This weekend I went out and did a little shopping. The stores were PACKED with Back To School Shoppers! I miss those days!!! New notebooks, fresh pencils and the hopes for a Successful New Year!! I ran into a friend who was with her grand child doing shopping duties for a return to school. She had a bedraggled look about her and when I stopped to say Hello, I asked her if things were good. Well, it seems my …
So, the other day, Chelsea, who works here at StorageUnitAuctionList.com and is an amazing and creative writer, researcher and finder of Far Out Facts, came to me with this piece she had worked on and asked me what I thought. “Whoa!” I hollered. “Everyone needs to read this!!!!! OMG!!!! Amazing!” So, with that being said…Chelsea and her fascinating work, takes over the blog today! Very very Interesting!!! What do YOU think? What really lies behind the doors of storage units…? …
Maybe it is a little late for those of you above the Mason-Dixon Line, but today’s post is about some of the less-than-often considered benefits of rotating your storage locker contents. Those of you out there that have and, more importantly, maintain a storage unit for your own personal items or inventory from your resell business know that it, too, is an investment. To that end, if you are going to keep up with your rental payments, then you likely …
Who says you have to wait for the end of December to do right by your community? Certainly not Amazing Spaces Storage Center in Houston, TX. They joined forces with Texas Self Storage Association (TSSA) back in 2004 just a few years after the TSSA started to “Make a Difference” in their community. Every year since its inception, members have been asked to join in the holiday spirit and donate a dollar each to the fundraising efforts. All of the …
In late January of the New Year, the Self Storage Association is holding their 28th Annual Ski Workshop at the Canyons Resort in Park City, UT. Y’all still have a month for early registration discounts on what sounds like one of the cooler events that has anything remotely to do with the self-storage industry. It’ll be a helluva great networking opportunity as well as offering up some quality yoga and centering/meditation opportunities. The ratio of time on the slopes to …
That’s right, everybody, it’s Trivia Tuesday. Get those synapses firing and press your luck for the chance to win one of our highly coveted Storage Unit Auction List coffee mugs. The temp outside is just going to keep dropping wherever you are out there, so let us know what you think the answer is and get yourself the proper coffee-and/or-hot-chocolate-carrying device. Hold the phone—there’s more to today’s riddle than the query above. First, some suspenseful buildup. The rapid expansion of …
Read MoreIs a Hippopotamus Really a Hippopotamus, or a Really Cool Opotamus?
While some feel that the bubble on storage auctions is already beginning to burst, the best is yet to come! According to an interview published in the Wall Street Journal earlier in the year, in terms of real estate value, self storage facilities are now the biggest-ticket properties in commercial real estate—at least by one measure closely tracked by investors. Acadia Realty Trust, a real-estate investment trust, earlier in the year sold 14 self-storage properties scattered across the New York …
What’s the one item that every storage auction hunter hopes to win at auction? If you guessed mattresses, you’re incorrect. But nobody goes home empty handed, so you’re departing with this lovely parting gift: a year’s supply of turtle wax! If you guessed a car, congratulations!!! You get to leave with the satisfaction that you guessed correctly… and a year’s supply of turtle wax! Everybody’s a winner at StorageUnitAuctionList. But in all seriousness, finding a car in storage unit auctions is part …
B. Wayne Hughes,billionaire who founded self-storage real estate investment trust (REIT) Public Storage Inc., led his newest venture, American Homes 4 Rent, into an initial public offering on Wednesday, selling 44.1 million shares and raising $705.9 million. The Hughes-led REIT is the second largest company in the United States homes-for-rent marketing, with nearly 18,000 properties. American Homes 4 Rent owns properties in 41 markets covering 21 states. Hughes’ experience with Public Storage should make this publicly traded REIT attractive to …
Cupcakes and Self Storage? Like last week’s Zombie Apocalypse infographic, this story peaked my interest because it combines two things I love, self storage and cupcakes. The two don’t seem to have a lot in common, but you have to give a round of applause to Uncle Bob’s Self Storage facility located in Upper Saddle River, NJ for their out of the box marketing strategy. Like storage auctions, competitive eating competitions can draw a crowd, something the facility must have …
Read MoreCompetitive Eater Kobayashi Sets Cupcake-Eating World Record!
Everything Is Great in the State of Texas! The Texas Self Storage Association Conference is scheduled from October 27-29 and will feature Reality television star Bill Rancic. The annual conference will be held at the Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center in The Woodlands, Texas. Rancic has been involved in several reality television programs, including the first season of “The Apprentice”, a show in which contestants duked it out to work for Donald Trump himself. Rancic also appeared in “Giuliana …
Read MoreTexas Self Storage Association Conference to Feature Bill Rancic
In honor of our first annual Customer Appreciation Month, we’ve decided to begin offering free webinars each and every Wednesday, from 2 PM-3 PM Eastern Standard Time, beginning this week and currently scheduled through October! Webinars will be hosted by a rotating roster of our staff members from week to week! We hope to: Answer any and all questions or concerns you have regarding your subscription. Review StorageUnitAuctionList.com tools and features and how these can be used to help grow your …
Read MoreStorage Unit Auction List Presents Free Webinar Wednesdays!
At Storage Unit Auction List, we are dedicated to helping our subscribers find the most auctions, win more storage lockers and make more money! We are constantly working to bring you the most up to date and expansive storage auction information, and we have spent the first four months of 2013 getting your feedback and listening to your input on how we can build an even better Storage Unit Auction List with new features. We think that our results so …
Read MoreMay is Customer Appreciation Month at Storage Unit Auction List!
Just a quick reminder that we are still accepting submissions for our Show Us Your Stuff competition through this Friday-April, 5th. We have many great submissions already, but we don’t want anybody to miss the deadline! Just in case you need a reminder about the details… CONTEST OVERVIEW: Here’s the deal, we want to see anything and everything that you currently own that you’ve purchased at a storage auction. This contest is all about quantity! Is your garage overflowing? Great! Have …
Read MoreShow Us Your Stuff Contest Is Still Accepting Submissions!
As a high schooler, I was a bit of a theater nerd. Not only was I on the Speech and Debate team, but I participated in my school’s semi-annual Fall and Spring theater productions. Sometimes these included musical theater extravaganzas. Being as how I can’t sing or for that matter, dance a lick, I sort of just stood in the background and mouthed the words and swayed awkwardly from side to the side and actively willed myself not to fall …
Today, self storage is a thriving business in the United States and all over the world. Since the 1970’s storage facilities have continued to multiply in number and expand in size. Somewhere along the way, facilities started to realize that they needed a plan of attack when tenants couldn’t, or refused, to pay up on their current or overdue rental fees. And so storage auctions were born out of a necessity for facility owners to recoup the loss of income …
(Update) Our initial guess was right, Nabila Harris has announced that she was indeed the lucky purchaser of the unit, paying just under 3K for the contents! As a country, we are notoriously preoccupied with celebrity culture. From the gossip rags at the grocery store checkout, to an entire cable network (E!) being dedicated to bringing us up to the minute celebrity information 24/7, we love absorbing celebrity information. We want to know if Brad and Angelina are adopting more …
On December 20, Ohio’s governor John Kasich signed an amended bill into law allowing self-storage operators to advertise lien sales in other commercial outlets. Operators are no longer limited to using local newspapers as advertising channels for self-storage auctions, which saves them considerable amounts of time and money. For Ohio in particular, auction notices formerly had to be published once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of “general circulation in the county where the facility was located.” …
This week I’ve got information on a new horror movie that takes place inside a storage facility. That’s two in the last six months! Storage facilities sure seem like dangerous places to be hanging out lately! While these new movies may have you quaking in your boots, have no fear because storage facilities aren’t such scary places after all. To prove it, I found some great stories about storage facilities paying it forward and doing some good in their communities. Storage 24 Previously we …
Read MoreSelf Storage Facilities Doing Good & Paying It Forward
And my, what a crazy week it has been! Let’s jump right into it! Getting by With a Little Help From Your Self-Storage Friends After the devastating damage left behind from Hurricane Sandy, many folks in the North East are still without power and are picking up the pieces of homes and lives torn apart. Thankfully, many storage facilities are lending a helping hand by offering a month’s free storage or transportation of goods. Check out the links below to see how …
Many auction hunters face criticism from do-gooders who assume that the storage auction industry is built on a pile of misfortune, cheats and lies. While nobody will deny that it’s sad when people fall on hard times and lose their belongings, the media sometimes likes to paint very ugly (and inaccurate) pictures of what storage auctions really are. The fact of the matter is that this industry is not as heartless as many seem to think…and in fact, it can …
Happy Saturday, everyone! We’re here again with the best of the week in storage auction news! Dave Hester Raises Money for Lupus LA Breaking news–everybody’s favorite mogul: the cold, heartless Dave Hester–actually has a heart of gold! I’m starting to think that the ruthless tough guy act is just for TV, because Dave attended Lupus LA last week, a charity event that helps raise money and awareness for lupus. Amusingly enough, Dave wasn’t doing any bidding this time around; in …
As you might know by now, the staff here at Storage Unit Auction List is intent on being the best. Thus, we’re constantly changing our game plan by updating our website and adding new and exciting things into the fray. Why do we do it? Is it because we’re thrill seekers and we love living on the edge? Is it because we live for delivering exciting news stories all day every day? Is it because we need an excuse to …
Read MoreSealed Bid Storage Auctions are Now Listed at Storage Unit Auction List!
Happy Saturday everyone! I hope you’re enjoying the weekend, kicking back and relaxing. While you’re chillin’ out, we’ve picked three of the most interesting storage auction news articles of the week, just for you! Storage Wars Filming Today at a Facility in Charleston, South Carolina You heard that right! If you’re in the Charleston area today and you need your Storage Wars fix since the season ended, the cast will be at UNITS Portable Storage, presumably to film new content …
It looks like the movie industry is taking note of the rising popularity of self storage: Producer Chad Verdi and director Tom DeNucci are working on a new horror movie simply entitled “Self Storage”, expected to be released by February of 2013. No, I’m not joking. I couldn’t make this up even if I tried. And believe it or not, this isn’t the first time a horror movie has used self storage to its advantage. The crew wrapped up filming at …
Read More“Self Storage” Movie Set to Chill and Thrill in 2013
If you’re not a subscriber to our website yet, boy oh boy, now is the best time ever to sign up. First we introduced our $1.99 week long trial subscription….and now, we’re happy to share with you the amazing, new, easy to use account area for subscribers! What’s not to love?! Not only does the new account area look a lot nicer, there’s some cool new features as well as great improvements on features you’ve grown to know and love. Let me give you …
Read MoreStorage Unit Auction List’s New and Improved Account Area!
In case you haven’t heard the news already, everyone’s favorite storage auction website is offering an incredible deal… We are now proud to present the $1.99 week long trial! With this offer, we’re hoping to convert the non-believers into…well, believers. For only two bucks (about 29 cents per day!), you get to use all of the features of our website for an entire week. This is just enough time to get you hooked. Trust me, after your trial ends, you’re going …
Read More$1.99 Week Long Trial from StorageUnitAuctionList.com
The year is 1891. 121 years ago, to be precise. America’s economy is alive and well. Finally, families have the money to buy luxury items–new furniture, maybe some toys for the kids, pretty new dresses for mom, and Civil War books for dad. With all of this new-found money and opportunity, people are beginning to move all over the country–some are moving to the cities in hopes of making it big, some are moving to the country to get away from the rat race. Doesn’t sound …
Read MoreStorage Pioneers: A Brief History of Bekins Moving & Storage Co.
There are plenty of good reasons to get started in the storage auction business. The allure of finding priceless treasures, the prospect of making a living off of something you love doing, being able to learn new things and become an expert—sure, those are all awesome and valid reasons. But what would you say if I told you I have actual statistical data that proves this industry is booming, right this very instant? The Cold Hard Facts According to the …
Read MoreWhy Now is a Better Time Than Ever to Become a Storage Hunter
I had the opportunity to chat with a real live, 100% genuine auctioneer who lives and plays at The Bagwell & Associates Auction Company in Fletcher, North Carolina–just 20 minutes shy of the Storage Unit Auction List headquarters in Asheville. Meet Daryl Bagwell—everything you’d expect from an auctioneer—friendly, talkative, and a great sense of humor. Mr. Bagwell was kind enough to give me a behind the scenes look of what it’s really like to be an auctioneer. The Beginning of …
For some people, there’s a moral dilemma with storage unit auctions. How could you possibly take advantage of another person’s misfortune like that? Others follow the time honored mantra “you snooze, you lose”–I bought it fair and square. While it’s true that tenants have ample time to pay their delinquent fees and get their goods back…well, sometimes life gets in the way and it’s just not that easy. And sometimes, as the new owner of one of these units, …
Read MoreLostInStorage.com: Return Precious Memories and Lighten Your Load
I hate to say it, but I think Darryl Sheets is starting to grow on me. Sure, maybe it’s more like a rash that crops up after a few weeks of roughing it in the rain forest, but nonetheless, I think “The Gambler” has quickly become my favorite “Storage Wars” personality. In a recent episode, Sheets lived up to his name and gambled on a few storage lockers, totaling $3,000. In one of them, he discovered a box of vintage …
Read MoreProfit for Pez: Darrell Sheet’s Find and Why They’re a Good Investment
The Republican Primaries were grueling and all knotted up for a while, but there can only be one Storage Hunter in Chief emerging from the pack. Yesterdays blog wove a story of some of the less effective bidding personas who dropped their hat in the ring. Now, let’s look at those who won America over with well orchestrated bidding campaigns. ::The Ron Paul (Auction Prophet):: For “The Ron Paul” bidder, the definition of winning is no longer about the …
Read MoreThe Republican Storage Hunter-in-Chief Race (Part 2 of 2)
One great thing about getting involved in storage auctions on a regular basis is becoming a notable figure in the bidding crowd. When you become part of the “in-circle,” the main advantage is you can form a network of cooperation with your colleagues and meet at least some folks in the middle about lockers you desire and ones they desire. “Reaching across the aisle,” as they say. Maybe modern politicians could benefit from such an ideal. While the Republican Party …
Read MoreThe Republican Storage Hunter-in-Chief Race (Part 1 of 2)
Depending on what demographic or neighborhood a person grew up in, there may exist a peculiar taboo in their bloodstream against accepting or buying things second hand. When I think back to how I was unwittingly caught up in a dire need to have mail order catalogue clothes as a preteen, I just feel bad for my parents, who were buying the same for the three other trend setters I lived with. Luckily for storage auction sellers and the …
Read MoreSecond Hand Social Acceptance, Storage Hunting Renaissance
Editors Note: I want to make a sincere apology to Storagetreasures.com over the observation made about their “Contact Us” Link. That material has been deleted from the post. I did not realize that it was a Mail-To link (as opposed to a link to additional web content), and that it works fine. Ironically, the old maxim “you get what you pay for” does not apply to winning storage units, because you more often than not get far more than what …
There is a fine line between treasure hunter and packrat. And what trade is out there that grinds at this line more so than ours? Probably not many. “Compulsive hoarding” is defined as “a pattern of behavior that is characterized by the excessive acquisition and inability or unwillingness to discard large quantities of objects that would seemingly qualify as useless or without value.” Such a transformation can take place unbeknownst to the avid storage auction goer, so we are here …
I will never grow tired of the phenomenon of television making overnight celebrities out of people. If any of the Storage Wars stars have caused anything of a stir on the interweb, then it’s the notoriously loved/hated David Hester. There is seemingly no reason that an owner of a consignment shop and storage auction junkie should be on par with professional athletes or film makers, but, it is what it is. However, the most interesting thing about Hester’s stardom …
Read MoreDavid Hester’s Hunter Heroism? Let the Debate Begin!
Barry Bailiff is not the kind of guy to keep people locked behind bars, as his name might imply. Instead, he focuses his energies on what’s behind lockers. He has maintained a subscription to StorageUnitAuctionList.com despite leaving his family in a wintery world of work in Wisconsin for a transfer to the beautiful summers of Beaufort, South Carolina, and has been enjoying a revelation of storage hunting success in his new home that he might never have thought possible. I …
Read MoreMeet Barry Bailiff: Mover, Shaker, and Storage Unit Taker
Well, we know there are naysayers out there who love to tear down the storage auction profession based on out-of-touch judgments. Here’s a quick news story of that caliber I ran across recently that I will gladly take a moment to rebut without remorse. The Scathing Article The article reads as follows: “With respect to your article “Trash or treasure? Think quick, bidders,’’ March 25, might I add the following comment? As a humanitarian, I was repulsed to know there’s …
Read MoreIt’s Called “Self” Storage for a Reason: A Response to an Auction Basher
Anything look different to you, subscribers and readers? No, it’s not my new haircut, but thanks for noticing. Is it that now you can access the blog by individual topic? Well, that’s part of it. You’re getting warmer. Welcome to Storageunitauctionlist 2.0 (“SUAL.com 2.0”) the most refined, attractive, user-friendly and revolutionary storage auction hunting website out there, bar none. We have worked tirelessly to break boundaries and bring you a new incarnation of storageunitauctionlist.com that is visually stimulating, infinitely more searchable, and …
Read MoreWelcome to the All New Storage Unit Auction List 2.0
If you read yesterday’s blog, you would have read a deconstruction of a “Storage Wars: Texas” episode, where seemingly out of place items were magically discovered in all three hunter’s newly acquired units. Hopefully, you learned a few things in the process of reading my intentionally caustic episode review, and maybe even gotten a few laughs. Yet, I can’t help but have the wool plucked from my eyes after reading so many up to date, interesting treasure stories today. Stories …
Although we may never know for sure to what extent storage unit auction shows are authentic or rigged, we at Storageunitauctionlist.com know that they are a fun interpretation of the world we know best. If you have been too busy with your own personal storage unit flipping efforts and the tube has been stationary for a while, today we’re going to review an episode of “Storage Wars: Texas” and scan it over for signs of good practice, bad practice, as …
Read MoreRemember the Alamo: Tuning into the Texas Storage Wars
“Let’s start from the very beginning, a very good place to start,” sang Julie Andrews in the chipper film classic, “The Sound of Music.” Let’s take a note out of her staff and apply this approach to the self-storage world: How did America go from a blank, big sky country to the self-storage empire that is has become, boasting a staggering 2.35 Billion square feet of storage space and giving birth to nearly eighty percent of the world’s storage unit …
Read MoreStowing it for Some Other Life: A History of Self-Storage