Auction Hunters Guide: What to do With Your Public Storage Auction Winnings

Garage sales


Not sure what to do with the winnings from your storage unit auction? Read this article to get some real life advice and suggestions, including the best places to sell your stuff for quick, easy profit.

Now that you have scored some great stuff from your storage auction, What to do with it? The beauty of storage auctions is that you have many options as to what you can do with your stuff.

Obviously, you want to sell it so it is a good idea to have a few places where you can take any type of item to move it quick.

Here are a few ideas:

Yard Sales/Garage Sales

Yard sales/garage sales are always great because you don't have to rent a space or move larger furniture. You can sell your larger items, clothes and other inexpensive stuff without ever leaving your home.

The only drawback is that people attending yardsales are generally looking for a bargain/cheaper stuff so you can't mark your items higher than a few dollars, but I have had a great success with leftover items at yardsales- earning between $100-$300 on a Fri/Sat.

Craigslist

For those of you who have never used Craigslist before, let me tell you that it is fantastic for quickly moving items. You can sell almost anything on Craigslist.

Typically, you will get several calls/emails a day from one item. Most people are eager to buy, but be prepared for some negotiation as they will almost always try to talk you down on the price.

Tips to make money at the flea market

Fleamarkets

Depending on your area and the fleamarket traffic, you can earn a pretty good profit from flea markets.

 I used to haul smaller items, clothes, shoes, electronics, toys, on the weekends to the fleamarket about an hour away on the weekends.

On a good weekend, the traffic flow was over 200k at the Pendergrass fleamarket and with just 5-6 large plastic containers worth of stuff, I would make between $200-$500. (minus about $20 for gas and $20 for the space rental)

Consignment shops

Consignment shops are good if you have any high-dollar clothing items that you want to move quick. The only problem is that they tend to want top name-brand items and they have to be in near new condition for them to accept them.

Additionally, they don't pay very well (offering just a dollar or two for an item they will sell for $6-$7) However, if you cannot sell the clothes somewhere else, this is always a good option.

Ebay

Ebay was once a great site for turning a great profit. Now, you really have to compete for any earnings. While their listing fees are free right now, their prices for selling an item are ridiculous. 

If you have an item that would be worth it though, this site is still an available option that is worth a try.

If anything else, it is definitely a good way to reach allot of potential buyers. It just comes with a lot of extras that need to be factored into the equation too.

I recently sold a broken laptop for parts on Ebay. It sold for $118, but Ebay charged me $12 plus I had to pack it and travel to ship it, so gas+Ebay's fee+time+materials to pack with, and I would say I made about $70 out of the deal. Not too bad, but not too good either and allot of hassle involved.

Specialty dealers

If you have antiques, collectibles, artwork, coins or guns that you want to sell, you would do best to take them directly to a dealer or collector. Go to one place and get them appraised first, and then take them to another to sell (unless you receive an offer you cannot refuse from the first place).

I found a local antique dealer by looking in the phone book and later found one in the newspaper and through an auctioneer at one of the storage unit auctions.

I had a private jewelry collector that I found through Craigslist. She would buy almost any old jewelery I brought to her and she paid well too.

Leftovers

Anything that you cannot sell, you can always take to Goodwill or Salvation Army.

 Remember that you can get a tax deduction at the end of the year for any items that you donate, as long as you hold onto the receipt that they give you at the time of donation.

Of course the family and friends always enjoyed picking through my leftovers too!