Storage Locker Auctions Near Me – Bid on Storage Units

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Storage locker auctions are an amazing way to find valuable items that you can resell. Made popular, by the show Storage Wars, people seek their hidden fortunes at public storage units in hope of uncovering valuables. The question though is often asked, where do you find local storage locker auctions? Below I will answer where to find them, how they work, some tips, and my experience with the storage locker auctions near me.

Find Storage Locker Auctions Near Me – Use the Locator Map Below

If you are searching for “Storage Locker Auctions Near Me” or “Storage Unit Auctions Near Me”, use the map below to find locations that host unit and locker auctions. You can fine tune your results with the map controls below…

How to Find Storage Locker Auctions Near Me

Everyday across the United States, self-storage lockers are abandon by their owners and the contents become available for auction. These auctions are built for people who can assess value quickly, like to gamble, and are thrill seekers. What you find behind the doors of some of these storage units is a complete mystery, which is what makes these events potentially exciting. The question though is, how do i find storage unit auctions near me?

Here is how I find my local storage unit auctions:

Google “Events” Search

The first way I find storage unit auctions near me, is to search Google. You probably already know that searching for storage unit auctions near me, generates a list of public storage unit businesses. Since storage unit auctions are more like pop up events, you need to know how to find them…

Pro Tip:One of my best secrets is using Google “Events” to find storage locker auctions in my area. Most auction hunters do not know to use this Google tool. Therefore you can find events that they don;t know about. This means you may be the most experienced bidder there. Google Events will list all the major self-storage auctions, but also smaller ones that are “pop-up” events.

Try Google Events Here: Storage Locker Auctions Near Me This Week

Using Storage Unit Auction Finder Sites

Several websites specialize in finding storage locker auctions. These sites allow you to enter your zip code and then find all of the storage unit auctions in your area. Some sites charge a subscription to use there services. The way the sites gather information is usually one of two ways. First auctions will pay to be featured or alternatively the results are derived by crowd sourcing.

Here are a few of the most popular sites for finding storage locker auctions near me:

Calling Public Storage Unit Businesses

Another option for finding these events is to call your local self-storage businesses and ask if and when they run auctions. Some of the most popular self storage companies post their auctions online. If yours is not a big box brand storage company, you can call them and ask.

Popular self storage locker companies who list events online:

How Do Live Storage Locker Auctions Near Me Work

When a storage locker is abandon or now in lien, the self storage company schedules an auction to purge the contents. This serves two purposes: It allows the self-storage company to recoup lost rental wages and it clears the locker out for a new tenant. For a storage company last legal measure they can take in order to reclaim the unit. The self-storage company hires an auctioneer to run an event which abandon units are sold to highest bidder.

The participants are often a mix of veterans and first timers, hoping to score a deal on someone else’s possessions. Each person who bids enters into a legally binding agreement that if they should be the highest bidder, that they will pay the agreed upon sum.

Flow of the Event

All events can work with some slight variations, but this is the general flow of the storage locker auctions near me…

Registration Before the Event

Before an auction starts all buyers must register in order to bid. Some places will have online sign ups, while others will be in the administrative office on the day of the event. Generally you will need a government issued ID and proof of finances.

Preview Period – Guess Whats Inside

Auctioneers and the buyers will walk to each unit one by one, auctioning each locker as they go. They will clip the lock from the unit and open the door for a preview period. The buyers are not allowed to step foot in the unit or touch anything. They are only allowed to view the contents from the outside and make educated guesses as to what they see in the unit and how valuable it “may be”.

We Will Start the Bidding At…

These events are typically no reserve auctions and the auctioneer will make an educated estimate of where to start the bidding. It will be low enough to entice some action and get the bids going. The auctioneer will facilitate the action in a fast past manner, with a language that sounds like gibberish. To bid people will either raise hands or vocally shout in order to indicate they are bidding. Each bid raises the last in ascending order until the highest offer is determined.

Sold To…

When the auctioneer shouts “sold” the bid ends and the winner takes possession of the storage locker. The payment must be made immediately. Most places only accept cash (because they don’t want to deal with credit card charge backs) and be prepared to pay sales tax on top of your final bid. Once the unit is paid in full, the new owner can start cleaning it out as long as no other units around it are being auctioned.

Post Sale Process

Some places will also bang you for a $100 cleaning deposit to hold until the unit is cleared. You usually only have till close of business the following day to clear out the unit. Some places will let you rent the unit for one month, while you clean it out.

Know The Rules for Bidding on Storage Lockers

All Auctions may have some variations and certain rules will vary state to state. While many of these are probably common sense, you should review them before you bid and make any assumptions.

• Your bid is on the entire storage locker. You can not bid on one particular item inside of it
• The auction is no reserve and no limit.
• The locker will go to whomever bids the highest monetary amount
• The winning buyer must pay in full with cash immediately upon winning
• A Cleaning deposit (varies by state), can be held until you remove all of the items
• The winning bidder has till close of business the following day to clear out all the belongings
• If a vehicle is inside, no title is transferred. It is sold as parts only.
• If sentimental items are discovered or items of personal and legal bearing such as photos, tax documents, ID’s, and legal records, they must be given to the self-storage company.
• Fire arms need to be turned into the local police

Online Locker Auctions vs Public Auctions

There are storage locker auction held online. This allows you to bid from home or on your phone. This is a benefit for both the self-storage company and they participants. It means that a larger market can be reached and the event can take place in any weather. It also offers the buyers an opportunity to do some digging online. For instance, if you see in the photo some 57 Chevy hub caps or a Kenmore refrigerator, you can look on Ebay and see what the current going rate is. This will help you know how much you can sell it for and help frame how much you should bid on the unit.

While bidding online has some advantages…pictures don’t always tell the whole story. Going to a live event let’s you see inside in much greater detail that you just can’t see online. You are allowed to bring a flashlight, I’ve even seen people at storage unit auctions near me, cleverly use a mirror. While you can’t lean or reach into the unit, you might spot something valuable you can sell second hand.

Another advantage of going to an auction is using your nose. Smelling the unit will reveal a few things. Is there mold in there and how much damage could it have done to the valuables. Secondly was the owner a smoker which means everything smells like nicotine and much of it will be garbage.

Similar Auctions You May Like

Storage unit auctions are peoples personal things, that you bid on inside of a unit. Sometimes businesses also have units that get abandon. These take a few different forms.

• Container auctions (like shipping containers)

Nearest Post Box Near Me

All of these will run just like an auction at a self-storage, so you may want to research those as well.

Local Post Office Boxes Near Me

Storage Locker Auctions Near Me

Local Post Box Near Me Zip

Storage unit auctions are a lot of fun, but not for the faint of heart, You can find incredibly valuable things inside of these units, but more often then not, it’s a bit anti-climactic. Going into an auction, you should already have a good idea on how you are going to remove the items and resell things you don’t want to keep. When it comes to these style of auctions, there is no telling what the price will be. Some will go for $100 while others can go for thousands…it depends on what you can see from the door. There are also participants there who schill, which mean they intentionally drive the price up. This is what I have learned from the storage locker auctions near me.