A few years ago, storage auctions were a relatively quiet and unknown way of making a living. Now, they've become a popular phenomenon thanks to shows like Storage Wars and auction Hunters. Many authors are eager to jump on this trend and appeal to fans by producing “get rich quick” guides about storage auctions and other types of resale businesses. While some of these books contain useful information, many paint an inaccurate picture of the trade.
There's also little need to buy most of the books on the market as the information is readily available online through this website and others. Nevertheless, if you do feel like picking up some additional reading material, here are 10 books you might consider:
- Making Money With Storage Unit Auctions: Is This the Business for You? By Bryce Cranston. This slim paperback covers the basics of storage auctions without making too many exaggerated claims. A crash course for beginners, this book details advice on how to find auctions and sell items successfully. It's rated well on Amazon, with a pure five-star rating, but it may be too basic of a guide for most of our more savvy blog readers.
- Picker's Bible: How To Pick Antiques Like the Pros by Joe Willard. While not about storage auctions specifically, this guide is an invaluable resource for people who need to learn more about the ins and outs of antiques. Antiques are some of the most profitable but riskiest items to look out for at sales, and this primer can help you find the best items for sale. Joe Willard himself is an established picker, and his book provides an excellent overview for anyone looking to approach that field.
- The Garage Sale Millionaire: Make Money with Hidden Finds from Garage Sales to Storage Unit Auctions and Everything in Between by Aaron LaPedis. The title's a bit of a mouthful, but the book has some positive reviews on Amazon and got positive attention on Yahoo after its release. The book delivers on the promise of its title, although many of the tips may be a bit self-evident for people who aren't total newcomers to the field. Nevertheless, much of the advise is solid, and there are real, practical tips for which items will churn the best profit, which may make this worth picking up if you're eager for a few more ideas.
- Making Money A-Z with Self Storage Unit Auctions 2011: The Silver Edition by Glendon Cameron. This book is pricey, so it's definitely a bit of an investment. If you're willing to put down this much money for a book, though, this is an entertaining read about storage auctions. This 246-page tome details exactly how to find, participate in and profit from storage auctions, all as related by a veteran in the field. Called “the textbook of storage auctions” by some reviewers, this book is said to be one of the most comprehensive of its kind.
- Storage Auctions 101 The Beginners Guide To Storage Auction Profits by Glendon Cameron. If you're not willing to make the investment for Cameron's lengthier guide, you might want to consider picking up this smaller beginner's guide. This book comes with lots of practical tips and down-to-earth advice. As an added bonus, you can download a digital version to your Kindle, iPhone or other device, so you don't have to worry about carrying it around.
- Winning Storage Auction Strategies by Dirk and Susan McFergus. Cutting through the hype from reality TV, this husband-and-wife team of Las Vegas auction-hunters detail real, useful strategies for winning auctions and making a profit on your findings. Many of these tips are aimed at amateurs, but much of the advice is equally valid for veterans as well. The book does focus more on the buying aspect than selling, however, so it can't precisely be considered a comprehensive guide.
- Making Money in Storage Auctions: How to Profit from the Storage Wars and become a Storage Auction Warrior by Boston Reynolds. This book is obviously firmly rooted in the reality television trend, and it does occasionally wander more into hype than the reality of the industry. It is still a fairly comprehensive guide, though, and it touches on many relevant topics without getting too bogged down in detail.
- The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting and Running a Thrift Store by Ravel Buckley. If you're comfortable with the basics of auction hunting and want to bring your knowledge up to the next level, this book will get you started with everything you need to know about opening up a thrift store business. Part of the well-known “Idiots Guide” books, this is an authoritative source and a good jumping-off point for anyone looking to run a full-scale resale business.
- How to Invest in Self-Storage by Scott Duffy and RK Kliebenstein. This book tackles the other side of the storage industry: The people who actually own and manage storage units. Although this information may not seem immediately relevant, it can be supremely helpful to understand the industry from the other side. This will help you understand how and why certain things happen and give you a greater appreciation for the facility owners you work with on any given day.
- The Porn Is Always In The DVD Player: My Life As A Storage Auction Addict by Glendon Cameron. Looking at this list, it's easy to see that Glendon Cameron is one of the biggest writers in the storage auction field. This book is quite different from his others, though, in that it's more of a memoir than a how-to guide. If you're looking for something fun and insightful to read without necessarily providing step-by-step instructions or ideas, this book might be worth buying. If nothing else, it will certainly tell a few familiar stories to storage veterans.
These are just a few of the books available on the subject, but there are many more available online or from your local library. If you've read one of these books or have another that you found particularly helpful, post your suggestions or reviews in the comments section below!