I've been so tempted when I hear about storage locker auctions. What are they? Well, people pay a fortune to pack up junk/treasures in a storage locker. The owners of the junk stop paying the bill, the place wants their junk out, and auction it.
So, while shopping for boxes a couple weeks ago, I stopped by one place. The manager, Jay, - bored out of his mind sitting behind a counter with no people in sight - was only to happy to chat with a stranger. He regaled me with stories of past auctions at his site, including the time when Aretha Franklin's stuff got sold!
Today, one was scheduled, so my eBaying friend Dorothy and I went to have a peek. What fun! We got there first and had time to chat. This guy, "Jay" loves a great story! I had heard this before, but he gave Dorothy the details of one of his favorites:
"We opened it up and all you could see was 200 black trash bags!"
Dorothy exclaimed, "uggg".
He continued, "This was the locker of a VERY PROMINENT Detroit attorney! A lawyer! In Detroit! 200 trash bags! And we moved one bag and guess what we saw - a big pickle jar - full of CASH! And it the bags were loaded with... oh, not Mikasa... what is it?"
He looked at me, remembering that he had told me the story before. "Oh, right.. not Mikasa! WATERFORD! It was FULL of Waterford crystal, new in the box!"
This guy sure knows how to stir up excitement!
Here's how it worked:
First, you sign in. Though the guy had told me that they cut the lock at auction and have no clue what's in there, that's not technically true. He actually showed me a polariod and told me the single locker they were selling that day was full of cabinets! Hmmm... That opens up the possibility of stuff having been removed.
Then, people start coming. I was the first, then Dorothy. Then a guy came by, also new. He buys/sells houses and was interested in the cabinets. Overhearing us talk about eBay, he said:
"I went on there looking for jeans. You know, that brand? Seven jeans? Basically, they are all stolen. They have to be. I mean, come on, $200 jeans for 5o bucks?"
Sigh. I told him they were probably counterfeit, not stolen. But hey, everybody heard that big new story last week about the lawyer selling stolen stuff.
Anyway, 2 more guys came in who knew Jay. It was like a club! Then the auctioneer showed up. This auctioneer drives from facility to facility, conducting auctions! Lots of these regulars follow him around all day!
We gathered by the locker, which was actually the size of a huge room! 10x30! Imagine - $350 a month to jam with junk! No wonder the guy could not pay the bill. The auctioneer, seeing some new faces, explained all the rules to Dorothy and me. Then he snapped the lock and we all moved forward.
Magically, this old guy, who had been speaking normally, launched into the fast, rolling auction-speak you hear in movies! It was like another language. The house guy who thinks eBay = stolen stuff got into a bidding war with a tall guy who had what looked like a switchblade-scar on his face. "Switchblade" won for $700.
Like curious kids, we all moved in to see what he got. I wouldn't have taken any of it for free, but hey. I don't need kitchen cabinets, old mattresses, metal file cabinets full of customer records, and a 10-foot high door. Thank goodness I didn't catch auction fever and jump in.
