How to Become a Professional Buyer of Storage Units
- 1). Educate yourself about the nature of storage unit auctions. Laws vary from state to state; in some places, bidders can examine the contents of bins beforehand, while others involve blind bidding. Read the laws for your area and search for nearby auctions in local classifieds or online databases. Before attempting to profit off sales, treat auctions as a hobby. Attend as many as you can, observe what seasoned bidders do, and get a sense for which facilities tend to store more valuable goods.
- 2). When you are ready to start bidding, decide on an appropriate budget. Remember, you may get only a glance into a unit before bidding on it, and there is always the possibility that you will pay for a room full of useless papers or junk. Determine how much money you can comfortably spend, and stick to your plan. As you start to make a profit in the business, you will have more money to sink into auctions.
- 3). Attend auctions with cash, your own padlock and means to haul away items. Facility managers require buyers to clear out and clean units within a set amount of time, so be prepared. You may have to secure the unit with the padlock if you make several trips. Have cash on hand, as it is usually the only means of payment allowed.
- 4). Assess the contents of storage units and decide what to bid on. If you are not allowed to enter the unit beforehand, you will have to guess on its contents based on the appearance of the front row of items. If you see nothing but boxes of office documents or broken furniture, you might guess that the unit is not worth the gamble. Do your best to gauge the promise of any large, unboxed items within your view.
- 5). After winning the contents of the unit, start to transport them to your own location. Divide items into trash and items that you can resell. On television shows, professional buyers often stumble upon priceless treasures, but these bonanzas are rare. Regular merchandise can still bring in profit, however. List items on sites such as Craigslist or Ebay. Research places to sell specialized items such as tools. If you are lucky enough to stumble upon valuable antiques, jewelry, or art, contact a professional to assess the value.
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