Unclebaldrick
Well-Known Member
Most of you have probably seen storage wars on TV before. A bunch of low-class assholes bid on abandoned storage lockers hoping to cash in on collectibles and stuff. Well this show has caused thousands of people to show up at storage space auctions with tons of cash.
So how can you make money (short of holding up the auction and stripping these rubes of their wads) on this phenomenon? Easy.
First, check local laws. In my state, when they auction somebody's shit, they take the money that is due on the storage unit for rent and then most of the rest goes to the unit owner except for the auctioneer's percentage.
Next, get a smallish space at a storage unit. Nothing too big, a 6x8 should do it. Then fill it up with things that look valuable but are really shit. More on this later.
After a couple of months, stop paying he rent. Ignore their phone calls and eventually you will get notice that the unit will be auctioned off. After the auction (if you do it right) collect your money from the storage unit company.
Ok, you need to really stage this right. Put some thought into it. I did this about six months ago and got $7200 after the auction. I like to think up a little story about the unit and stage it accordingly. The last one I did I collected some expensive but empty brand name boxes for a base. Nobody can touch the stuff so they don't know if the boxes are empty or not. This is easy to do around Christmastime, just drive through ritzy parts of town near trash day.
My mental story was a young professional who unfortunately lost his battle with cancer. You can drive this home by discreetly leaving a couple of "overcoming cancer" books. Don't be too obvious, these fuckers at the auction will see it. You can get these books for about ten cents each at thrift stores. Oh, get a lot of prescription bottles too. Put them in a translucent storage bin and stick them way out of the way - those always get the bidders attention.
Don't get me wrong, this isn't easy money. You really need to think about it. Put the comic books in one of those comic boxes. Hell, get a lot of comic boxes. And go to a comic store and find a nice "silver age" comic with some horrible flaw for a few bucks. Make sure that you put this comic in front and make sure you cannot see the flaw. Neatly n discreetly write things like "Silver Age", "Graphic Novels" and "Walking Dead" on them.
Absolutely fill the storage unit up. No furniture, some of these people don't want to move furniture. Use clean empty boxes (I got hospice boxes for this one) and label them too. "Coin Collection, Pre-1933". "Grandpa's Baseball Cards". "Civil War Stuff". "Art Books" Throw yourself into it. But don't go too far. Make them work for it.
My last one took about $350 invested in rent and stuff. I probably spent about ten hours working on it - so I earned my money.
So how can you make money (short of holding up the auction and stripping these rubes of their wads) on this phenomenon? Easy.
First, check local laws. In my state, when they auction somebody's shit, they take the money that is due on the storage unit for rent and then most of the rest goes to the unit owner except for the auctioneer's percentage.
Next, get a smallish space at a storage unit. Nothing too big, a 6x8 should do it. Then fill it up with things that look valuable but are really shit. More on this later.
After a couple of months, stop paying he rent. Ignore their phone calls and eventually you will get notice that the unit will be auctioned off. After the auction (if you do it right) collect your money from the storage unit company.
Ok, you need to really stage this right. Put some thought into it. I did this about six months ago and got $7200 after the auction. I like to think up a little story about the unit and stage it accordingly. The last one I did I collected some expensive but empty brand name boxes for a base. Nobody can touch the stuff so they don't know if the boxes are empty or not. This is easy to do around Christmastime, just drive through ritzy parts of town near trash day.
My mental story was a young professional who unfortunately lost his battle with cancer. You can drive this home by discreetly leaving a couple of "overcoming cancer" books. Don't be too obvious, these fuckers at the auction will see it. You can get these books for about ten cents each at thrift stores. Oh, get a lot of prescription bottles too. Put them in a translucent storage bin and stick them way out of the way - those always get the bidders attention.
Don't get me wrong, this isn't easy money. You really need to think about it. Put the comic books in one of those comic boxes. Hell, get a lot of comic boxes. And go to a comic store and find a nice "silver age" comic with some horrible flaw for a few bucks. Make sure that you put this comic in front and make sure you cannot see the flaw. Neatly n discreetly write things like "Silver Age", "Graphic Novels" and "Walking Dead" on them.
Absolutely fill the storage unit up. No furniture, some of these people don't want to move furniture. Use clean empty boxes (I got hospice boxes for this one) and label them too. "Coin Collection, Pre-1933". "Grandpa's Baseball Cards". "Civil War Stuff". "Art Books" Throw yourself into it. But don't go too far. Make them work for it.
My last one took about $350 invested in rent and stuff. I probably spent about ten hours working on it - so I earned my money.
