THE SHED RESULTS

Okay, we gave you some homework. Let's see how you did. If you decided to spend $200.00 to $275.00 youR on the right track.  Now, just remember with all the new buyers out there you may not get this unit. My simple answer to that is a motto I live by, "Go home empty and lose your gas money, buy uncontrolled and lose your ass!"  Let's break down this unit. You're looking at 3 older TVs.  That's fine so we value them each at $15.00, the wheel barrow $10.00, the camp stoves, well here you need to think. Who has two or three camp stoves? If you don't see a boy scout uniform hanging from the rafters chance are your looking at a unit of a collector, garage saler, or just a shopper who likes to buy doubles. You see the TVs were okay at three many folks have a TV in many rooms but, when you start seeing doubles, triples and more, of items that most people only have one of, that is what we call a flag in the business. At that point you have to look at the rest of the unit and be able to see tell tale signs of what this unit is truly about. Some of us are born with the gut reactions and others must learn as they go. The best way of looking at it is, at $200.00 you're not going to get to hurt, and if $200.00 does hurt you too much then you're in the wrong business. You may buy 20 units before you see anything of real value. You have to have that disposable income to do just that, buy 20 or so units. Now, also looking at the door of this one we know we are not going to lose all of our money with just what is on the eyes. As for the boxes, I look at as they belong to Billy. Many men are called Bill but not many carry the "Billy" to older age. They leave that behind in childhood which means these boxes go to the garage for several reasons. 1:  They belong to the son and they are full of toys not played or the child has outgrown and are well used and are stored away, or 2:  They are the outside toys of the son, or 3:  What we all hope, they are full of a guys tools and stuff and he is comfortable with his manhood and is still called Billy. Well, I would and have, for this equation valued them at $5.00 per box. This leaves us with the possible tool box in the back. I would value the tool box as a possible and as always I value all tool boxes at empty rate, so I allowed $70.00 for the box for a total of $200.00 low and allowing myself room to go as high as $275.00 if I need to. This may seem like a curve ball but you will get alot of curve balls throughout your stay in this business. But if all of our hunches are right and we get this unit for $250.00, we just made money! In my market the wheel barrow would be $25.00, the boxes an average of $15.00 each depending on whats inside but the $15.00 would be selling item by item at yard sale prices. the camp stoves if working (which you noticed I didn't value in my bid to allow room) $25.00 each, the tool box comes up empty and sold for $225.00 the TVs sell fast at $25.00 each for a total income of $600.00 or a profit of $350.00. Not bad, many folks work a 40 hour work week to do $350.00. All you did was had a blast dinging through treasures to make the cash. Next blog we will be talking about the new TV shows. Are they the real deal or just TV?

YOUR NEXT SHED

Now you have felt that rush of the first unit in front of you and you have escaped the wrath of bags of clothing and dirty old mattresses to live yet another day in the cut throat business of auctions. you have seen first hand there are tricks you need to learn.  First, you need to learn how to value things standing at the door. To do this you must spend hours upon hours simply walking local stores.  The best of course is the Walmart store.  They will be your biggest competition when tring to sell any item. Tour the camping area, auto, as well as electronics. Look at what items are selling for. I will give you some examples. The Coleman camp stove, a propane one that works off of the little propane tanks, retails for $55.00 so if you see one in a unit out of box and looks used you would figure that stove into your bid at $15.00 of value this gives you the room to up your price to a profit easy. I can get $20.00 for one that looks new and about $35.00 for a new one, so you want that room on your bid.  Next you need to know your stoves, a Coleman liquid gas stove sells for $99.00 and can bring you a fast $50.00 used and $75.00 new, so what would you factor this type of stove into your bid?  The answer in my book would be $25.00 value. U sing this equation allows you room for mistakes. You never want to over value something because it may be broken, missing parts, or not what you thought it was. Always remember to leave room!  The old addiage is, if you double you're OK if you triple your in, if you break even your gone. You have to remember you are not here to break even!  You have to make money on every unit you buy or you won't last. Now walk around your store and notice shapes and sizes. This may sound odd now, but if you come to a unit that is packed beyond packed you won't be able to value the unit unless you can see outside the box. You have to be able to look into cracks and holes and be able to identify items by the corner of the item the size color or shape. for example a roll around tool box with rounded corners and sheet metal appearance is most all of the time a homeowners box valued at below $500.00 new, but a box that has the heavy metal look with square blunt sides and corners with metal pull drawer handles most every time is a Snap On or Mac tool box and can be worth thousands empty and can be worth $10,000 if full of the tools. Shapes, colors and sizes are the thing you need to study when shopping. Heck you can learn a lot about this by looking in your own garage or shed. Now, let's look at the big picture so to say, the TV market, we have TVs out there worth $10.00 up to thousands, the best rule of thumb here is you're looking for LCD or plasmas but lookat it as a parts TV. Yes folks, many of those LCD and plasmas that come out of units might be broken and it is a minimum of $200.00 or more to fix them. I value mine at parts level a 52" LCD I value at $300.00 and if it all works I just made $700.00 ($400.00 profit). Again this all depends on your market and no one even myself can tell you what an item is worth in your area. That is another thing you will need to learn, your market. The other type of TV is the oldie but the fast selling 20" to 35" regular everyday TV. They sell super fast and I love to have 5 or 6 on the floor at all times for the folks that want TV but can't afford a $300.00 TV.  Never value a older TV for more than $15.00 into your bid since they have more of a chance of being broken. Let's review this now, you walk up to a shed it is a 5x10 and it has three old TVs, two propane stoves,and 15 boxes most marked garage and "Billy's stuff", plus you see what looks to be a home owners tool box buried under the boxes on wheels in the back and a used wheel barrow up front. what should your bid be? You always look at lowest and highest bids. let's break it down. The items on view are guys stuff the boxes have a man's name and say garage on them. What would you bid on this 5x10 shed high and low figure? Come back next week and I will break it down further and see if you match a pro's view. If this seems like a confusing math problem you're on the right track it is all about numbers that you have to have in your head in seconds. It all comes in time. Try to figure out what you would bid on the 5x10 and see if you match me.

NEW TO THIS BLOG? STARTED AT BOTTOM TO GET ALL INFO

STILL HERE WELL LETS GET YOU BUYING

You have gone over my blog and you're still here. You're either ready to work your butt off or you're crazy. Either way let's see if we can get you going.  Now go out and buy yourself a good flashlight and about four keyed alike round locks.  You can get them at any hardware store. Buy yourself a flashlight with power.  Get the lightest one you can buy. Many go out and buy the big spot lights. I can tell ya, you will be tried of carrying the spot since they are heavy. If you have the capital get a Stream Light Ultra Stinger. They are rechargeable and are top quality weighing in at less then a pound. They are costly at about $159.00, but well worth it. I can get them for you for $98.00 if you want one email me.  First thing you need to do study is your local legal ads in your local paper. There are websites you can go to also but not knowing where you live I can only guide you to the auctions through your paper. This will result in your meeting the auctioneers and getting their websites and info for future sales. Now when you arrive at your first location, where you are hoping to buy something, there are many things that happen just as you drive up. The major things you need to worry about is focus. What type of area are you in? Are the homes slums or are they million dollar homes?  Are the stores around clean or south of the border looking?  What type of people are walking down the street? Are there commercial offices and warehouses around?  These are all things you look at driving to the location. Oh, just a heads up here, buy yourself a navigation system to get around. online map services are a thing of the past and some times you are running too fast to the next sale, due to lack of time between sales, to be reading a piece of paper for directions. Okay now you pull up to the storage company. What does it look like? Ask yourself would you store there? These questions will all help you evaluate your course of action. Now if you get to a location and you have 15-20 minutes, best thing to do is stay in your car or truck. The least amount of time you give the regular buyers to size you up or get you in a conversation is the best. The worst thing you can do is get out and start asking questions, like your new. This business is like a poker game you can't give away your tells or you hurt your position.  Look like you're busy in your car, talk on your phone call you favorite friend or check on where your going to eat that night. Don't just sit there. Now when it is time to get out, walk straight and tall look like you have a purpose to be there. Right at this time you will see the regular buyers sizing you up and talking among themselves. This is where you do not want to get involved. Stand off alone against a wall and look right at the regulars make them wonder if you're sizing them up. Alot of regulars will approach you with tricks. I have had people come up acting like they have seen me somewhere before just to find out who I was. If this happens be short, polite and sweet. Kind of like the military, you know give them only your, name rank and serial number. Don't get into a conversation. What I do, is ask, "Do you know where the bathroom is?" and I head that way.  Now, the auctioneer approaches, they usually sound off the terms to all but some will yell out if you have never done this before come see me. At this point you want to position yourself close to, without approaching, the group of newbies. Get just close enough to hear the terms. The terms are pretty much the same cash money, no checks, no credit cards and no going to the bank. You can not enter or touch anything in the unit and you have 24 hours to remove the items (all of the items trash and all). It is that simple. Now they crack the gate and you are on your way to your first unit. Your heart beats faster, your palms are sweating and your eyes are wide as the door rises. There it is the unit of all units the 10 x 20 full of mattresses, garbage bags, and dirty laundry. It brings your palms to a dry chapped feeling your heart skips two beats and your eyes close quick. Well lets run this down. The garbage bags 9 out of 10 times are clothing or a sign that someone moved fast and grabbed what they had to pack with. Meaning they were thrown out on the street and have very little to their name. The mattresses trophy, stained or not, if they are used, can not be resold in many states and in some states cost alot to toss away, you must figure this all into the cost equation. Now you stand back and the bidding starts. You saw nothing of value and the bid goes up to $400.00 You're standing there second guessing your walkaway. Number one, never second guess your first gut reaction, most of the time it will cost you big. Second, you and all the other newbies are being scared off buy seasoned buyers with disposable income. They bid high to make you walk away. You just have to remember never throw away money. Just wait for that one you want.

LEGAL STUFF

Now if you choose to go into this venture there are things you will need to protect yourself. The first thing is to contact your local business license office and tax department. You need to find out what they require. Many try to go into this business and act like they are doing it as a hobby or just casual sales. I can tell you this don't RISK it. if you buy units or items at auctions and resell them more then three times a month your in business, acting like you don't know it is a business won't float when the authorities catch up with you. With all of the new TV shows showing profits that amount to thousands of dollars is doing one thing, alerting the IRS of the next industry to watch. They just released new laws on Paypal and all other online payment services to where they now have to 1099 you for all of your income that you collect online. I can tell you this will not be the only step they take on this issue. Many folks love to talk on camera and love to stretch the truth as far as they can to look like Hollywood. Then when they are checked out and caught they start singing other songs, but then it will be to late. It is simple get yourself a business license, a tax license and go into the business the right way. It will save you huge in the long run. If you do this business right you will live great. doing it right will give you peace of mind. After all $45,000.00 to $125,000.00 per year is not casual sales. It is INCOME.

NOW YOU HAVE TO DECIDE IF IT'S ALL FOR YOU

Okay, you have by now attended a few auctions in your area. Now you must decide if this is for you or not. If you're going for the route of buying storage units there are a lot of choices to be made. The best way to put this in prospective for you is simple, if you ever rented a Uhaul and moved yourself, you must think back to that and ask yourself, how easy or how hard was it. If you had friends helping you move you must take them out of the equation and put the move totally on your shoulders. If you can say it wasn't bad, then good, if you remember it as a sore back and  pure pain to sit, stand or move then it may be time to run from this venture. It is simple, every unit you buy has to be removed in a 24 hour period and a small household can fit in a 10X10 if packed right. The next thing you have to consider is where are you going to take the items. Many of you, most likely will not have trailers, moving trucks or the equipment needed to move heavy/large items from the get go, so you will have to rent a truck (and things like hand-trucks and blankets) and return them in 24 hours or pay more. If you don't have room at home or you're not allowed to store at home due to HOA rules you have to factor in the cost of getting a storage unit. Which in many states can be as much as a car payment. You will have to make sure you have disposable income go to and buy at storage auctions. The TV shows will show you the clean end of the business and not the hard work that these buyers go through day in and day out. Other things you as a buyer must remember:  You buy it all, you can't use the property's dumpster and you CAN NOT leave things you don't want behind. This means dump and landfill fees. Which again can cost alot and cut your profit to a loss quickly. Also, remember all hazardous items are yours as well, and many if not all, have special disposal requirements and that too becomes yours to deal with. This sounds like an interesting and profitable venture, and at times it can be, but the expenses involved can take some if not all profit out of units purchased if you are not careful.  After all this said, the next blog will deal with your legal options, after all you're starting a business that requires licenses and taxes be paid. With all the TV shows coming out UNCLE SAM, who has not up til now not taken an interest in this money making venture is going to start cracking down on it and you had better be dealing with it properly or you can get your self into real trouble.  The last thing you want to do is jeopardise your belongings and home when the tax guy wants his. Check in next week for the blog on the things I learned over the last 15 years in this area.

FIRST THINGS FIRST ON AUCTION BUYING

Before you decide you want to go into this business you need to attend two to four auctions in the area you are intrested in. You can find auctions on goggle or your local newspaper's legal ads. Many newspapers will have an auction section in the classifieds whether it is for storage locker sales, or live estate auctions.  Actually, I suggest picking all types of auctions. I have made money from both storage liens and live sales. You need to just simply attend a few sales and watch what is happening. Don't get involved just yet. Just see what items go for and decide if you would, on any day of the week, have paid that much or more to get the item you saw sell. I say a few  auctions for the simple fact that you will not get the true feel of what really happens at one auction. Especially if you choose the increasingly popular "storage lien sale". I can tell you for sure that if you choose the storage lien sale route you will soon and quickly see what I meant in my first blog. How you will be sized up and explored by the seasoned buyers. Like I said before the last thing these buyers want to see are new buyers. It drives up their costs and lowers their profits. You will be asked all types of questions. They are searching for your tells just like a Texas hold-em player. They want to know what makes you tick! This is not so they can add you to their guest list at their next party. They simply want to know what it will take to take you out of the game. Here you must keep your wits about yourself. Tell them little and leave them guessing. There's a term you will hear on the new TV shows that are coming out. "Drop it on them." This simple put means they want to cause you to overbid and they will let you buy it so you lose all of your cash. What I love to do is turn the tables on them. I bid like I have no end in site and then drop it on them. I can't tell you how many times I have gotten the look that kills from a buyer who thought they knew me. Never discuss the source of your funds or the amount of your funds with anyone! Not even the trusted auctioneer "LOL". In fact one of the best ways to get into this business is to pool 5 or 6 tried and true friends into the venture. Pool the cash and see them dash. Even the most seasoned buyer can not compete with 5 people pooling $4000 each for a total of $20,000, if they only have a $4000 cash reserve themselves.  Also, with a group you would be able to attend more locations at one time, maximizing your resources. I leave you with a popular industry phrase, "it only takes one," which is true. One right purchase could pay for the farm. It's out there you just need to be smart on how to get to it before the funds run dry.

WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START

Many auction goers will tell you many things you should know before buying at auction. The main thing to know is that person sharing their insite is a competitor, "the enemy" if you will. You will come to find out that buying at auctions will not gain you any true friends. It is the total opposite. The people who attend auctions want one thing, the deal of  the day, so they can turn around and make money. They don't want you there! They don't need to know your story. They want one thing, for the auctioneer to yell sold and be pointing in their direction without you bidding them up. They will tell you all types of tales to try to trip you up and cause you financial harm. I have been in the auction business for 15 years and have never received as much as a Christmas card or a invite to a burger and soda from any buyer, seller, or client. This is not the business for the faint of heart or the person who likes to enjoy true conversations with others. This business is like a poker game, the other buyers and the auctioneer are doing one thing, reading you for all of your tells and watching how far and deep they can strike to get you to go away!  In this blog I will tell you the truth about what you need, what you will want to watch out for, and who you can trust if anyone. I will blog at least once a week on new topics and insites into the world of the modern day treasure hunt for Cash!!!