A growing trend
Trash or treasure?
Auctioneers who run storage unit auctions say they are busier than ever.
When people fall too far behind on their storage unit payments, the company that owns the unit auctions off the contents to open up the space for another customer.
Business booming for auctioneers
This has been happening more frequently than ever at storage unit companies all over the U.S.
“We are hearing from auctioneers across the country that they are seeing an increase,” said Chris Longley, spokesman for the National Auctioneers Association.
Unexpected contents
The Associated Press points out that while the auctions themselves are a sign of the times, the contents for sale can be even more telling:
“The troubled economy is reflected in the items being sold — trendy clothes, high-end appliances and other indicators that the owners were, until recently, well off.”
Perhaps people who have never needed payday loans or learned about debt consolidation just didn’t know what to do when they couldn’t make their storage unit payments.
Full of surprises
Until the auctioneer yells “sold!” the contents in the unit still belong to the original owners. The entire contents is auctioned off for one lump sum, and buyers cannot touch any items until after their purchase is complete. Auctioneers warn bidders to only bid on what they can see.
People come to these auctions in hopes of finding “buried treasure,” and sometimes they do. Rich Schur of Schur Success Auction Services in Colorado Springs, Colo., tells the story of one unusually lucky bidder.
“There was one where they bought the unit and moved the boxes and found a Harley. For $400 or $500, they got a unit with a $10,000 motorcycle in it.”
By the numbers
Schur’s company has seen the number of units it auctions jump from 950 in 2007 to 1,250 in 2008. In January alone, the company auctioned 250 units. Wayne Blair said his Michigan-based business has seen its number of auctions rise about 10 percent in the last year, according to the Associated Press.
Auctions like at storage units, or estate auctions, and especially police and impound auctions are great ways to pick up a lot of stuff on the cheap. You can buy a car for a few hundred dollars that is only a few years old, if you know what you’re doing.