Author - Travis Lane

Storage Auctions 101

Although it's not an effortless money-making scheme by any means, buying items at storage auctions and reselling them online or through a store front can be one great way to make a home business. As you buy more items, you can expand your business and increase your profits.

The key to profiting from any type of resale business is to choose items that will sell quickly and make a decent profit. Smaller items that will move quickly can have a narrower profit margin because they're not as expensive to store. If you're buying large items that must be stored or won't sell quickly, you'll need something with a larger profit margin.

The items you choose for resale will depend in part on your interests and background. If you're particularly knowledgeable in a certain area, it'll be easier for you to find profitable items within that category. For people without those specializations, here are a few tips for easy-to-sell items to keep an eye out for at storage auctions, estate auctions and other sales:

Antiques. This is something you need some experience in, because not all old antiques are worth much money, but the valuable ones can be a gold mine. Bear in mind that antiques might require storage space and special conditions to prevent damage, so you'll want to be careful and not collect too many at a time. It's a good idea to start with a specific area of interest and expand as you learn more about antiques.

Electronics. Electronic devices like computers and gaming systems sell quickly, and new models can be quite valuable. Older models lose value quickly, but very old systems start to gain worth as antiques. For example, you can often restore and sell first-generation gaming systems to collectors for a fair price.

Jewelry. It's hard to tell if a storage unit has jewelry in it at first glance, but it's always a good profit-maker. If the jewelry itself isn't valuable, it can be be sold for the gold or silver it contains. Other bits of scrap metal are also worth looking out for.

Appliances. Large appliances and furniture are common finds in storage units, and they can sell quite well. You do need enough space to store them, though, and the willingness to haul them. The best thing about appliances is that they don't depreciate as quickly in value as other electronic devices; as long as the item is in good working order, you can sell it for a decent price and make a profit on your investment.

Other types of items can sell for an excellent profit as well depending on where you're selling them and what you can find. By starting with a few key items that you look out for and sell routinely, you can begin building a network of buyers. Over time, you can add more items as you learn more about auctions; this will allow your business to grow organically without costing too much in the beginning.

Human Organs Found in Storage Unit

September 4, 2012

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Professional auction hunters are prepared to find all sorts of strange things in the units they buy at auction. Tax documents, personal mementos and various bits of trash are all very common to find. Bottles full of human organs, however, are not something most people expect to uncover when cleaning a storage unit.

That's exactly what was found in a Pensacola, Florida storage unit last week. The unit, which had once belonged to former medical examiner Dr. Michael Berkland, included crudely preserved human remains including brains, heart and lungs. They were suspended in formaldehyde and stored in unlikely containers like thirty -two ounce soda cups and plastic storage containers. The origin of these organs is unclear, but they may have come from various autopsies completed by the medical examiner during his career.

The man who bought the storage unit, Phillip Knight, first discovered the items thanks to the strong smell of formaldehyde that had leaked out of some of the containers. This led him to the grisly discovery of the organs. This was the first auction that Knight had attended and only his second storage unit. Unfortunately, his induction into the storage auction business did not provide the warm welcome that many would hope for.

When you purchase a storage unit at auction, there are no refunds; no matter what's found in the unit. The gamble makes it fun and exciting for some people, but situations like this can lead to headaches and disappointments for the people buying storage units. In the case of Phillip Knight, he's out a reported $900 for the organ-filled unit.

Although finding body parts in a storage unit isn't exactly common, this isn't the first time it's ever happened. For example, another Florida auction once turned up a casket containing the remains of the owner's deceased grandmother. The casket had been stored there for 17 years. It's especially common to find the ashes of both relatives and pets that have been cremated; however, one tenant was caught storing the refrigerated body of a dog following its death. Dead dogs and cats were also found in a unit during a Savannah, Georgia auction in May of this year.

Because you never know what to expect when opening a storage unit, it's important to be prepared for anything. You will most likely find nothing this disturbing in most auctions, but there's always the possibility that you might come across something illegal, toxic or just repulsive. If you do, it's important to stay calm and alert the storage facility manager; in many cases the manager will handle the situation for you entirely. You may be required to communicate with the police as part of the investigation, but timely reporting of the incident will save you from having any legal troubles of your own for improper waste disposal or any other concerns.

Update: September 7^th, 2012

Medical Examiner Arrested for Leaving Human Remains in a Storage Unit

Last month, a Pensacola, Florida man named Philip Knight bought a storage unit at auction to see if he could resell the items like the auction hunters on popular reality TV shows. After paying $900 for the unit, he opened it up to see what treasures he might find. Instead of finding valuable antiques or even regular kitchen appliances, however, Mr. Knight made a more gruesome discovery: Human limbs and organs.

The scent of formaldehyde initially tipped him off that something was not right in the unit, and he soon found dozens of plastic containers and soda cups holding crudely preserved remains from over 100 people. Among the tissues found were various body parts and organs, including human brains.

Investigation uncovered that this unit had previously belonged to Dr. Michael Berkland, a 57-year-old former medical examiner. After losing his license in Missouri for falsifying records, Dr. Berkland moved to Florida to continue his practice. There, he lost his license in Florida for not getting autopsy results in on time. He hasn't been practicing medicine since 2007 when his Florida license was revoked.

Though he was forced into retirement, none of his previous employers were aware that Dr. Berkland had been spiriting away human remains and preserving them at home. When he began storing them, he informed the storage unit's manager that he would be storing tools and furniture; after failing to pay his rent, the unit went up for auction without anyone realizing the true contents. He had kept the unit for three years prior to that and had gotten into trouble with his rent numerous times, but had always managed to pay off his balance before auction in the past.

In all, the remains found in the Pensacola storage unit were collected during a span of 10 years and belong to the patients on whom he had completed autopsies. Because there was no foul play involved, authorities initially had a difficult time determining whether they could charge Dr. Berkland with anything. Finally, he was arrested earlier this week and charged with a felony for improper storage of hazardous waste. He was also charged with the misdemeanor of “nuisance injurious to public health.” He has since been bonded out of jail and awaits trial.

If convicted, Dr. Berkland could face up to five years in state prison. At present, the family members of identified remains are being contacted to see if the organs were obtained legally and if Dr. Berkland had permission to hold them. If not, he could face more criminal charges.

Getting to Know Your Auctioneer

August 31, 2012

Storage Auctions 101

Whether you're going to a storage auction, estate auction or even a livestock auction, you'll quickly discover that individual auctioneers have very different styles and personalities. The auctioneer guides how the auction goes, and a talented auctioneer is able to manipulate the energy of a crowd to make the bidding go higher. It's a good idea to research your auctioneer before an auction so that you know what to expect, as different styles of auctioning will do better with certain strategies than others.

Many professional auctioneers have webpages where you can learn more about them. You can also research an auctioneer in advance of a sale by finding videos of them at work online or attending several of their auctions without bidding. In a small community, there may only be a few auctioneers to concern yourself with, so this research shouldn't take you too long and will pay off in the long run.

Primarily, auctioneer styles are different methods of working a crowd to get more bids. Some of these are especially prevalent during the opening stage of an auction when bidders may be reluctant and the auctioneer needs to get things rolling. Here are a few styles to be aware of:

Speed. Auctioneers with a large amount of stock to sell are likely to speed through an auction without giving much time between bids for people to contemplate their purchase. If you're holding off on bidding to see how high it gets, you might find the auction over before you even place a bid. On the other hand, fast auctioneers sometimes lower their starting bids to entice reluctant bidders, and you can get a good deal if you manage to land on one of these reduced-cost lots. Some auctioneers tend to be less patient with lots all the time, while others only resort to these speedy techniques when there's a lot of stuff to get through at the auction.
Starting bid. These auctioneers like to get the ball rolling by tossing out a figure quickly and fishing for higher bids. You'll hear a tell-tale phrase like, “Who'll give me a $10 to get us started” early in the auction with this type of auctioneer. If no one responds to this starting bid, the auctioneer will try lower numbers, but it can be hard to tell that bidding hasn't started yet when he's quickly reeling off figures. This is why it's a good idea to keep an eye on what other bidders are doing so you know for sure if a bid has been placed.
Gab. While some auctioneers are all business, others like to loosen up the crowd by telling anecdotes or humorous stories about the object being sold. They might also describe the item in painstaking detail and make encouraging comments when bids are placed, such as “This bidder knows the value of the item.” All of this is designed to loosen up the crowd and convince you to make more bids. It's crucial to learn how to enjoy the gab without buying into it so you don't overbid.

There are other types of strategies that may be employed by various auctioneers. It's most important to remember that the auctioneer's job is to actively sell the items, not just report on bids as they're made. By recognizing the sales strategies used by various auctioneers, you'll be best prepared for the auction and can be sure to get a good deal on the items you buy.

Dr. Morris “Moe” Prigoff Bio

August 31, 2012

Storage Auction Reality

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As a practicing podiatrist and owner of two businesses, Dr. Morris Prigoff certainly stays busy. Morris, or as he's more commonly called, “Moe,” has been a member of the Storage Wars Texas team since the first episode in December of 2011. Since then, he's made quite an impression thanks to his naturally charming and flamboyant personality; he's the fan favorite of many and helps bring a new personality to the team.

Dr. Morris graduated from Syracuse University and left to study medicine in Cleveland. He's been a practicing podiatrist, or foot doctor, for the past 40 years. Among his many patients have been professional athletes from the Dallas hockey and basketball teams. Somehow, amid the time he spends performing surgeries, running his antiques business and hunting storage auctions, he still has enough time to be an active lecturer and publish several podiatric papers.

The doctor has an eye for fashion and collects antiques and art to stock both a gallery and his boutique shop, “River Regency Modern.” He's been collecting antiques for more than 30 years and has developed an impeccable eye for good taste and valuables. He's been in the resale business for about 10 years. His non-valuable finds get piled in his backyard, much to the annoyance of his wife.

Unlike other auction hunters, Moe isn't interested in quantity so much as he is quality. The items he sells in his boutique shop are extremely valuable, and he doesn't bother with smaller items. The strategy has paid off. His participation on Storage Wars Texas combined with the profits of his businesses has made him worth an impressive $4 million, a figure bound to rise.

Moe is also responsible for bringing new cast member Mary Padian on board the show. Moe is a regular shopper at her store, Mary's Finds, and encouraged her to come out auction hunting in season one; she's now a full-time member of the auction team and part of the duo that replaced Jerry Simpson and Lesa Lewis this season.

Fees to Attend Storage Auctions?

August 27, 2012

The new popularity of storage auctions has brought out new buyers in record numbers. This can be a nightmare for professional auction hunters, auctioneers and storage companies alike. Thanks to shows like Auction Hunters and Storage Wars, events that used to draw just a handful of dedicated bidders are now bringing in dozens or even hundreds of spectators, first-timers and hobbyists.

While not a bad thing on its own, this can cause some issues. Bids can go quite high thanks to newbies overbidding for items, and the profit margins for veteran bidders can diminish. Overcrowded auctions cause problems for auctioneers, too. The more people who show up for an auctions, the more time they'll need to look at the available units and bid. This makes the auctions last much longer, which ties up an auctioneer's time and makes auctions less efficient. It can also cause traffic and parking problems for storage facilities that are not equipped to handle large crowds of people.

In order to combat these problems, some auctioneers have started charging cover fees. People interested in attending the auction would need to sign up in advance; people that didn't register in advance of the auction would need to pay an entry fee. Of course, this is a lucrative practice for the auctioneer, but it's not necessarily fair to the bidders. Fortunately, the practice of charging entry fees for auctions is not widespread, but it is something to consider.

If you do happen to find an auction with a cover fee, you need to decide whether it's worth paying out of pocket for the chance to bid or if you'd rather sit the auction out. Depending on your situation, paying a small fee of $10 or so might not be a major inconvenience; others will choose to avoid all of these auctions on principle.

What Is a Sales And Use Tax Permit?

August 27, 2012

Storage Auction Laws & Rules, Storage Auctions 101

When businesses sell items professionally in most states, they're required to charge a certain amount of sales tax. This tax is then owed to the local government, and it's paid as an operating cost of doing business. Depending on the job, other taxes might be applied as well, but you should always assume that any business that sells merchandise will need to collect sales tax to fulfill its liability to the government. Because Texas has sales tax, business owners must be prepared to collect and pay these taxes for any business operations completed in the state.

People who sell goods in Texas as part of their business are required to obtain a sales tax permit. This includes people who sell items from an office, warehouse, storage facility, flea market, trade show or other location. Essentially, any time buying and selling items becomes a full or part-time job, you'll need to get a sales tax permit. If you're just selling a handful of items on eBay a few times a year, you probably won't need to worry about sales tax; if you're making frequent sales, though, you should look into obtaining a sales tax permit.

Obtaining the permit itself is quite easy. You simply need to go online and submit the form at http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxpermit/. If you would prefer, you can also call 1-800-252-5555 for an application. There are no fees associated with the permit itself, but you might need to post a security bond of up to four times the amount of the expected monthly owed tax. The purpose of this bond is to cover delinquent fees if you fail to pay your due share of sales taxes. Not everyone who applies will need to post this bond, so it's something you'll need to discuss with the state and plan around accordingly.

Once you've obtained your permit, you're required to post that permit at your place of business. You must then collect sales tax and keep records of all of your purchases so that you can report and pay your taxes on time. You can be audited at any time, so keeping good records is a vital part of maintaining your business. It's usually a good idea to keep at least four years of tax records available at all times so you can avoid hassles when you get audited.

Between business licenses, sales tax, business or self-employment taxes and other operating costs, running your own business can be expensive. This is why it's a good idea to test the waters with any buying and selling venture before you jump in with both feet. Easing yourself into a new retail business will help keep you from getting overwhelmed.

Storage Auctions: An Identity Thief’s Dream

August 15, 2012

According to the Bureau of Justice, identity theft affects about 8.6 million households each year. Other sources place this number even higher, with IdentityTheft.info reporting as many as 15 million cases of identity theft each year. This works out to approximately 7% of the total adult population, and many more thefts may go unreported or undetected each year.

Identity theft can be a major problem for individuals and businesses alike. Not only does it affect a victim's money in the short term, it can devastate his credit in the long term. Worse, some types of identity theft can be used in conjunction with other types of crimes. Identities can be stolen as part of a bigger scheme to infiltrate and steal from corporations, and criminals sometimes adopt the identities of innocent victims in order to throw law enforcement off the scent of a crime.

Many identity thieves get their information by sifting through people's trash, and some individuals and companies have begun to combat this by shredding all documents before throwing them away. While shredding your trash is a good first step to avoiding identity theft, you may be overlooking a greater risk: the contents of your storage unit.

After a tenant fails to pay for a storage unit for two to three months, the storage company will auction off the contents to help recoup the lost income from the missed payments. One in four storage units bought at auction contain items with sensitive information like checkbooks, tax documents, identification cards, vehicle titles, social security cards, credit cards, birth certificates, death certificates, old computers and phones, and more. People store these items, believing them to be secure, then either forget that they're stored or don't realize that the items won't be returned to them if they default on their storage payments. These sensitive personal items end up in the hands of whoever wins the auction, and the winner is under no legal obligation to return or destroy any personal items found in the unit.

Of course, many storage auction bidders make every effort to contact the unit's original owner to give back sensitive documents or family memorabilia. Other people don't have the time or energy to do that sort of detective work. In a best case scenario, those sensitive documents could get thrown away, where a thief could find them in the trash. In a worse case, an identity thief could buy the unit and use the documents to steal the former owner's identity.

Depending on what was left in the unit, a thief can cause some major destruction to a person's finances. Stolen documents can be used to forge checks, open credit cards and take out loans that could devastate a person's credit. Taken further, documents can be used to provide a new identity to drug dealers, terrorists, illegal immigrants and other people looking to make themselves hard for the law to find. This type of identity theft can go undetected for years in some cases.

It's also not too difficult to figure out exactly where a person lives and works based on the information left in a storage unit. That sort of information can be extremely dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands.

Most people who frequent storage unit auctions are honest citizens looking to find items to resell for a profit. However, with the recent boom in the industry thanks to popular TV shows like Storage Wars, it's not unlikely to assume that unsavory people might sense the opportunities presented by these auctions.

If you use a storage unit, here are a few tips for keeping your information safe:

Don't store sensitive information. This is the simplest and most fool-proof way to keep your documents out of the hands of thieves.
If you absolutely must store sensitive documents, invest in a high-quality safe and keep the key well-hidden. Be warned, however, that buyers might expect something very valuable to be hidden in a safe, so you might actually be drawing more attention to the items hidden inside of it. Even strong safes can eventually be broken into with the right tools and enough determination.
Don't let your storage unit payments lapse. If you're having trouble making your payments, talk to the owner to see if he can make any payment arrangements with you. If nothing else, he may be able to retrieve personal documents for you before the auction.
Monitor your credit for any strange or fraudulent charges. You can subscribe to a credit monitoring program or do it yourself by requesting annual credit reports and reviewing them carefully.
Get identity theft protection. Most credit card companies offer this as a benefit of card ownership, and you might qualify for it under your home or auto insurance policy. If not, see about buying a policy. It can't undo all of the damage caused by thieves, but it can at least protect your finances to some extent.

The best way to stop identity theft is to prevent it from happening. Since you can't predict what someone might do with your information, you should take steps to keep it out of people's hands entirely. If you're an auction hunter and ever come across personal documents, try to return them to their proper owner. If that's impossible, at least attempt to dispose of documents properly through shredding or burning. This will help prevent you from being an unwitting accomplice in someone else's crime.

Malcolm X : Historical Storage Auction Halted Just Ahead Of Deadline

August 11, 2012

It's not just the common folks, apparently, that can find themselves far enough behind on their storage unit payments that the contents are placed on the storage auction schedule. According to a July 27, 2012, New York Post report, the family of Malcolm X neglected to pay $2,447 in storage fees, allowing the account to fall into delinquency. The property in the storage unit, once belonging to political and social activist Malcolm X, was scheduled for auction on July 26. That's the kind of opportunity that storage auction aficionados dream of. But, alas, just barely ahead of the deadline, representatives of the estate of Malcolm X stepped in.

After a bit of negotiation, the Manhattan Mini Storage in Inwood agreed to grant an extension. The estate of Malcolm X has until August 20 to bring the account current. However, historic memorabilia fans may want to take note of that date and keep a sharp eye on auction schedules. After all, this isn't the first time that failure to pay storage charges has resulted in belongings of Malcolm X ending up on the storage auction schedule. In fact, a very similar situation happened in a decade ago in Orlando, Florida, noted the New York Post's famed Page Six column.

In 2002, Malikah Shabazz, a daughter of Malcolm X, neglected to pay $600 in storage fees to the facility in Orlando where the unit was located. The result of allowing the account to fall into arrears – the sale of an important collection of personal papers belonging to Malcolm X. A Florida flea market owner got the winning bid at the storage auction, getting the historic collection at a bargain price. After disappearing from the public eye for a short time, the collection was due to be sold that same year at auction via Butterfields, a high-end auction house that was owned by eBay at the time.

The surviving family of Malcolm X got wind of the impending auctioning off of the collection and took quick action. A legal dispute erupted over the ownership of the documents, which halted their sale at Butterfields. That resulted in the collection coming back under the control of the Malcolm X estate, where the battle between the heirs over actual ownership raged on. The conflict over the collection was a part of a much greater battle between Malaak Shabazz, Malikah Shabazz, and Ilyasah Shabazz over other assets that make up the estate that Malcolm X left behind.

Amazing things find their way into the market through neglected storage unit fees. Increasing the chance of making such great finds requires an organized approach. Make a note of it when a storage unit that you may be interested in makes the news, like that of Malcolm X did. Then, keep a sharp eye on the storage auction schedule in that region, just in case storage fees go unpaid and the contents go up for sale. Historic memorabilia fans may want to make note of the August 20 deadline for estate of Malcolm X to bring the storage account current and watch the auction schedules carefully, just in case they don't. After all, they do say the third time is the charm.

New York Post

E-Commerce Times

Using Storage Auctions to Build Inventory for Your Resale Business

August 10, 2012

Storage Auctions 101