The demand for storage unit auctions has steadily increased this past few years,and it's no small wonder that people have also become increasingly interested in finding ways to augment their income. If you make it to the auction, keep in mind,, bring plenty of cash with you. Most likely the storage companies will only accept cash. That brings another problem. If you are carrying a large amount of cash, take extra steps to keep it in a safe place.

When bidding at the auction, you may get caught up in the moment and in the flurry of activity during the bidding process, remember keep your head about you, remember your goal is to make money. To make money, you must limit your business expenses.

You want to win a storage bay filled to capacity with items of value, and you can't be so engrossed in the bidding that you over pay. You won't make a profit. Watch your budget, and never bid higher for the storage unit than you can reasonably afford.

What to do with the items you've won? You probably will want to make money right away. To start reselling your items as soon as possible. This is in the mindset of most auction purchasers. In fact, in most cases, the ability to quickly resell is very important. You may have limited space in your own home. Most of us simply do not have room for all our purchases. You will want to move these items out of your truck, van, or home fast. To move these items, you can have a garage sale, or yard sale, or a tag sale. These sales are nice because they can be setup quickly; everything can be laid out to sell all at once. If you are more tuned in to making a bigger profit, examine eBay.com or Craigslist.org. These websites thrive on re-sale items. Craigslist is more for local sales, and not as broad based as eBay. Craigslist is still a very effective tool, and it is free to post local advertisements. Be sure to post pictures. eBay is popular, but you are charged numerous fees. Shipping can be a hassle too. This can take away from your profit. Some folks try to do all of these things, yard sales, craigslist, eBay. Whatever it takes to move the items for the cash back, that you'll need to go to your next storage unit auction. You can get a good idea of which approach makes you the most money after winning a few of these auctions.

What to expect during an auction? This is unlike estate auctions, storage unit auctions are far less formal - all bids are given verbally, and the people just stand around a storage unit that is being auctioned off. The initial look, if allowed, and decision on bidding, must be made quickly. there is no other basis for the bid. The highest bid will, of course, be the winning bid. The storage unit manager then requires the winning bidder to pay for the storage unit that he has just won.

In most cases, winning bidders only have up to two days to clear out the contents of a storage unit. If you bid, be prepared to win, and take away the items in a truck or a van, as you will need all the space you can get to haul away the contents that you bid on.

A single storage unit can measure 5' x 5'. Some may be as small as a closet, others very large, enough to hold one or several cars. Somewhat like a very large garage, or shop. These units can be packed very tight, there can be alot of stuff!