I have to admit, that in the past I never went to a thrift shop to purchase anything other than a Halloween costume.
In 2007, I visited a local thrift shop to kill a little time since my girlfriend at the time (my wife now) was having her nails done in the same shopping center. While browsing the 50% OFF isle, a unique beer stein caught my eye. I bought the beer stein for 50 cents. I was pleased with my purchase and thought I would display it at home. Well, my girlfriend wasn’t as enthusiastic as I was. I decided to sell it on eBay with a starting bid of 99 cents. The beer stein sold for well over $600!
I was now hooked on hunting for lost treasures and would regularly go to auction houses, estate sales, thrift shops and yard sales. At the time, I was looking for single items and if I were lucky, I would find one or two good items to resell in a week. I kept the money going from my original sale of the beer stein and continued to roll that into purchasing new items. Within a year, I realized that I had made thousands of dollars off my initial investment of 50 cents and that, I was spending too much time hunting for a couple of items every week.
I thought about going to a storage auction when a friend of mine suggested it, so in 2008, I went to my first live storage auction.
Read More: Reselling Clothing: Best Practices
I was a little skeptical in the beginning, primarily since I had never been to a storage auction. I really did not want to lose the money I had made, so I decided to go a storage auction to observe. I went to a few local storage auctions and learned the process the auction company goes through before the sale by asking the auctioneer and storage facility manager. I also observed the storage auction buyers and what they were looking for or what they were looking at, which would determine how much they would bid.
The following week I attended my first storage auction as a serious buyer. I was comfortable enough with what I had learned to take the next step and buy in bulk. No more wasting time searching for one or two items of value.
I bought my first storage locker for $250 and I have to admit, I was very excited, but also a bit nervous. I was used to dealing with small single items and now, I had a 10’ x 10’ storage unit filled to the top with boxes and miscellaneous items.
My friends, since then I haven’t looked back and continue to buy storage units to this day. My next post will have more on my first storage unit purchase.
Until next time friends!
