First it takes cold hard CASH, no credit or debit cards. Then when you win the auction, you have to check in with the office give them $100 till you clean out that locker. Once the locker is cleaned out by the time they require, you get that $100 back. These needed to be clean out by Sunday which is nice it give them 2 days to do it.
First locker was interesting, oh by the way 4 of the five were inside lockers which meant we had to single file by to view them. Everyone gets a chance to look inside but you cannot go inside. Because these were inside you needed a flashlight to see in. Of course the one we had wasn't powerful enough, but there was this really nice young man we befriended and he let us use his.
The first one looked pretty interesting and probably was a good buy, but when the bidding got over $200 we just watched. It finally sold for $425.
Second one had a big TV, a Harley Kids Bike, a mattress ( why do so many people save mattresses?? 3 out of the 5 had mattresses in them and dirty old ones to boot!) coffee table or dining room table it was hard to see and more. That one went for $310.
Third one was a true WINNER, not only was it a large 10X20 and was stacked full. Table saw, electrical components, paints, Mitsubishi LARGE TV, lots of tools and so much more. This one was great and it even had a light in there so you could really see well. That probably tells you why it sold for $2200!!!!!
Fourth was a loser, not much but one guy bought it for $25 so he will make his money back because there were a couple of things that would sell, a 6' table, some nice room dividers, but he was probably banking on the brief case that was there and hoping some treasure was inside.
Fifth and final one was a small one but it had some nice things in it and it was neatly organized. We thought about bidding on this one, but $160 was what it went for. I decided I could go to a thrift store spend $165 sort through and get exactly what I knew would sell and come out way ahead. The best part would be that I did not have to clean out a locker, haul away the stuff, go through every thing to see if there was value to it. I figure I would come out way ahead in my ROI.
Well it was a great experience and we just might try again. Totally different then what you see on TV, no drama and pretty relaxed atmosphere. Several people left after the BIG one sold. Guess they were probably waiting for the real "treasure" and it was gone.
By the way if you ever want to try this there is one interesting catch to be aware of and that is that after people view the locker they can go to the auctioneer and give a starting bid to him. The BIG one had someone offer $1000 right up front. Hmmmmm maybe they knew something, you think!
So to console ourselves we just stopped by Salvation Army for a quick look around. I did find a collectible Tom Clarks Gnome for $2.75, a Hawaiian shirt which I will take the buttons off, the shirt is not worth anything but I can sell the buttons for a lot more then I paid $1.45 for the shirt. And a pretty black silk and angora sweater for $2.45. I am thinking around $100 return for this investment.
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