The Ultimate Guide to Online Storage Auctions: How to Get Started

Summary: There is money to be made in online storage auctions. To make a serious go of it, it's necessary to understand every step of the process. Knowing how it all works is a good foundation for success.

Making money on abandoned storage units is easy, right? After all, the people on TV do it all the time. Yet the reality of purchasing storage units at auction and selling their contents is a bit more complicated. Making money with online storage auctions is very possible. And an online auction site is the key to success in the 2020s.

Live auctions are still a thing. But they are terribly inefficient at a time when the internet has made competition so fierce. Online auctions let buyers bid on multiple storage units at once, enabling them to explore new auctions, conduct research, and strategize without physically visiting each location.

Winning that first auction can the exhilarating. It can even make you think you are on the road to riches. But you will need to take it easy and bid wisely. You will also need to know all the other finer details of online storage auctions – including what happens after the win.

How It All Works

Storage auctions exist because tenants do not always pay their rent. Facility owners have the legal right to sell the contents of an abandoned storage unit in order to cover their losses. That is where we come in.

Our role is one of connections. Lockerfox is essentially a bridge between storage facilities and buyers hoping to bid on abandoned units. Through our website and app, you can find storage unit auctions close to home. You can browse available auctions, look at pictures, and place bids right from the comfort of your own home. It is a lot more efficient than driving from site to site.

Create a Lockerfox Account

Your Lockerfox account is your key to accessing dozens of auctions within a reasonable driving distance. Lockerfox is free to join, but you will need a valid credit card on file for buyer's premiums, and a working cell number and email address.

After your account is set up, you can determine a radius – a distance from your home you are willing to drive to pick up items you have won. Choose that radius wisely. Remember, you are responsible for cleaning out every storage unit you win. You must take a truck or trailer to the site and load things up. Storage facility owners do not ship for you.

Our best advice is to start as close to home as possible. There is a lot of time and effort involved in post-auction clean-out, sorting, and selling. The last thing you need is to win a storage unit several hundred miles from your home. You could find yourself putting in a lot of time and effort with little return to show for it.

Also be sure to set up notification alerts. This way, you will always be informed when a new auction comes up within your radius.

Photographs Are Your Best Friend

Every auction listed on the Lockerfox website comes with photographs. They are your best friend in terms of deciding what to bid. Here's a pro tip: look past what you initially see in each photograph. It takes practice, but if you can get past what your eyes initially see to start digging into the little details, you can learn a lot.

Do you see any recognized brands? Is the locker filled with totes rather than cardboard boxes? Totes usually dictate better quality items. Are there a lot of garbage bags in the picture? This is generally a bad sign.

In addition to photographs, pay attention to any descriptions the facilities provide. Descriptions sometimes list key items like tools, furniture, appliances, and high-end sporting goods.

When You're Ready to Bid

Should you find an auction or two you are interested in, it is time to consider bidding. But before you do, note a couple of things:

• Deadlines - Every online storage auction comes with two deadlines. The first is the date and time the auction actually ends. The second is the deadline for cleaning out a storage unit after you have won. Know both deadlines. Be prepared to stick to them.
• Research - It is worth spending a little time researching items you can see in photographs. You might not pick up any specific brands, but you should be able to identify things like bicycles, toolboxes, etc. How well are such items selling on sites like eBay and Craigslist?

Lockerfox relies on a soft-close bidding system. This means that any bids coming in within the final two minutes of a scheduled auction will reset the clock to two minutes. Lockerfox has chosen this method to prevent sniping – the practice of placing a bid at the last second to prevent other bidders from bidding higher.

What Happens After You Win

Winning your first auction is a fantastic experience. But now the real work begins. After winning, Lockerfox will charge your registered credit card a 15% buyer's premium. There is a $10 buyer's premium minimum, so that is the amount that will be charged on any auctions with winning bids of less than $70.

As for paying the facility, it depends on their policies. Some facilities require that you pay upfront with a credit card. It will expect you to bring cash or plastic with you when you come to pick up what you purchased. You will probably have to pay a cleaning deposit as well. That deposit is returned to you once the storage unit is empty and broom clean.

The final step in making money with online storage auctions is to sort your haul to determine what will get sold, donated, and tossed away. Hopefully, your sales will both cover your costs and generate a nice profit.

Online storage auctions are a good source of hobby income for some and a good living for others. If you have been looking into doing it yourself, just know that you will not become an expert overnight. It takes time to master storage auction bidding and post-auction cleanup and sales. But with Lockerfox in your corner, you will be in a good position to find and bid on the best auctions in your area.

FAQs

Can I browse auction listings without paying?

Yes, a Lockerfox account is free. An account will let you locate and browse all the auctions you are interested in.

Can I visit a facility before I bid?

In order to keep things fair for everyone, bidders are not allowed to visit facilities to get a first-hand look at storage unit contents.

How does a soft close prevent sniping?

Soft closes prevent sniping by continuously resetting the close clock to two minutes whenever a new bid is placed within the final two minutes of an auction.

Can a tenant reclaim a storage unit even after an auction is over?

In most states, tenants retain their rights until the winning bidder has actually paid for a storage unit. If that happens on an auction you have won, the auction is canceled and you owe nothing.