Americans love hoarding and they love TV, which is why shows like Storage Wars are so popular. However, there are a lot more storage auctions happening than what you see on television. Every storage facility has a procedure in place for what to do if a tenant stops paying for a certain number of months—after all, a storage facility can’t house items for free indefinitely. Hosting an auction is an increasingly popular way to free up storage space and give gamblers a chance to see if Lady Luck is on their side.
Auction processes work differently from facility to facility. The storage unit industry is worth $38 billion and there are over 50,000 storage unit facilities in the country. In comparison, there are nearly 39,000 McDonald’s restaurants around the world. As you can see storage units are in very high demand, with 25 percent of Americans renting a storage unit. On average, storage units have a very high 90 percent occupancy rate. That’s a lot of potential auctioning!
As you can imagine, a lot of the time bidders end up with photo albums and other sentimental items that don’t offer much in terms of financial gains. However, the rare treasure can make all the risk-taking worthwhile. A couple won a storage unit bid with $100 in Long Island during a blind auction. As per normal regulations, they didn’t know the auction seller and didn’t have a clue what might be in the unit.
It turns out the storage unit housed a car that was featured in a James Bond movie. The 1976 Lotus Esprit was featured in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and had been in storage for years. The film featured the car turning into a small submarine in many scenes, but after filming the show car was stored and ultimately forgotten. When the tenant didn’t pay for several months, the unit went up for auction.
The couple was pleased to have found a car that was likely worth more than the $100 they spent, but they didn’t know just what a treasure they’d found—they had never seen the movie. However, as they had the car towed home, truckers on the road flagged them down and let them know just what a find they had on their hands. They kept the car for years, restored it, and sold it to Tesla Motors for $1 million. Elon Musk has reported that it’s part of the inspiration for his electric Cybertruck.
If you’re looking for a storage facility, you don’t have to worry about auctions when you work with Oquirrh View Storage. There are multiple options to pay and avoid making your unit “up for grabs.” Flexibility and compassion are part of what makes our storage unit process unique, so you can rest assured that your treasures will remain yours. Visit our facility today to learn more about your options and our security measures.
