SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AUCTIONS GOING STRONG

I ran southern California these past two weeks and things are going strong. The new buyers are coming out in large numbers. One thing I noticed is that many new buyers are MapQuesting their routes. People, go to WalMart and buy a GPS, they cost next to nothing. Your time in this business is priceless and getting to the next location before the other 150 buyers is also priceless.

I saw about 75 units and bought none. The junk is out there, and the high prices are there too. Units that should bring $200.00 were bringing $600.00 and up. Remember: If you're going into this business and over paying this will not help you. Keep this in mind, I know it is hard to hold back because you want to start the treasure hunt. Many new buyers I met have big hopes, I witnessed one new couple buy 6 units over paying big on all of them and then they realized they only had 24 hours to get them all out. So, out they ran to rent a Uhaul. These buyers won't be back.  You can't start in this game by throwing large sums of cash at units and then lack the equipment to remove them. Buy to fit your means. If you have a pick up and you're 70 miles from home buy a 5x10 and fill your truck. Start slow and stick around a lot longer.

BUYER ALERT!!! Many of the auctioneers in California are charging $300 and up on cleaning deposits per unit. This means if you buy three units at $500 each, you will need $2535.00 in your pocket to pay for them. You will get your $900.00 in cleaning deposits back as long as you clear out the unit 110%.  This includes sweeping it clean in the allotted time to get items out. Otherwise, you will lose the $900.00 in deposits back to the property. All things you must to watch out for.  Most auctioneers welcome you new or old, but I found a few very against the new buyers and treated them like crap. So, my suggestion is to have strong shoulders because you might find yourself in unwelcoming territory even from the Auctioneers. I find this NUTS since the buyer is who we, as Auctioneers, need to be welcoming with open arms if we want to make our living.