adherence to the first two, these really don’t matter. And if you’re smart enough to figure out how to implement the first two, then you won’t need me for ideas on the last two.

There is one thing we left out of the mix, but that’s because it doesn’t apply to the AVERAGE sale item. That’s of course to find super items. Some sellers just have a knack for finding rare inventory that is begged for in the marketplace. And guess what. Training yourself to become a better buyer will bring you a fair share of “diamonds in the rough” and when you find them, you won’t have to concern yourself with competitive pricing and sales techniques.

 More often than not, those type of finds come to the movers and shakers, those who educate themselves and learn their trade. The people that seem to have a knack for finding these treasures put in the time to learn their trade.

It’s time to decide: are you in business, or is it a hobby?

Get to work.

Preaching for AuctionWally's Gloucester, MA auction

What do you think of my new youtube commercial? 

Refill your Canon Pixima printer - out of ink error problem solved

Canon ink cartridges for the Pixima series is expensive! As an auctioneer, I need to print a lot of copies, but when I used to refill my black ink, (or color ink) cartridges, I would get an “out of ink” error message. 

Here’s the easy fix!

Once you get the …*there is no ink left replace cartridge* hit and hold the reset button for 5 seconds. This will disapble the ink monitor and you’ll be all set. 

No you can save tons of money and refill those costly ink cartridges without issue. This works for the color inks as well.

Give the ink cartridges a shake after you use them to let the ink soak in.

Please hit the “Like, or Stumble” buttons to let others know about this useful tip. 


one problem when i did refill the inks i got lines on the paper because i did not let the ink cartage soak in ,if you know what i mean 

Unusual Banjo Uke from Rockport estate in March 7th auction

Waverly Music Prodcts Banjo Uke

One of my favorite things to find in old homes is a stringed instrument. Recently in Rockport I found an item which I had no idea of what it was when I found it. It looked like a very short banjo. Shorter than a tenor banjo but very well built.

It turns out that it’s a Ukelele, to be specific, a banjo Uke. It has it’s original case, paperwork and even some old strings.

Since I’m in Gloucester MA, and there are more talented musicians here per capita than probably anywhere else on the planet, I’m really jazzed to have it in my March 7th auction coming up. 

I’m hoping to get it set up before the sale, but it still needs a bridge. (An accessory that should be no problem to find) If you’re in the Gloucester MA area, and may have a Uke bridge to fit this, please let me know, I’d be happy to compensate for your help!

This Banjo Uke is in excellent condition, it was made by Waverly Music Products co. Here’s a link to one that sold  on eBay recently. The one in my auction will be sold without reserve.