| The first time I happened upon this somewhat | | | | A couple of tips; as with any auction, until the |
| unknown way of getting some really nice stuff, and | | | | auctioneer gets to know you and your way of |
| sometimes real 'treasures' was when I stopped in at | | | | bidding, make sure he knows that you've bid, and |
| my local self storage unit to pay my bill, and | | | | know what you're willing to pay before they start |
| happened to see an auction sign posted. I asked the | | | | the auction. Don't get caught up in the moment, and |
| lady what that was about and she told me that after | | | | wind up paying more than you wanted to. |
| a period of time they auction off the unit's contents | | | | Another thing to be aware of is that oftentimes |
| for non payment of rent. So after finding out the | | | | you're bidding against people who are 'regulars' |
| particulars, I decided to check out the next auction | | | | looking to buy for their auction house, or store, so |
| that Thursday. | | | | don't be put off by the fact that one or two people |
| The day of the auction I got there just about the | | | | seem to be outbidding everyone else. Take your |
| time the auction started. They had about 8 units to | | | | time, start off with a smaller unit and you'll eventually |
| auction off that day, and although I had been to | | | | get one. You may wind up with a lot of junk that |
| auctions before, the way they did these was a bit | | | | you have to get rid of, or you could wind up with |
| unique. What they would do is to go to the unit to | | | | some real treasure. |
| be auctioned, unlock the unit, and literally give you | | | | I've heard many stories, but the one I like best was |
| about 5 seconds to poke your head in along with | | | | told to me by another bidder. He said that he was at |
| everybody else, look around, and then the bidding | | | | an auction, and there was a medium sized unit that |
| began. Usually the units would be auctioned off in | | | | really looked like it had a bunch of garbage and |
| about a minute or two at most. | | | | wasn't going to bid. At the last moment he threw his |
| I didn't buy anything that day, but later went to | | | | hand up and bought the unit for $125. Later that |
| another the next month, and bought the contents of | | | | evening, he got in there and started looking around |
| a small unit. Although there was a lot of junk in the | | | | and found some crates. When he opened the crates |
| unit, after going threw the lot, I found almost 300 | | | | up, what he found was pieces of a motorcycle. After |
| fairly old comic books, mostly covered, and some | | | | opening all the crates, he realized that he had a |
| jewerly, well worth the $175 I paid for it. I've since | | | | disassembled Harley Davidson Motorcycle! |
| bought some other units, and have found some really | | | | You really never know what you're going to find. |
| nice stuff including some antique glassware, lots of | | | | Happy treasure hunting! |
| nice furniture, and other treasures. | | | | |