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Storage Unit Must Haves
30
items Have you ever wanted to buy a storage unit from an auction? You are basically buying other folks stuff and either keeping it for your self or reselling it. This list will have some essentials that you may need if you buy storage units for resale.
Sections
4
Storage Unit Sites
Essentials
YouTube
Selling Platforms
Storage Unit Sites
These are platforms that you can buy storage units from. There also may be local live auctions in your state that you can get an even better deal for. Also ensure that you have money either card or cash available. Many places only take cash if you win. Plus bring a cleaning deposit as well if they ask for it. You'll get it back when you clean out the unit.
Storage Treasures is a site that I look at all the time and buy from. Always check the clean out time - some vary from 24 hours to 72 hours. Ensure that you can clean out within that time or if you have the funds to pay for a month.
Online Storage Unit Auctions | StorageTreasures.com
Self Storage Auction - I haven't bought from here yet but it is one that I look at monthly.
Search for Online Storage Unit Auctions
Essentials
These are must have essentials if you plan to dive into the storage unit business!
Contractor bags are awesome because they are thick and big. Perfect for cleaning up the trash in the unit or sorting trash from the goodies when opening boxes / bins.
Husky 42 Gal. Heavy-Duty Contractor Clean-Up Bags with 20% PCR (50-Count) HKR42WC050B
Work gloves are a must when cleaning out units. You don't know what the previous tenant was doing - drugs, sharp items, etc. Plus there may be dead mice or droppings. Having gloves eliminates you from touching that gross stuff!
FIRM GRIP Medium Dura-Knit Work Gloves 67891-20
Broom and dust pan are definitely essential as you have to broom sweep the unit out as you clear it out. Most storage units have a cleaning deposit and if it's not cleaned, you won't get it back and potentially banned from buying units again.
Libman 15 in. Extra-Large Precision Angle Broom and Dustpan Set with Steel Handle 1724
Box Knives are great for opening packages. Do you think there will be trash or treasure in there?
Milwaukee FASTBACK Folding Utility Knife and Compact Folding Utility Knife with Blade Storage and Gut Hook (2-Piece) 48-22-1503
Tape measure is handy if you are trying to fit a piece of furniture on your truck or if you are going to list something.
CRAFTSMAN HI-VIS 25-ft Tape Measure
Permanent marker pens are great for writing on boxes. You do have to give personal items back to the previous tenants - photos, bills, etc. I tend to find boxes and fill it up with the necessary stuff and then write the unit number on the box and g...
Sharpie 5pk Permanent Markers Ultra Fine Tip Black: Thin Sharpie Pen for Art & Office Use, Stationery Supplies
You need to make sure you keep yourself hydrated. Easy to forget when you are having so much fun unearthing a storage unit! Having your own water bottle is handy!
Simple Modern Trek 40oz Stainless Steel Leopard Lidded Tumbler Pink: SLM Water Bottle for Cold Beverages, Hand Wash
What happens if you drink all your water from your bottle? Having a 24 pack is helpful to still keep you hydrated and great for emergencies if you forget your bottle or drink all your liquids.
Niagara 16.9 fl. oz. Purified Drinking Water (24-Pack) NDW05L24DR
Snacks are also essential along with water. If you plan to be at the storage unit all day, keep your blood sugar intact while snacking. Or pack yourself a quick lunch!
CLIF Bar Chocolate Chip Energy Bar Minis - 20ct
Now that you've bought the storage unit, where are you going to put it? If you have a house, you can put it in your garage (which we have done). Or put it in the shed so you can have time to go thru each box and decide where you plan to list the st...
Lifetime 8 ft. x 12.5 ft. Resin Outdoor Storage Shed 6402
Padlocks are important as well as you have to lock up the unit after you win it. The storage unit can provide you with a lock but most likely they will have you pay for it. Or if you need more time to clean out the unit, they will rent it to you and ...
Master Lock Heavy Duty Shrouded Outdoor Keyed Padlock, 3-1/8-in Wide x 5/8-in Shackle
Flashlights are great for dark units. Some of the storage units don't have great lighting and you need a flash light to ensure you have everything out. Can also be helpful if you go to live auctions and need to see what's in the unit prior to bidding...
Defiant 300 Lumens Aluminum Flashlight (3-Pack) 90713
YouTube
These are storage auction You Tubers that are great to watch and listen to. Gives you ideas to watch out for in storage units. I've got several of them saved as favorites to watch. We do have our channel but we haven't created any new videos for quite a while. We are planning on getting it going next year though!.
Red Dirt Resale is great to watch. He has his own thrift store and buys units all the time. He loves buying furniture.
Red Dirt Resale
2nd Cents Inc is also a great channel. He has so much fun finding items. He'll buy the dirtiest units and finds some awesome items.
2nd Cents, Inc Cleveland Auction House
He and his wife have recently been diving into storage units. But they also do a lot of videos of thrift store finds.
Bearded Thrift Machine
He and his wife buy storage units all the time down in California and they have a blast! Lot of laughter there!
Storage Stalker
He buys storage units all the time as well in California. He is one of the busiest guys as he sells on Whatnot and flea markets.
Locker Nuts
Jebus and his wife buy units all the time but he favors units that have guns in them. They'll sometimes travel long distances if he sees them in units. *If you do find guns in your unit, check your local laws to find out what you need to do*
Treasure Hunting With Jebus
This is a fun channel to watch as well. Paper & Moose - she buys storage units all the time
Paper and Moose
Selling Platforms
These are platforms where you can sell your wares from storage units.
I currently love using this cross-lister. Currently use it for eBay and Poshmark. They just added Etsy to their software. They also have Mercari & Depop. Save 15% off your first month if you use my promo code - CUSTERKSFINDS
Nifty | Resell effortlessly
Whatnot is an awesome selling platform. This is livestreaming, think QVC or HSN. We sell on this platform often. We tend to stream for about an hour. But there are people that will stream all day. You just have to make sure that you can ship everything that you sell within 2 business days.
Whatnot - Invitation from custerksfinds for up to $150 cash match when you sell on Whatnot!
I have decided to add the Whatnot link for buyers in case you aren't ready to step into the Whatnot selling platform. My hubby loves buying on this platform. It can be very addictive as there is sudden death and auctions can run fast - 3 seconds, 15 seconds, etc. There are always shows every day and night. You may even receive amazing deals of items. Highly recommend that you check this out!
Whatnot - Invitation from custerksfinds for $15 credit
You can sell on Etsy as well. I haven't tried this platform for physical products but I've been dabbling with digital products.
Hey, creative friends: You should sell on Etsy, the marketplace where people around the world connect to buy and sell unique goods.
This is an awesome platform to sell your products on. We have a store where we sell our items that we get from garage sales, storage units, etc. I've been on eBay selling for several years.
Electronics, Cars, Fashion, Collectibles & More | eBay
We also put our items on this platform - Nextdoor. We've done pretty good on this one. Local pickup
Join Nextdoor, an app for neighborhoods where you can get local tips, buy and sell items, and more
Craiglist is also a great platform to sell your products. You can choose your city where you live or are near and mostly, it should be free posting. This is also a great place to list garage sales as well.
craigslist: bellingham jobs, apartments, for sale, services, community, and events
Poshmark can be a great platform too; I'm just starting to try this one out. From what I heard, you do have to do a lot of sharing to get your products sold. But they use priority mail to ship out products which is great for you as you can receive free shipping materials from USPS
Signup - Poshmark
This is a great platform to sell from. I always do local pickup. However there is an option where you can sell your items everywhere and ship it to them. We haven't utilized that feature yet.
Facebook Marketplace