I was crusing the digital highways and I cam across this jewel of an article. Apparently two Orange councilmen decided to dip their big toes into the storage auction waters. With a few units under their belts either winning or breaking even they seem to be having the time of their lives! I know the thrill, the rush and the high you get just from bidding and winning a unit the other stuff only comes AFTER you get it! One thing you should know about storage auctions once you start and experience some success it will be very hard to take that cookie out of your hand, just a warning! Read the article and tell me your thoughts!
By EUGENE W. FIELDS / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
LAKE FOREST – Inspired by popular television shows about auction hunters buying the contents of abandoned storage lockers, two Orange councilmen are trying their hand at the business.
Jon Dumitru said after watching “Storage Wars” on A&E and “Auction Hunters” on Spike – which feature Orange auctions and auction hunters – he and Denis Bilodeau wanted to see if they could make a successful run at buying some units.
An auction on Wednesday at A-1 Self Storage in Lake Forest was similar to what is shown on “Storage Wars.” More than 20 potential bidders walked past storage lockers, of which people were arrears in their payments, for a quick peek at the contents.
An auctioneer would start the bidding at $100. The bidding was fast and furious for some lockers, and slow for others. The highest winning bid was $1,300 for a locker filled with pieces of office equipment.
Dumitru – solo this day as Bilodeau was working – bid on only one locker that quickly went over the duo’s established limit of $400.
The councilmen had been riding a small streak of winning lockers, beginning with an auction on Dec. 29 in Laguna Hills. That first one turned out to be profitable, too.
“We paid $275 for it,” Bilodeau said. “There were 35 boxes filled with paper, receipts, bank statements, and checkbooks that went right into the recycle bin.”
Amid the detritus were boxes filled with gold jewelry and designer purses.
“I was thinking that at least we were getting experience,” Dumitru, 40, said. “Then we hit a couple of boxes at once that were good.”
Bilodeau, 43, estimated the jewelry was worth at least $400. He sent the previous owner personal mementos, such as pictures, a yearbook and her Social Security card.
“You’re going through someone’s life,” Bilodeau said. “You can see where she worked, that she lost a job and struggled a bit.”
That locker also turned up an oddity: 40 women’s shoes.
“A lot of them were brand new, but there was only the right or left shoe,” Bilodeau said. “It wasn’t the pair.”
A winning bid on Monday on a locker in Los Angeles yielded a large collection of old vinyl records and some collectible magazines. The pair donated several boxes of old clothes to the Salvation Army and plan to donate a couple of boxes of books to the Friends of Orange Public Library.
Dumitru estimated the pair broke even on their winning bid of $300.
The councilmen split the cost of the winning bids and any profits. Because the two are not licensed re-sellers, they must pay sale tax – as well as the cost of the locker, in cash – immediately after the auction.
Dumitru said they plan to exchange the gold for cash, which will then go toward financing future auctions. The records were sold at a record shop and the purses were sold to friends.
“It was kind of a rush to get the stuff,” said Bilodeau, a married father of three who is the chief of staff to county Supervisor Shawn Nelson. “My wife doesn’t mind, because we haven’t lost money.”
Dumitru, a dispatcher for the Orange County Fire Authority, said he and Bilodeau aren’t trying to get rich from auction hunting.
“It’s just a hobby,” Dumitru said. “It’s kind of cool to see what’s hidden inside.”
Contact the writer: 714-704-3704 or efields@ocregister.com
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How do you become a licensed reseller?
Glendon,
this sounds almost word-for-word like your book and videos. it certainly validates the science you have been dropping.
Thanks it is amazing to see things I talked about 3 years ago coming online- this thing is becoming bigger than I thought!
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